Apr 14, 2020 · New Zealand's native rata and pohutukawa trees can be found across the country. Here are 3 tips to help you tell apart these common trees.

The Southern Rata and Pohutukawa are some of New Zealand’s most recognized and beloved trees. The bursting crimson red flowers around Christmas has earned them both the spot of our New Zealand Christmas tree, but how do you tell them apart from each other?

Rātā trees have glossy dark green leaves and trunks that are often gnarled and twisted. However, they are best known for their brilliant red flowers that appear in profusion from November to January, depending on location, and can be seen from some distance away. The trees tend to flower well only once every few years.

Metrosideros umbellata, the southern rātā, is a tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 15 metres (49 ft) or more tall with a trunk up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) or more in diameter. It produces masses of red flowers in summer. Unlike its relative, northern rātā, this species rarely grows as …

Rata, like its relative, pohutukawa, has the ability to sprout root systems as and where needed. These adventitious roots form out of trunks and branches; and are able to grow in air over surfaces as they search for crevices, pockets of soil and moisture.

Jan 19, 2010 · To figure out if this is true, we have to first establish the differences between the two trees. First, the pōhutukawa. [I’m using ‘Nature Guide To The New Zealand Forest’ by John Dawson and Rob Lucas (Godwit, 2000) and Andrew Crowe’s ‘A Mini Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Native Trees’ (Penguin, 2007)]

Rata grow in coastal to lower montane forests, the northern (Metrosideros robusta) throughout the North Island and in the north-west of the South Island, and the southern (M. umbellata) mainly on the western side of the South Island and on Stewart Island.

The easiest way to tell the Northern rata part from the others is the indented leaf tip. The Southern rata will have a pointer shape, but its defining characteristic is that it is a waxy finish on both the top and bottom side of the leave.

Southern rata has long pointed leaves that are very shiny on the upper surface. The leaves are longer than those of the Northern rata, but more closely resemble Northern rata than pohutukawa. The young foliage is a pleasing brown or purple in colour and the tree puts on a spectacular display of crimson flowers.

There are ten native species of rata in New Zealand all in the genus Metrosideros. Four of these form trees (northern rata, southern rata, Bartlett’s rata and Parkinson’s rata) and the remaining six species are all lianes.