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Metrosideros fulgens
Scarlet rātā is a New Zealand forest vine that climbs host trees like ivy, with large red flowers in autumn and winter. Cultivars such as 'Jaffa', 'Gold' and 'Orange Princess' are grown as compact shrubs or hedges in warm, frost-free gardens.
Metrosideros fulgens (scarlet rātā, rātā vine or in Māori akatawhiwhi) is a forest liana or vine endemic to New Zealand. It occurs in coastal and lowland forest throughout the North Island, on the west coast of the South Island and on the Three Kings Islands north of Cape Reinga. 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 and grows into a huge tree. Scarlet rātā is one of the better-known species of rātā vines, because it flowers in autumn or winter, and is often highly visible on well-lit host trees along forest roads, with vibrant displays of large red flowers (sometimes orange or yellow) that rise above the forest canopy.
There are several cultivars of M. fulgens available, mostly selected for their flower colours.
Metrosideros fulgens ‘Gold’/'Aurata' has bright yellow flowers from late summer to early winter and grows to 1.5 by 1.5 metres, taking several years to reach this size. It has attractive fresh light green foliage, and can be trimmed to form an informal hedge. M. Aurata was first encountered in 1890 near Collingwood by a Mrs S. Featon of Gisborne, and was first thought to be a separate species (Metrosideros aurata). M. Gold was the name used when introduced into cultivation, and was sourced in the same area and time as M. Jaffa below.
Bartlett's Rata · Crimson Rata · Small Ratavine · Pōhutukawa · Pohutukawa · ʻŌhiʻa Lehua · Southern Rātā · Lehua
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Metrosideros fulgens 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.
