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The Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) is a coastal evergreen tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
 of the myrtle
Myrtle

The Myrtle is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, native to southern Europe and north Africa. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, growing to 5 m tall....
 family that produces a brilliant display of red flowers made up of a mass of stamen
Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
s. The Pohutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros
Metrosideros

Metrosideros is a genus of approximately 50 trees, shrubs, and vines native to the islands of the Pacific Ocean, from the Philippines to New Zealand and including the Bonin Islands, Polynesia, and Melanesia, with an anomalous outlier in South Africa....
 species endemic to New Zealand.

tree grows up to twenty metre
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
s in height, with a dome-like spreading form. Its natural range is the coastal regions of the North Island
North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the List of islands by area....
 of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, north of a line stretching from New Plymouth
New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers came....
 (39° S) to Gisborne (38° S).






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The Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) is a coastal evergreen tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
 of the myrtle
Myrtle

The Myrtle is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, native to southern Europe and north Africa. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, growing to 5 m tall....
 family that produces a brilliant display of red flowers made up of a mass of stamen
Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
s. The Pohutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros
Metrosideros

Metrosideros is a genus of approximately 50 trees, shrubs, and vines native to the islands of the Pacific Ocean, from the Philippines to New Zealand and including the Bonin Islands, Polynesia, and Melanesia, with an anomalous outlier in South Africa....
 species endemic to New Zealand.

Description

The tree grows up to twenty metre
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
s in height, with a dome-like spreading form. Its natural range is the coastal regions of the North Island
North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the List of islands by area....
 of New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, north of a line stretching from New Plymouth
New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers came....
 (39° S) to Gisborne (38° S). It also grows on the shores of lakes in the Rotorua
Rotorua

Rotorua is a city on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand, and Rotorua District is the encompassing local authority area....
 area. A giant Pohutukawa at Te Araroa
Te Araroa

Te Araroa is a township in the Gisborne region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 175 km north of Gisborne city, along List of New Zealand State Highways 35 between Tokata and Awatere....
 on the East Coast is reputed to be the largest in the country, with a height of 20 metres and a spread of 38 metres. The tree is renowned as a cliff-dweller, able to maintain a hold in precarious, near-vertical situations. Some specimens have matted, fibrous aerial root
Aerial root

"Pneumatophore" redirects here. It is also a name for the air bladder of the Portuguese Man o' War.Aerial roots are roots above the ground....
s. Like its Hawaiian relative the Ohia lehua (M. polymorpha
Metrosideros polymorpha

The ohia lehua is a species of Flowering plant evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is Endemism to the six largest Hawaiian Islands of Hawaii....
), the Pohutukawa has shown itself to be efficient in the colonisation of lava fields – notably on Rangitoto, a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf.

Flowers

The Pohutukawa flowers from November to January with a peak in mid to late December (the southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator....
 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
Genetic drift

Genetic drift or allelic drift is the change in the relative frequency with which a gene variant occurs in a population that results from the fact that alleles in offspring are a Sampling of those in the parents, and because of the role of chance in determining whether a given individual survives and reproduces....
 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 Motiti Island
Motiti Island

Motiti Island is located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 21 kilometres northeast of Tauranga and 9.4km North East of Papamoa....
 in the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BoP, is a Regions of New Zealand in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name....
.

Conservation

In New Zealand, the Pohutukawa is under threat from browsing by the introduced common brushtail possum
Common Brushtail Possum

The Common Brushtail Possum is the largest possum, and the Australian marsupial most often seen by city-dwellers, since it is one of the very few that thrives in cities as well as a wide range of natural and human-modified environments....
 which strips the tree of its leaves. A charitable conservation trust, Project Crimson, has the aim of reversing the decline of Pohutukawa and other Metrosideros species - its mission statement is "to enable pohutukawa and rata to flourish again in their natural habitat as icons in the hearts and minds of all New Zealanders".

Cultivation

The Pohutukawa is popular in cultivation, and there are fine examples in most North Island coastal cities. Vigorous and easy to grow, the tree flourishes well south of its natural range, and has naturalised in the Wellington area and in the north of the South Island
South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major Islands of New Zealand of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" , possibly evolved from Te Wahi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone"....
. The Pohutukawa has been introduced to other countries with mild-to-warm climates, including south-eastern Australia and it has naturalised on Norfolk Island. In coastal California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, it is a popular street and lawn tree. In parts of South Africa, the Pohutukawa grows so well that it is regarded as an invasive species
Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
, it is also naturalising on coastal cliffs in the Sydney Region, Australia. Specimens occur in Spain as north as La Coruña. This tree has withstood temperatures as low as -7.3°C at Tresco
Tresco

Tresco , is the second largest island of the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, UK. It is in size, measuring approximately 3.5 km by 1.75 km....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

See also

  • Northern rata
    Metrosideros robusta

    Northern rata , is a huge forest tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 25 m. or more tall, and usually begins its life as a hemi-epiphyte high in the branches of a mature forest tree; over centuries the young tree sends descending and girdling roots down and around the trunk of its host, eventually forming a massive, frequently hollow p...
  • Southern rata
    Metrosideros umbellata

    Southern rata , is a tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 15 m. or more tall with a trunk up to 1 m. or more in diameter. It produces masses of red flowers in summer....
  • Bartlett's rata
    Metrosideros bartlettii

    Bartlett's rata , or the Cape Reinga white rata, is one of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand and is notable for its extreme rarity and its white flowers, somewhat uncommon in that genus of red-flowered trees and plants....