This chapter will be largely based on the common type of conifer broadleaf forest found throughout the country on adequately drained and reasonably fertile soils. It comprises a mixture of conifers mostly of the family Podocarpaceae; herbaceous and woody flowering plants; and ferns.

The features of other more restricted types will be considered later: well drained coastal forest without conifers; kauri (Agathis australis) dominated forest in the warmer northern North Island on less fertile, but well drained soils; mangrove (Avicennia resinifera) low forest at similar latitudes in the intertidal zone; and freshwater swamp and bog forests.