THE PURIRI MISSES ITS BUSHLAND HOME

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 3, 25 March 1927, Page 8

THE PURIRI MISSES ITS BUSHLAND HOME

No tui or bellbird showers a rain of golden notes from the puriri trees in Jervois Road, Herne Bay. Occasionally a street sparrow flits among the leaves the only feathered creature to pay them a visit. Transferred from their natural environment the puriris are not z success. They e q uir e the constant moisture of the bush and the company of other native trees and shrubs to enable them to grow to perfection. “ Why are more native trees not planted in our streetst” is a popular cry in Auckland, as in other centres in the Dominion. The reason is obvious. **We have tried

again and again,” says Mr. T. E. Pearson, Superinten de7l t of Parks and Reserves, "but the native trees are a failure when playited along the streets.” The puriri is one of the most attractive of the native trees, with its emerald leaves and shy. halfhidden pink blossoms which co77ie in the summer. The puriri trees in Jervois Road were ! planted about fifteen years ago , ) but they are the only ones to ador7i an Auckland street. Some ’ of them look fairly robust, although they have not attained the size 7 they do in the bush. Like the tui and the bell-bird, the puriri is at is best l far from the haunts of men.