Meryta denhamii is an evergreen tree endemic to the Pacific island of New Caledonia, where it occurs in dense humid forest.

The large, stiff, leathery leaves are elongated, curved at the edges and appear in tufts or bunches at the ends of the branches.

Specimens were sent to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, London, where the plant flowered in the greenhouse in 1860.

Rare in cultivation, Meryta denhamii may be grown fairly easily in warm frost-free climates like those of Sydney, Australia, or Florida in the United States.

A slightly hardier alternative is the New Zealand Puka tree, Meryta sinclairii, which has wider leaves and can withstand frosts down to −2 °C (28 °F) once established.