Rata (Metrosiderous Spp.)

Rata are large slow growing native trees with bright red flowers. They come in two kinds, Northern (Meterosideros robusta) and Southern (Metrosideros umbellata) , and are members of the Myrtle family, related closely to Pohutukawa.

Northern Rata start off as vines growing up other trees, and eventually kill their host to become free standing trees. They can grow to 25 meters. Southern Rata top off at 15 meters and do not hazve a vine like stage.

They produce large amounts of nectar, and are a favorite of many native bird species, such as the Tui (Medium sized black-green birds with white under the chin) and the Bellbird (Smaller, forest green plumage).

They are also a favorite source of food for Kaka. Kaka are larger parrots that have red coloring under their wings, and are

Rata flower every two to three years in abundance between November and January. These flowerings are called 'Mast Seasons', and are known for the production of excess fruits and flowers. With the extra resources around, Kaka and other species dependent on Rata for food tend to breed more profusely.

As with most native species, Possums are a huge problem for Rata. This also causes issues for the birds that feed on Rata flowers and fruits. Rata hate having their leaves eaten, and one can often see dead Rata trees poking up above the canopy of forests with high possum numbers.

Photo Credit (in order) Airborne Honey (www.airborne.co.nz); John Foster (www.foster.co.nz); nzbirdsonline.org.nz; nzbirdsonline.org.nz; and TER: RAIN Taranaki Educational Resource (terrain.net.nz)

Pepper Tree (Horopito)

Horopito (latin name: Pseudowintera colorata) is the second New Zealand native species to be known as Pepper Tree. Horopito looks completely different from the other 'pepper tree'. It has elliptical shaped light green leaves that are often spotted with black or red dots. Both juvenile and mature foliage can also be a reddish colour, sometimes green foliage can also be red around the edges.

The flowers of Horopito are small, white, and have five slim petals. Flower buds are pale green.

There is also a difference between this 'pepper tree' and Kawakawa in the way that they can be used medicinally. The leaves of this plant (Horopito) were either chewed or made into a tea which  was used by Māori to cure diarrhea. Again the leaves of this plant are harmless and if eaten taste hot like pepper.

Picture credit (in order): biobalance.co.nz, southernalpsphotography.com

Pepper Tree (Kawakawa)

Today I will give you two species, so here is the first.

Kawakawa (latin name: Macropiper excelsum) is one of two native New Zealand species known as the Pepper Tree. It has palm-sized, dark green, heart shaped leaves that appear to buckle at the edges. The leaves often have holes in them as since the plant is non-toxic many insects tend to graze on it.

This plant is very child friendly, as you can pick the leaves straight off the plant and chew on them. They are mildly hot and a little spicy as the common name suggests, and the different sized have differ in potency. Swallowing parts of the leaf will also cause no harm. Good memories I have that are associated with this plant include going on a school camp up Mount Taranaki and doing a series of challenges - one of them was to eat a particularly large leaf (no problem really as I would always eat them when my family went tramping!)

The flowers of Kawakawa are not really that normal, looking more like immature cones and relying on wind pollination rather than bees. they are pale green to yellow pillars depending on what subspecies you have come across.

Early Maori had many uses for this plant. Among them were chewing the leaves to reduce the symptoms of toothache and burning them creates a smoke that repels insects. An interesting thing to remember if your favourite campsite has issues with bugs and there is a patch of bush nearby (check with camp management if there is a fire ban first!!!!)

Photo credit (in order): earthenergiesnz.com, visitzelandia.com, whangareiflora.weebly.com, nzpcn.org.nz

Tree Fuchsia (Kotukutuku)

Time for another species.

Tree Fuchsia, (latin name: Fuchsia excorticate) is otherwise known as Kōtukutuku. It is a medium to large sized deciduous tree that easily recognized by its orange bark that always appears to be peeling away from the trunk.

The flowers range in color from dark purple to light pinky-purple. they are often visited by tui and other nectar eating birds.

The fruit of the tree is edible, the berries are colored dark purple when ripe. The rest of the plant is poisonous.

Tree Fuchsia has medicinal uses, and was used by Māori as a treatment to help women recover from the after effects of childbirth and as a means to settle bowel complaints.

Photo credits: bushmansfriend.com, bushmansfriend.com, visitzelandia.com

Wineberry (Makomako)

Time for our fourth species!

Today I give you Wineberry (latin name: Aristotellia serrata).  Wineberry is otherwise known as Makomako. It is a small-medium sized tree and is best identified by it’s tear drop shaped green leaves with serrated edges and red veins.

Wineberry has small pink flowers that form in clusters, and the fruit range in colour from green to red to black as they ripen. Wood Pigeons are attracted to Wineberry when it is fruiting, and the tree itself is fairly low maintenance and easy to grow. It prefers partial shade and doesn't mind close proximity to other plants as long as it doesn't get smothered. Be aware the berries are poisonous to humans, so not a good plant around unsupervised small children.

Wineberry was used by early Māori to treat many ailments. A strong, cooled tea made from the leaves was used to cure boils and burns. Whether this tea was taken orally or used to clean the wounds I do not know. Boiled water infused with bark extracts was cooled and used to cure sore eyes. A bath infused with the bark was also used to cure rheumatism.

Again I must reiterate, this information does not take the place of advice from a doctor.

Photo credits (in order) bushmansfriend.com, visitzelandia.com, visitzelandia.com, 

Kowhai

Hi again!

I've run across some spare time (a rarity I tell you) so I thought I might as well do something semi-productive, such as another species (or maybe two, you never know)!

And what better species to do than New Zealand's national flower, the Kowhai!

Kowhai (Latin name: Sophora microphylla) are a large tree with long stemmed leaves and oppositely arranged leaflets. they often have dark brown, knobbly seed pods hanging in with their leaves and are deciduous. The leaves and seeds are highly poisonous and should not be eaten, so this tree is probably not suitable for the gardens of families with small children.

The bright yellow flowers appear in spring, are shaped similar to bells, and are very attractive to wild birds such as Tui, Wood Pigeons, and Waxeyes/Silvereyes. Planting one of these in your garden will attract them, but Kowhai do take a while to mature as they are slow growing.

Kowhai have also got medicinal properties. An infusion of certain parts of plant the was used by Māori as a cure for many things, including dandruff, irritated skin, gonorrhea, scabies, and many other aches and pains. Unfortunately I am not sure what part of the plant was infused (and do not plan to become part of an experiment in order to find out).

Kowhai are a bit tricky to grow from seed, as their yellow seeds have a very hard testa (outer coat). if you can make a small cut in this with a pocket knife or something similar, and sit them on a windowsill in a jam lid with some water, they may germinate (this is not foolproof).

Picture credit (in order): stonearrow.co.nz, tiritirimatangi.org.nz, thegoodearth.co.nz, thegoodearth.co.nz

New Zealand Woodrose

Hi again :) Here's our second species!

The New Zealand Woodrose (latin name: Dactylanthus taylorii) is a root parasite and one of our more rare species as it has a status of critically endangered. It's Maori name is "pua o te reinga", which literally translates to 'flower of the underworld'. Nifty huh?

The Woodrose is restricted to patches of forest in the North Island of New Zealand and a small area down near Nelson in the South Island. It is non-host specific, meaning it can grow on the roots of many different species of tree, but it tends to prefer New Zealand natives.

It is also one of the few parasitic plants in the world that exhibit dioecy (that means there are separate male and female plants). This is both a blessing and a curse as the plant cannot self pollinate (increasing genetic diversity) but it also makes successful seed development a lot harder as they are so rare already.

The only part of the plant that you can see without digging is the flowers, which are heavily scented and predominantly pollinated by New Zealand Short Tailed Bats. Polynesian Rats and Norwegian Rats can also act as pollinators, but they do a fair amount of damage to the flowers when they do. Possums and pigs are also a big problem, although they do not act as pollinators.

Another group that also cause a lot of problems for this plant is humans. Yes, you read that right. Because of the fluted wooden flower form of the Woodrose, it is considered a pretty alternative to carved wooden flowers and is popular as an embellishment on trophies.

The Department of Conservation here in New Zealand have taken to placing cages around known Woodrose sites in order to protect them from pests and humans alike. I have seen these on Mount Taranaki, but will not be disclosing in what location for their own safety.

The important message here is please, if you find any (caged or not) DO NOT PICK THIS PLANT. They are not edible or medicinal plants.There is no good reason to be picking them and there are not enough of them to go around as is, so leave any you find to help regrow the population.

Also, please report any uncaged or dug up/on sale specimens to the Department of Conservation so steps can be taken to protect them. More information can be found on their website too.

Photo credits (in order): Department of Conservation New Zealand, terranature.org, Department of Conservation New Zealand.