"CHRISTMAS TREE"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23850, 28 December 1940, Page 8 (Supplement)

"CHRISTMAS TREE"

What Do We the Pohutukaioa?

EARLY settlers in New Zealand greatly missed the wild flowers of their homeland. They found that our bush is essentially green all the year round, sa~ve for occasional short-lived splashes of colour when the clematis, the kowhai or the pohutukawa come into bloom. The pohutukawa in particular appealed to them because itbloomed just at the festive season and was consequently much used for Christmas decorations. It is small wonder then that pohutukawa soon came to be known as the Christmas tree, and to-day we look upon the first splashes of crimson as a sign that Christmas is almost here. Surely there is no more splendid tree than a pohutukawa in full bloom. Clothed from top to bottom in a pattern of dazzling red pohutnkawas present a glorious sight straddling the coastal cliffs or dotted about in the bushland near the sea. In the older •trees the dark green foliage is practically obscured by the brilliant red,

brush-like flowers but in young trees these are often interspersed with bunches of erect, light green, young shoots. When the breeze blows the silvery undersides of the leaves are seen and they impart a particularly pleasing effect. Around the flowers buzz myriads of bees while within the shady branches the tili may be seen busily searching the flower-heads tor little drops of sweet nectar. Bright Red Brush Belonging to the extensive Myrtle family pohutukawa can claim relationship "with the manuka and with the spices and cloves ot the hast. It belongs to the genii.H Metrosideros, of which we have some dozen species, including the showy ratas. If we examine the flowers we will see that they are arranged usually in groups of three, these groups in turn growing together in dense branching clusters. Surrounding a bright green cup are a few very insignificant red petals and the actual brilliant show is made by the large number. l of long, filamentous stamens which cluster together to form a bright red brush. Later on these stamens drop off to form a crimson carpet underneath.

The falling stamens leave behind clusters of small capsules in which the seeds will develop. These capsules, and the seeds too, are very like those of the tea-tree. In autumn they will hurst open and scatter many thousands ot seeds to the winds. Here and there a seed will fall <m suitable ground and take root, hut all the rest will perish. While the pohufcukawa may attain a height of sixty or seventy feet it usually prefers to sprawl over a cliff. <>n level ground it often forms a fine symmetrical tree with a trunk four or five feet through, hut this trunk divides almost at once into a number of very large and massive limbs which sometimes bend down again and even touch the ground before filially growing upward. At Muriwai An exceptionally fine example of this? was to be seen at Muriwai some years ago, but the branches have since been lopped off and the whole tree spoiled. Also at Muriwai, near the accommodation house, are several very fine trees of the symmetrical type. With trunks many feet through they must June taken a very long time to grow, and yet there was last year a movement afoot to have two of them cut down to allow for widening of the road. It is pleasing to know that the local authorities refused to take any such action. Our Christmas tree is seen to advantage on a rocky cliff face. A hold is taken in some small crevice or on some precarious ledge, and long rope-like roots reach out in all directions, twisting and turning as they seek other crevices in which to obtain further holds. The swelling roots otten dislodge blocks of rock, but on the whole their tough network tends to hold the crumbling face together. 1 11 such locations the branches often Jiang down-

By A. G. STEVENSON

ward toward the water, sometimes even touching it. The great overhanging limbs of the clifl'-dwelling pohutukawa probably gave the Maori his idea that the branch of such a tree at Cape. Kcingu was the final juinping-ojf place of the spirits of the departed. The spirits would journey northward along the mountain ranges until they came to the great pohutukawa on the very end of Cape Keinga. Here they would hesitate for a time, and after looking back on their earthly home, plunge through the seaweed into the unknown. Southern Limits The pohutukawa does not grow wild in the SoutJi. Its southern limit is about Poverty Bay on the East Coast and North Taranaki on the West. It, is also found 011. the. shores of Taupo and some of the lakes in the Kotorua district. However, it lias done well under cultivation M the South, and then* does not seem to be any reason why it should not become established in more favourable localities. On account of its tortuous habit of growth it produces timber with a very twisted grain, which together with its great strength and durability renders it most suitable for shipbuilding purposes. It also makes good firewood, but is difficult to split. Another point in its favour is the fact that it withstands the attacks of the teredo or shipworm. These desirable qualities, combined with modern harbour works and much wanton destruction, have greatly reduced the pohutiikawas about our shores. To be sure, many have been planted, and these are making a fine show, but t hey will never be. as _ picturesque as the rugged and twisted cliff-dwellers that originally lined the shores of Auckland •Harbour.