Olearia paniculata < Species index > Olearia solandri
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 95, # 2, March 2023
March in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Olearia rani var. colorata and Olearia rani var. rani, Heketara,
Names
'Olearia' is derived from the name of the German botanist Johann Gottfried Ölschläger (1635-1711), latinised to become ‘Olearius’; 'rani' is the plant name used for Olearia rani in 1834 by the Māori inhabitants of the Bay of Islands. Heketara is one of six names for the plant recorded in te reo Māori. Heketara is a member of the Compositae family – the daisies.
Distribution and habitat
Heketara is endemic to New Zealand. The variety ‘var. colorata’ grows in lowland forests and on forest margins from Waikato to northern Te Waipounamu / South Island. The variety ‘var. rani ‘ grows mostly in kauri forest from Te Paki in the Far North to northern Waikato and the Coromandel Peninsula.
Growth habit
Heketara is a shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter. The brown bark peels off in strips. The branchlets are hairy. The pale green leaves which are 5-15 cm long and 3-7 cm wide are thick, shiny on top with irregularly toothed edges. The undersides are covered in white to buff hairs / tomentum. The stout leaf stalks / petioles are up to 4 cm long, also covered in hairs. The dark veins contrast with the light-coloured underside. From the mid-rib / primary vein the side / secondary veins approach the edge of the leaf then curve back to rejoin the mid-rib. This vein pattern is called 'reticulate'.
Reproduction
Heketara’s flowers appear from August to November and are often so numerous as to hide most of the leaves – a spectacular sight. Like other daisies, each heketara flower comprises many tiny florets, yellow in the centre surrounded by white, in large panicles / bunches. Each flower is up to 1.5 cm diameter. The small, dry fruit are 1 – 2 mm long, with a tuft of hairs up to 4 mm long, for wind dispersal. They appear from November to January and split and release the seeds after they decay.
Uses
Crushed heketara leaves, mixed with a fragrant moss, have been used to impart a pleasant odour to clothes, neck sachets and houses. The yellow pollen, produced in spring in big quantities, is valuable to beekeepers. The fine-grained, silvery wood has been used by cabinet makers.
Where can you find heketara?
Look for heketara in reserves on Wellington hills including Ōtari-Wilton's Bush and reserves in Tawa, and in East Harbour Regional Park, Mangaroa Valley and the Tararua and Remutaka ranges.
In The Hills 2023-02 < Index chronological > In The Hills 2023-04