Rewarewa

Description

Knightia excelsa, commonly called rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand's North Island and Marlborough Sounds (41° S) and the type species for the genus Knightia. Rewarewa grows to 30 m tall, with a slender crown. The leaves are alternate, leathery, narrow oblong, 10 – 15 cm long and 2.5 - 3.5 cm wide, and without stipules. The flowers are 2 - 3.5 cm long, bright red, and borne in racemes 10 cm long. Produces dry woody follicles. It was called New Zealand honeysuckle by early European settlers but the name has fallen into disuse in preference for the Māori name. Rewarewa flowers are a great source for honey production. The rewarewa is noted for its timber, which is handsomely figured for interior work although not durable in exposed situations. Knightia is a small genus of the family Proteaceae endemic to New Zealand, and named in honor of Thomas Andrew Knight. One extant species, K. excelsa (Rewarewa) is found in New Zealand, while a fossil species from upper Miocene deposits in Kaikorai has been described as Knightia oblonga.Two species from New Caledonia, described in the genus Knightia have been placed in the genus Eucarpha by Lawrie Johnson and Barbara Briggs in their influential 1975 monograph "On the Proteaceae: the evolution and classification of a southern family"., although the nomenclatural combinations have never been published as of today.