#metrosideros

[drhoz]

#2569 - Metrosideros perforata -

Climbing Rātā

AKA white rata, climbing rata, akatea or Akatorotoro

One of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to Aotearoa, but unlike the famous Pōhutukawa this one is better known its growth habit as a clambering vine when young. Mature plants are many-branched and shrubby.

Found from coastal to montane habitats, and abundant in open scrub, dense forest and rock-land. Grows as a “shrubland” in loose talus.

Pancake Rocks, New Zealand

[beatasticband]

Monday 21st feb on @eardrumbuzzradio eardrumbuzz.net a special episode of the #horediverecordshour dedicated to @metrosideros 2pm pst/ 10pm uk #shorediverecords #shoegaze #indie #alternative #dreampop #metrosideros #triphop https://www.instagram.com/p/CaNJJdaM3r6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[dendroica]

'Ōhi'a Lehua (via USFWS - Pacific Region)

Metrosideros polymorpha

Ōhi‘a trees are the foundation of native Hawaiian forests like Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and throughout Hawaiʻi. Many native bird species depend on ʻōhiʻa.

Ōhi‘a trees are under threat from a poorly understood and newly identified, rapidly-spreading fungal disease (Ceratocystis spp.) that kills native ‘ōhi‘a trees.

Learn more www.rapidohiadeath.org

Photo by Eric Hunt

CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

www.flickr.com/photos/ericinsf/223724294

[wenbochenphoto]

Juvenile and adult Metrosideros perforata in South Island's rainforest.

[crudlynaturephotos]

[hjamesp]

#metrosideros #myrtaceae #flower #padova (presso Orto botanico di Padova)

[drhoz]

The Great ACT-NSW-NZ Trip, 2023-2024 - Down the Taranaki Coastline

Heading south, en route to Wellington and hence the South Island. We stopped and stayed at a few places on the way, including Cape Egmont to see the lighthouse and beach, and Ōpunake because I wanted a look at the bay, cliffs, and beach.

Quite a lot of the area we were driving through was covered in small conical hills - that's because it's all volcanic landslide debris from Taranaki, 20km away.

The cliffs at Ōpunake and the rocky beaches along the rest of the coastline are more evidence of the violent geology.

The boulders in the layers still in the cliff are fridge sized.

Most of the land had been cleared of native vegetation for agriculture, but there were still a few local species around. And extensive burrows by Tiger Beetle larvae in the sand and volcanic ash deposits. Here's a few I've already covered elsewhere.

[drhoz]

#1959 - Metrosideros excelsa - Pōhutukawa

AKA  New Zealand Christmas Tree, Antipodean Holly, and Iron Tree. Metrosideros derives from the Ancient Greek for "heartwood" and "iron", and  excelsus from the Latin for  "highest, sublime". 

Photo by @purrdence​, at Napier in NZ.

Given the appallingly high number of introduced plants in New Zealand, it’s nice that one of the best natives is still around. A coastal evergreen that grows to 25m tall and 35 wide, in ideal conditions, but highly regarded for its ability to live in very much not ideal conditions, such as the most exposed cliff-faces and lava fields. The brilliantly red mass of stamens (and sometimes orange, yellow, or white) also have earned it many admirers. Regarded as a chiefly tree (rākau rangatira) by the Māori. Their trunks and branches are sometimes festooned with matted, aerial roots (the one growing in my grandparent’s backyard certainly did) and the underside of the oblong, leathery leaves are covered in densely packed white hairs.

The pōhutukawa and the related rātā species form twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand. Other species are found over the South Pacific, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, to the Bonin Islands near Japan, and a number of sub-Antarctic islands. There used to be species in Australia, from 25myo and 35myo, but they died out for unknown reasons. Possibly their susceptibility to fires, although the amount of damage the introduced Brushtail Possum does to Metrosideros in New Zealand might also be a clue. 

Their original range was the coastal zone of the North Island, north of 39° S, but it grows well in other parts of the island, and has naturalized in the cliffs around Sydney, Australia, can cause problems in Caifornia, and is regarded as invasive in South Africa. Given that it’s lost 90% of its original range to deforestation, people still use them for firewood, and they’re vulnerable to Myrtle Rust fungus, it’s just as well it has other options.

Pōhutukawa wood is dense, strong and highly figured and used traditionally for beaters and other small heavy items, and in shipbuilding, since the naturally curvy shapes made strong bracing timbers. Medically, extracts were used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, sore throat and wounds.

Māori legend tells of Tawhaki, a young Maori warrior who attempted to find heaven to seek help in avenging the death of his father. He fell to earth and the crimson flowers represent his blood.

A particular 800-year-old pohutukawa on the windswept cliff top at Cape Reinga, the northern tip of New Zealand, is venerated as ‘the place of leaping’. From here the spirits of the dead leap off the headland and climb down the gnarled, twisted roots of the tree, descending into the underworld on their return journey to the traditional homeland of Hawaiki.