Sticky seeds trap and injure small birds. Parapara is a small coastal tree with large, soft leaves and sticky, club-shaped fruit. Grows to ten metres in height. Spreading crown. Dark, fissured bark. Leaves are large, soft, and oval. Up to 15 centimetres long. Pale green underside. Flowers are small and greenish. But fruit is the story. Fruit covered in sticky, glandular hairs. Trap small birds. Fruit hangs in clusters from branches. Each one a sticky club. Small bird landing on fruit becomes stuck. Struggles. Becomes more stuck. Sometimes, bird starves to death. Hanging from tree. Parapara is sometimes called birdcatcher tree for this reason. Biologically, sticky fruit is adaptation for seed dispersal. Fruit sticks to birds. Bird carries seed to new location. But system is imperfect. Small birds get stuck and die. Tree kills as many birds as it uses. Ngāti Porou tribe of East Coast had specialised method for extracting oil from seeds. Seeds were steamed. Then pounded and pressed to release oil. Oil used for scenting and various ceremonial purposes. Sticky fruit noted for bird-trapping properties. Parapara is more common on offshore islands than on mainland. Rats eat fruit and prevent regeneration. On mainland, fruit is eaten before it can fall. On islands, fruit falls. Seeds germinate. Tree persists. To see a Parapara is to see tree of contradictions. Beautiful and deadly. Sticky and useful. Trap and gift. Parapara is not a king. It is not a warrior. It is trickster of coast. One that offers oil with one hand and death with other. Populations have declined on mainland but remain common on predator-free offshore islands. Not commercially logged but threatened by ongoing habitat loss and rat predation of fruit. Natural regeneration on mainland is limited by rat predation. Ngāti Porou tribe traditionally extracted oil from seeds. Habitat loss from coastal development is primary threat. Predation of fruit and seeds by introduced rats. Competition from invasive weed species. Climate change affecting coastal habitats. Seedlings palatable to livestock and browsing animals. No one told it otherwise.