Knightia excelsa
Past favourite plant finalist
Common names
rewarewa, NZ honeysuckle
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Tall cylindrical tree bearing masses of dark green jagged leathery leaves and dense spikes of reddish flowers common in regenerating forest of the North Island and Marlborough Sounds. Leaves 10-15cm long by 2-4cm wide, juvenile leaves to 30cm long. New growth covered in reddish fuzz.
Flower colours
Brown, Red/Pink
Detailed description
Tall tree with columnar (fastigiate) growth-form up to 30 m tall. Trunk up to 1 m diam. Bark dark brown. Branches erect, fastigiate, at first angled, clad in red-brown (rust-coloured), velutinous, tomentum. Juvenile leaves yellow-green, 150-300(-400) x 10-15 mm, narrowly linear-lanceolate, sometimes forked 2,3 or 4 times, margins acutely serrated. Adult leaves dark green, 100-150(-200) x 25-40 mm, broad lanceolate to narrow-oblong or oblong, sometimes obovate, occasionally forked, rigid, bluntly and coarsely serrated, covered in deciduous velutinous red-brown pubescence. Inflorescence a stout raceme up to 100(-180) mm x 60 mm, densely flowered. Pedicels and perianth clad in red-brown, velutinous tomentum. Flowers sexually perfect. Perianth 4, exterior covered in red-brown tomentum, interior dark crimson, segments at first cylindric and fused, soon separating and curling spirally. Stamens 4, filaments crimson, short, anthers long, linear, rich golden-yellow. Ovar sessile. Style long, crimson, long persistent. Fruits, follicles 30-40 mm long, 2-valved, woody, pubescent; valves tapering to persistent style. Seeds 10 mm, apex terminated by 15 mm long wing.
Similar taxa
A very distinct tree with no close relatives or “look alikes” within the indigenous, naturalised, or exotic cultivated flora of New Zealand. Easily recognised by the dark red, “bottle brush” like inflorescences, and by the leathery, broad lanceolate, dark green, serrated leaves. All emergent foliage, inflorescences and immature seed pods are covered in a distinctive velutinous, red-brown (rust-coloured) tomentum.
Distribution
Endemic monotypic genus. North and South Islands. Common in the North Island, but confined to the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island.
Habitat
A common tree of coastal, lowland and lower montane shrubland, secondary regrowth, and on occasion mature forest. Frost-tender when young so generally scarce from cooler, frost-prone habitats - nevertheless it can be very common in suitable sites on the Central Volcanic Plateau of the North Island.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Proteaceae
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(September-) October-December
Fruiting
October-January (fruit takes a year to mature, so fruit and flowers may co-occur)
Life cycle and dispersal
Winged seeds are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed, Cuttings are very difficult to strike. Young plants are very quick growing but cold-sensitive.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
UPL: Obligate Upland
Rarely is a hydrophyte, almost always in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Cultivation
Not commonly cultivated and inclined to be badly damaged by thrips in some parts of the warmer parts of the country. Offered by some commercial and specialist native plant nurseries. This species should be more widely cultivated, it is very attractive, and the flowers are popular with nectar-feeding birds.
Etymology
knightia: Knight
excelsa: Tall
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
KNIEXC
Chromosome number
2n = 28
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange for NZPCN (1 June 2013)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Knightia excelsa Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/knightia-excelsa/ (Date website was queried)