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Metrosideros bartlettii
Also called Bartlett's white rātā, Cape Reinga white rātā, Bartlett's Rātā
Bartlett's rata is a rare tree from the Myrtle family, endemic to Northland in New Zealand, known for its papery whitish bark and white flowers. It is a self-incompatible species that needs cross-pollination, and its wild population is tiny.
Metrosideros bartlettii, commonly known as Bartlett's rātā, is a rare species of tree in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to the Northland Region in New Zealand's North Island. Bartlett's rātā reaches a height of up to 30 metres (100 feet) with a trunk of 1–1.5 metres (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) in diameter. The species is classified in the subgenus Metrosideros and is known for its distinct whitish, paper-like bark and small white-coloured flowers. Bartlett's rātā was first discovered in 1975 by the New Zealand botanist and schoolteacher John Bartlett, who accidentally discovered the species while searching for liverworts near Cape Reinga. It was first described by botanist John Dawson in a 1985 article in the New Zealand Journal of Botany.
Bartlett's rātā's range covers the northern tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, in three dense forest remnants near Piwhane / Spirits Bay.
The flowers of Bartlett's rātā are observed to be frequently visited by birds and insects (such as bees and flies), which may help spread pollen to Bartlett's rātā from other nearby Metrosideros individuals. Despite this, it is unclear what the primary pollinators of Bartlett's rātā are. Introduced species are known to visit Metrosideros in a manner similar to native species. This could be due to the inherent vulnerability of biotas on isolated oceanic islands to disruption by introduced species.
Crimson Rata · Small Ratavine · Pōhutukawa · Scarlet Rātā Vine · Pohutukawa · ʻŌhiʻa Lehua · Southern Rātā · Lehua
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Metrosideros bartlettii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
