1. (noun) monoao, Halocarpus kirkii - a rare tall native tree up to 25 m tall with grey-brown bark that separates off in thickish, irregular flakes. The leaves of adult trees are thick, scale-like and overlap in four rows against the branchlets, while the juvenile leaves are 1.5-4 cm long (see illustration) and sometimes persist until the tree reaches about 10 m in height. Found only from Kaitaia to the Coromandel Peninsula and Port Waikato and on Great Barrier Island.