Metrosideros excelsa
thumb|Botanical illustration of a pōhutukawa sprig by Ellen Cheeseman Pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, or iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow or white) flowers, each consisting of a mass of stamens. 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 str
Species
SPECIES
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderMyrtales
- FamilyMyrtaceae
Native toNew Zealand North
Common Name: New Zealand christmas tree
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Description
- Distribution
- Conservation
- Uses
- Cultivation
- Iconic pōhutukawa
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Botanical illustration of a pōhutukawa sprig by Ellen Cheeseman Pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, or iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow or white) flowers, each consisting of a mass of stamens. 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 ('') by Māori.
==Etymology== The generic name Metrosideros derives from the Ancient Greek '' or 'heartwood' and '''' or 'iron'. The species name excelsa is from Latin '''', 'highest, sublime'. ' is a Māori word. Its closest equivalent in other Polynesian languages is the Cook Island Māori word ', referring to a coastal shrub with white berries, Sophora tomentosa. The -hutu- part of the word comes from '', the Polynesian name for the fish-poison tree (Barringtonia asiatica''; compare with and ), which has flowers similar to those of the pōhutukawa.