[1] The native forest areas is dominated by podocarp and broadleaf species.

[4] Some areas feature much older forest of mature rimu, tōtara, miro, kawaka and northern rātā,[4] and notably the Waiwhiu Kauri Grove, an area featuring 20 large kauri trees.

[4] The traditional name for the Dome (the peak in the forest) was Tohitohi o Rei, a name referencing the ancestress Reipae of the Tainui migratory waka.

Tohitohi o Rei is a location mentioned in a traditional story of Reitū and Reipae.

Reipae travelled around the North Island with her sister Reitū on the back of a large bird, rested at the peak.