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Metrosideros robusta
Finding Northern Rata in the Tangihua forest
Northern Rata trees can be found all through the forest. There are some magnifcant specimans butr some have died perhaps due to possums. They can be seen from the lodge road and the nature trail.
We have at least three type of Rata in the forest. Northern Rata, Crimson Rata, white Rata. Too tell the difference scroll down.
The Northern Rata, has two options to establish itself
It grows either as an epiphyte, (in the canopy of a suitable host tree), or on the ground. The Rata requires plenty of light and will not become established if conditions are too dry for epiphytes.
The epipthytic
This version of the Rata starts life in the branches of a mature tree, usually a Rimu and over time the young Rata sends descending and girdling roots down and around the trunk of its host. Eventually the Rata will form a massive, frequently hollow pseudotrunk composed of fused roots. The host tree dies leaving the Rata standing as an individual tree. The tree was though to strangle it’s host but it is now believed it can only establish on trees which are in decline.
Ground established
In disturbed ground, or where there are gaps in the forest cover, Northern rātā will grow on the ground with a normal but short trunk.
The lodge road and the regrowth surrounding the lodge has allowed Rata trees to establish. All these trees are struggling due to possums
The picture is from the lodge road
Northern Rata Description
The Northern Rata tree can grow up to 30 metres tall with a massive trunk of up to 2 metres or more in diameter. The bark is usually brown or grey-brown and rather corky and provides an ideal stratum for the roots of epiphytic plants such as kiekie. The wood is reddish brown, and the manner of its growth results in a twisted grain.
Flowers and leaves
The flowers, borne in sprays on the tips of branches, are a mass of dark scarlet stamens. Flowering peaks between November and January, but is often seen in February . The seeds take a year or slightly more to ripen.
The Rata leaves are small, leathery, dark green and which are 25-50mm long by 15-25mm wide. They have a distinct notch at the tip. Young growth is generally pink and covered in fine rust-coloured hairs that are gradually shed as the foliage ages but tends to persist at the midrib and in the vicinity of the leaf base.
Significance to Moari
The inner bark can be steeped in hot water and the liquid rubbed into rheumatic joints. It has also been used to cure ringworm in children by rubbing the infusion into their scalps.
Threats and conservation plan
The greatest threat to northern rata is from possums which eat the leaves, buds, flowers and young shoots of the tree. Possums can kill a mature rata within two years, and in some areas they have contributed to the dieback of extensive areas of rata.
Solution
Adequate pest control
