Tree of the Week: the New Zealand Christmas tree
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Good morning, and happy Opening Day. (Opening Day for 4-year-old tee-ball in our family). Without further ado, Pieter Severynen’s ‘Tree of the Week’:
The New Zealand Christmas Tree -– Metrosideros excelsus
New Zealand’s national tree’s preference for oceanside locations is reflected in its Polynesian name: Pohutukawa (‘sprinkled by spray’). Its other name refers to the midsummer blooming period, which is around December Down Under. Some 50 Metrosideros species are native to New Zealand, Hawaii and New Caledonia.
This evergreen tree grows at a moderate pace into a dense, gray-looking, 30-foot-tall by 30-foot-wide roundhead. The 2- to 3-foot-long leaves are glossy gray –- green when the tree is young, but dark to gray-green on top and whitish and woolly below at older age. The large clusters of brilliant red flowers with long stamens immediately suggest the tree’s relationship with eucalyptus (both are in the myrtle family). Leathery brown seed capsules are a quarter-inch across and stay on the tree for a long time. Bark is coarse and rough. The tree takes drought, salt air, cold wind, smog. It is disease- and pest-resistant. It needs ample rooting space: In its native rocky habitat some above-ground roots go looking for soil pockets, while magnificent ‘beards’ of aerial roots may come down from the branches for the same purpose. Most beautiful as a multi-trunk tree, it is usually seen as a single-trunk street tree without the interesting aerial roots.
While the tree does very well in coastal California, it has become invasive in some parts of South Africa. The botanical name refers to the quality of its wood: metra (heartwood) and sideros (iron). The variety ‘Aurea’ has yellow flowers. The tree makes a good bonsai.
Thanks, as always, Pieter.
Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo credit: Pieter Severynen