Metrosideros diffusa < Species index > Metrosideros perforata
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 96, # 3, April 2024
April in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Metrosideros fulgens, rātā, rātāpiki, aka, akakura, akatawhiwhi,
amaru, kāhikahika, kahika, putatawhiwhi, Scarlet rātā
amaru, kāhikahika, kahika, putatawhiwhi, Scarlet rātā
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Origin of the botanical names
Metrosideros means ‘iron-hearted wood, core of iron’. It comes from the Greek words ‘metra’ meaning ‘heartwood’ and 'sideron' meaning ‘iron’; ‘fulgens’ comes from the Latin word 'fulgere' meaning ‘to shine’. The genus is a member of the Myrtaceae family which in Aotearoa / New Zealand includes six species of vines and six species of trees: northern rātā, southern rātā, Bartlett's rātā, Parkinson's rātā, pōhutukawa and Kermadec pōhutukawa.
Distribution and habitat
Scarlet rātā is endemic to Aotearoa. It grows in coastal and lowland forests on Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, Te Ika a Māui / North Island, Te Waipounamu / South Island to south Canterbury and west of the Southern Alps and on Rakiura / Stewart Island.
Growth habit
Scarlet rātā is a slender vine / liane up to 15 m or more long and 15 cm in diameter. The plant starts as a seedling on the forest floor. The stem then grows aerial roots that cling to the trunk of a mature tree up which it climbs. The red-brown bark separates in flakes. The usually rounded leathery leaves which are on stout stalks / petioles 0.2-0.5 cm long, are 3.5-6.0-(7.5) X (1.0)-2.5 cm. The leaves, in opposite pairs, have smooth edges. When the branches reach a well-lit area in the canopy of the supporting tree they spread horizontally from the main stem.
Reproduction
The scented, bright red or orange 2.5-5 cm-long flowers develop on the ends of branches in autumn, making impressive displays often high up on a supporting tree. Flowering often lasts through winter until spring. The bright red stamens have yellow tips - the petals are yellowish. The seed capsules which develop from January to March are 1-2 cm long. Try sucking the sweet nectar from the flowers – kākā, korimako, tūī and bees also like it.
Uses
Birds feed on the nectar then spread the pollen. Māori used the vines when making fences, platforms and the framework of whare / houses and used the sap to cure boils, wounds and sores. Bush workers would cut a vine to collect the sap to quench their thirst. The bark contains an astringent used to cure diarrhoea and dysentery. Pākehā settlers used the vines to make rustic garden features.
Where can you find scarlet rātā - rātāpiki?
Look for it in Ōtari-Wilton's Bush, many mature Wellington bush reserves and secondary growth, regional parks and in the Remutaka, Akatarawa and Tararua ranges.
Note – Read on the web site the descriptions of several other species in the Metrosideros genus so that you can note the similarities which members of the genus share.
In The Hills 2024-03 < Index chronological > In The Hills 2024-05