Metrosideros colensoi

Detailed description

Slender to very slender vine up to 10 m tall. Bark grey to pale grey, ± tessellated, and flaking in tabular shards. Initial stems sparingly branched but soon much-branched, widely spreading, apices trailing and pendent. Branchlets subterete, pilose-pubescent (indument in mixtures or fine, short and long pilose brownish hairs). Leaves not markedly dimorphic, close-set to overlapping (± imbricate), submembranous to subcoriaceous, petiolate, ± subsessile; petioles 1–3 mm long, subterete; juvenile lamina 4–10 × 2–8 mm, ovate-lanceolate, base cuneate to almost truncate, apex acute to acuminate, initially yellow-green, adaxially maturing to green, abaxially paler, both surfaces finely covered in minute oil glands, and initially densely pubescent, ± glabrescent; adult lamina 8–20 × 5–20 mm, otherwise similar. Inflorescences terminal and lateral, white (rarely pink), comprising small, few-flowered cymes; peduncles and pedicels pubescent, peduncles 10–30 mm long, pedicels up to 3 mm long; hypanthia 5 mm long, narrowly- urceolate or -subglobose to ± funnelform, pubescent, hypanthium rim exceeding disc, calyx lobes 1.5-2.0 mm long, narrow deltoid, acute to acuminate, initially forward projecting, spreading with age. Petals 1.5–2.2 × 1.5–2.2 mm, orbicular, not or only scarcely exceeding calyx lobes. Stamens numerous, filaments 8–12 mm long, anthers yellow. Style 10–14 mm long, stigma capitate. Capsule 4-6 mm diameter, narrowly urceolate to subglobose, externally 3-ribbed, 3-valved. Seeds 0.6–1.1 mm long, narrowly elliptic, narrowly obovate or oblong, apex usually curved orange to orange-brown, unfilled seeds dark orange-brown.