New Zealand: Rātā flowering

The genus Metrosideros includes not only the pōhutukawa tree but also the rātā tree, of which there are two species. Gallivanta had told us to look for flowering rātā trees when we drove west on SH 73 through the mountains across New Zealand’s South Island on February 16th, and sure enough, as we approached Arthur’s Pass we began to see some at a distance on the mountain slopes.

At the pass itself we got a closer and brighter look at a few, which I take to be southern rātā, Metrosideros umbellata.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman