Metrosideros parkinsonii
Common names
Parkinson’s rātā
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Much branched shrub or small tree. Trunks 1 or more. Branches erect. Leaves almost clasping stems, dark green to yellow green above, paler beneath, thick, leathery, pointed, surfaces often blistered and blemished red. Flowers crimson, fluffy produced directly from branches, and often hidden by vegetative growth.
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Detailed description
Shrub to small spindly tree up to 10 m tall. Multi-trunked, trunks up to 60 mm d.b.h.. Bark pale grey, flaking in small tabular shards. Branches few to many, erect. Branchlets square in cross-section, 4-angled, glabrous, initially dark red, maturing brown-grey to grey. Emergent vegetative buds pink or red-tinged. Leaves coriaceous, glabrous, adaxially dark green to green, abaxially paler, oil glands minute, scarcely evident to naked eye (except abaxially) petiolate; petioles almost wanting 2.2–3.0 mm. long; lamina 25–75 × 15–30 mm, ovate-lanceolate, base truncate to subamplexicaul, apex usually abruptly narrowed, to an obtuse or subacute tip. Inflorescences cauliflorus, borne in compound, sometimes leafy cymose botyria, mostly below main vegetative branches. Flowers up to 8 per cyme, crimson; hypanthium turbinate, margins exceeding disc, calyx lobes ovate-triangular; ovary trilocular; capsules 3-valved, 6–8 mm long, brown-grey to grey, subglobose to globose; petals caducous, 5 × 5 mm, suborbicular to oblong, margins finely denticulate or subentire; stamens numerous, filaments 20–28 mm long, anthers yellow, style 23–30 mm long, stigma capitate. Seeds 1.2–2.0 mm long, narrowly obtriangular, narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, straight, rarely curved toward apices, orange, unfilled seeds similar but darker in colour.
Similar taxa
Easily recognised by the shrub of small-tree, multi-trunked growth habit, often with spindly branches, shortly petiolate, ovate-lanceolate leaves, cauliforous flowering habit, and crimson flowers.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (known only from Te-Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island and Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island)), South Island (confined to the western side where it is locally common from Mt Burnett, near Collingwood, south to just north of Hokitika).
Habitat
Coastal to montane forest. usually along ridgelines in peaty ground. In the North Island confined to montane “cloud” forest, usually in wind-pruned forest, scrubland and on the margins of cliff faces or surmounting rock outcrops
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
Threats
Outside its north-western South Island haunts Metrosideros parkinsonii is only known from two small populations on Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island) and Te-Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island where it is very uncommon. Some trees on Aotea Island have been damaged by tracking up Mt Hirakimata (Mt Hobson). In the South Island, like all rātā species, M. parkinsonii is impacted upon by possums.
When myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) was detected in New Zealand (May 2017) the conservation status was upgraded as a precautionary measure to ‘Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable’ because, on best advice, it was believed that no indigenous Myrtaceae had resistance to the myrtle rust disease (de Lange et al. 2018).
Myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) is an invasive fungus that threatens native myrtle species. Learn more myrtlerust.org.nz.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Myrtaceae
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September–December
Fruiting
January–April
Propagation technique
Although a beautiful species, Metrosideros parkinsonii is difficult to maintain in cultivation, with even well established plants suddenly dying. While it can be grown from semi-hardwood cuttings these are difficult to strike. This species seems to do best planted in a damp, humus-enriched soil in a semi-shaded site.
Other information
Cultivation
Occasionally offered by specialist native plant nurseries.
Etymology
metrosideros: Iron heart
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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.
METPAR
Chromosome number
2n = 22
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DP, De
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
de Lange PJ, Rolfe JR, Barkla JW, Courtney SP, Champion PD, Perrie LR, Beadel SM, Ford KA, Breitwieser I, Schönberger I, Hindmarsh-Walls R, Heenan PB, Ladley K. 2018. Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 22. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 82 p. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs22entire.pdf.
Attribution
Fact sheet repared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (8 January 2013). Description from herbarium specimens and fresh material.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Metrosideros parkinsonii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/metrosideros-parkinsonii/ (Date website was queried)