01
Kawakawa
Deep olive-green pounamu
The most common variety — a deep olive-green named after the kawakawa leaf. Strong, opaque and richly coloured.
The guide
The varieties of pounamu.
In Aotearoa New Zealand the word pounamu covers a small family of green stones — most of them nephrite jade, one a related bowenite. Each has its own colour, its own source, and its own place in tradition. This guide walks through some of the varieties recognised in Māori carving.
02
Kahurangi
Treasured translucent pounamu
The rarest and most prized — a translucent light green free of flaws, its name evoking a clear sky.
03
Īnanga
Pearly grey-green pounamu
A pale, pearly grey-green named after the whitebait (īnanga). Soft in tone, often almost milky.
04
Tangiwai
GLASSY BOWENITE
Glassy and translucent. Technically bowenite — a separate mineral to nephrite — but traditionally treasured as pounamu.
05
Flower Jade
Patterned bloom-like pounamu
A distinctive variety marked by lighter inclusions that bloom across the stone like flowers — prized for its painterly natural patterning.