Metrosideros excelsa (pōhutukawa, New Zealand pohutukawa, New Zealand Christmas tree) is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red flowers made up of a mass ofstamens. The pōhutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand. Renowned for its vibrant colour and its ability to survive even perched on rocky, precarious cliffs, it has found an important place in New Zealand culture for its strength and beauty and is regarded as a chiefly tree (rākau rangatira) by Māori. The blossom of the tree is called kahika. The generic name Metrosideros derives from the Ancient Greek metra or heartwood and sideron or iron. The species name excelsa is from Latin excelsus, highest, sublime. Pōhutukawa is a Māori word. Its closest equivalent in other Polynesian languages is the Cook Island Māori word poutukava, referring to a coastal shrub with white berries, Sophora tomentosa. The -hutu- part of the word comes from *futu, the Polynesian name for the Fish-poison tree (Barringtonia asiatica), which has flowers similar to those of the pōhutukawa. The pōhutukawa grows up to 25 metres (82 ft) in height, with a dome-like spreading form. It usually grows as a multi-trunked spreading tree. Its trunks and branches are sometimes festooned with matted, fibrous aerial roots. The oblong, leathery leaves are covered in dense white hairs underneath. The tree flowers from November to January with a peak in mid to late December (the southern hemisphere summer), with brilliant crimson flowers covering the tree, hence the nickname New Zealand Christmas tree. There is variation between individual trees in the timing of flowering, and in the shade and brightness of the flowers. In isolated populations genetic drift has resulted in local variation: many of the trees growing around the Rotorua lakes produce pink-shaded flowers, and the yellow-flowered cultivar Aurea descends from a pair discovered in 1940 on Mōtiti Island in the Bay of Plenty.
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 07:20:28 +0000
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