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Metrosideros albiflora
Metrosideros albiflora, commonly known as large white rātā, Northland white rātā, akatea or simply white rātā, is a forest liane or vine endemic to New Zealand. It is one of three white flowering rātā vines (the others being white rātā and small white rātā). The specific epithet albiflora literally means 'white flowered'. Despite the similar names, large white rātā is distinguished by its much larger leaves and flowers. Its flowers are amongst the largest of any rātā, similar in size to both scarlet rātā and pōhutukawa. It occurs almost exclusively in kauri forests from the northern Kaimai Ranges to Te Paki at the top of the North Island.
Metrosideros albiflora has a reputation for being exacting and difficult and is not common in cultivation. It is however available form specialist plant nurseries. In addition to the large white flowers, its new foliage is a reddish colour. It strongly prefers a situation where its base is afforded shade and it is not permitted to dry out excessively.
There is one known cultivar of large white rātā, Metrosideros albiflora 'Northland', which is listed in the Blue Mountain Nurseries catalog.
Bartlett's Rata · Metrosideros boninensis · Crimson Rata · Metrosideros colensoi · Vunga · Small Ratavine · Metrosideros elegans · Pōhutukawa · Scarlet Rātā Vine · Metrosideros humboldtiana · Pohutukawa · 'ohi'a
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Metrosideros albiflora by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
