Crimson marvel

Pohutukawa trees have gone blooming crazy this summer, producing a dazzling display of crimson flowers many Northlanders have said is the best they have ever seen.

Northland Regional Council ecologist Lisa Forester said speculation attributed the cause of the terrific pohutukawa flowering season to drought conditions during the previous two summers.

"If plants get stressed they put a lot of effort into producing babies," she said.

"Also, the wet spring has enabled the trees to pump on a bit of growth."

A feature of the pohutukawa this year was the wonderful rich colour of its blooms.

The pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) has become an established part of the NZ Christmas tradition.

The first recorded reference to the pohutukawa as a Christmas tree came in 1867 when the Austrian geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter noted that settlers referred to it as such.

Other 19th-century references described the pohutukawa as "Antipodean holly".

Pohutukawa and its cousin rata also hold a prominent place in Maori tradition.

Legends tell of Tawhaki, a young Maori warrior, who attempted to find heaven to seek help in avenging the death of his father. He fell to earth and the crimson flowers are said to represent his blood.

Many Maori know a gnarled pohutukawa at Cape Reinga as "the place of leaping" where the spirits of the dead descend the roots of the 800-year-old tree into the underworld on their return journey to the traditional homeland of Hawaiiki.