North Island ironwood

North Island ironwood
	North Island ironwood ( Metrosideros robusta )
Systematics
	Rosids
	Eurosiden II
Order :	Myrtle-like (Myrtales)
Family :	Myrtle family (Myrtaceae)
Genre :	Ironwoods ( Metrosideros )
Type :	North Island ironwood
Scientific name
	Metrosideros robusta
	A. Cunn.

The North Island ironwood ( Metrosideros robusta ) is one of the best known tree species in New Zealand , along with the South Island ironwood and Pohutukawa, which come from the same genus .

description

The North Island ironwood initially begins to grow as an epiphyte , but soon forms aerial roots and gradually grows around its host, so that in many cases it ultimately dies and the tree takes care of itself via the developed roots. Large specimens can reach a height of 30 - in some cases up to 43 - meters and are usually themselves hosts for a large number of epiphytes. The bark of the trunks is often very thin and easily falls off in rectangular pieces.

The leaves of the North Island ironwood are thick and leathery, mostly 50 mm × 20 mm in size. The red flowers bloom in December and January, have a diameter of 30 mm and are particularly noticeable for their long stamens . They are visited by both insects and birds for their nectar. The vegetative growth follows the flowering in January to March, during this time the branches grow 70 to 80 mm.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 22.

Danger

The North Island ironwood stock is threatened above all by the fox kusu ( Trichosurus vulpecula ) introduced to New Zealand , which itself has no predators and feeds on the leaves of the rata trees.

literature

MJ Meads : Effects of opossum browsing on northern rata trees in the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand . In: New Zealand Journal of Zoology . Volume 3 , 1976, pp. 127–139 , doi : 10.1080 / 03014223.1976.9517910 (English, online [PDF; 5.9 MB ; accessed on May 18, 2018]).
HA McWilliam, RG Death : Arboreal arthropod communities of remnant podocarp ‐ hardwood rainforest in North Island, New Zealand . In: New Zealand Journal of Zoology . Volume 25 , 1998, pp. 157–169 , doi : 10.1080 / 03014223.1998.9518146 (English, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on May 18, 2018]).

Web links

Commons : North Island Ironwood ( Metrosideros robusta ) - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Project Crimson - Project to conserve the Rata and Pohutukawa trees

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Meads : Effects of opossum browsing on northern rata trees in the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand . 1976, p. 127 .
↑ McWilliam, Death : Arboreal arthropod communities of remnant podocarp-hardwood rainforest in North Iceland, New Zealand . 1998, p. 158 .
^ Metrosideros robusta at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

[Meads_127-1] A ^b Meads : Effects of opossum browsing on northern rata trees in the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand . 1976, p. 127 .

[McWilliam_Death_158-2] McWilliam, Death : Arboreal arthropod communities of remnant podocarp-hardwood rainforest in North Iceland, New Zealand . 1998, p. 158 .

[IPCN-3] Metrosideros robusta at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis