The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Metrosideros colensoi, the climbing rata or Colenso's rātā, is a forest liane or vine that is endemic to New Zealand. It is one of a number of New Zealand Metrosideros species which live out their lives as vines, unlike the northern rātā (M. robusta), which generally begins as a hemi-epiphyte before growing into a huge tree. It grows to around 6 metres in height and bears clusters of pink or white flowers. It is unusual amongst New Zealand's metrosideros species in that its branches display a weeping habit, forming a 'hanging curtain' appearance. Its name commemorates William Colenso, a Cornish Christian missionary who was a botanist, explorer, printer, and politician.
Metrosideros colensoi is a notable plant in cultivation, but considerably undervalued. However, it is in several ways superior to more commonly grown species, such as Metrosideros carminea, on account of the ordered appearance of its growth form, and the 'movement' conveyed by its downward arching branches.
White Flowering Rātā · Bartlett's Rata · Metrosideros boninensis · Crimson Rata · Vunga · Small Ratavine · Metrosideros elegans · Pōhutukawa · Scarlet Rātā Vine · Metrosideros humboldtiana · Pohutukawa · 'ohi'a
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Metrosideros colensoi 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.
