DSC_5206 Eastern kakabeak, or kowhai ngutukaka (Clianthus maximus) more widespread than C. puniceus, but at serious risk of extinction with c.150 plants remaining in the wild. Prefers early to mid successional shrubland habitats dominated by flax and tutu and is often found along the tops and bases of unstable cliff faces. Still present in scattered populations on the East Coast of the North Island and inland to Te Urewera National Park. Maori grew it for its flowers and gifted seeds as koha, and so some habitats may not be natural as many inland locations are former pa, or garden sites. Europeans have also been quick to cultivate it in their gardens *
DSC_5212 Eastern kakabeak, or kowhai ngutukaka (Clianthus maximus) more widespread than C. puniceus, but at serious risk of extinction with c.150 plants remaining in the wild. Prefers early to mid successional shrubland habitats dominated by flax and tutu and is often found along the tops and bases of unstable cliff faces. Still present in scattered populations on the East Coast of the North Island and inland to Te Urewera National Park. Maori grew it for its flowers and gifted seeds as koha, and so some habitats may not be natural as many inland locations are former pa, or garden sites. Europeans have also been quick to cultivate it in their gardens *
DSC_2910 Northern kakabeak, or kowhai ngutukaka (Clianthus puniceus) scarlet flowered form, now critically threatened in the wild. Historic range is unclear because of Maori plantings, but probably endemic to Northland and the eastern Auckland portion of the Hauraki Gulf. The only known wild population grows in short coastal scrub on talus at the base of eroding mudstone cliffs. Maori grew it for its flowers and gifted seeds as koha, while European settlers were quick to cultivate it in their gardens, although probably some garden lines of C. puniceus (which may represent historic extinct populations) may now have died out.. Flowering forms in cultivation are either scarlet, pink or entirely white. *
