Pohutukawa

Description:

A New Zealand native tree sometimes called the Christmas tree because of the profusion of red flowers it bears about Christmas time. It grows to 60 ft high and the trunk, which divides early, is some 6 ft through at the base. Masses of small fibrous roots sometimes hang down from the lower branches. The leaves are 1–3 in. long, elliptic, and covered below with a tight mat of hairs. Flowers are borne in terminal cymes. The buds are whitish before they break and the numerous stamens, which give the flower its colour, are shades of crimson and red. The capsules contain numerous tiny seeds which germinate on damp clay or in rock crevices.

Habitat:

New Zealand coastal tree confined naturally to the Three Kings, the North Island coast down to Poverty Bay and Urenui, and the shores of lakes on the volcanic plateau, the tree is widely planted even well south of these limits.

Notes:

The Australian opossum.feeds on pohutukawas and destroys some.