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NZ's Christmas Tree


NZ's Christmas Tree
Photo Information
Copyright: Janice Dunn (Janice) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1103 W: 66 N: 1327] (4251)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-12-20
Categories: Nature
Camera: sony cybershot dsc p8
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/125 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Some Trees , Some Roots! [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-12-20 4:45
Viewed: 3203
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is New Zealand’s Christmas Tree, now out in flower. It is the Pohutukawa Tree (Metrosideros excelsa). Pohutukawa [po-hoo-too-car-wa] means "splashed by spray" or ‘drenched with mist’ in Maori.

The pohutukawa is one of the most spectacular trees of the world. These great trees with their masses of scarlet bloom, will reach a height of over 20m and a spread of 13m. The Pohutukawa Tree is wider than it is tall. It grows to 20 meters high by 35 meters wide —22 yards high and 38 wide. Lots of long, low branches hang over the sand. They provide shade and great places to sit, climb and hang beach towels.

Around Christmas-time it smothers itself with masses of brilliant crimson to deep blood-red flowers. Pohutukawa flowers appear to be composed only of stamens, giving them their distinctive brush-like look. The petals are small and hairy-backed, the most conspicuous part of the flower being the crimson-stalked stamens which may reach 5cm in length. Each ring of stamens surrounds a calyx funnel filled to overflowing with viscous nectar that is much sought after by honeybees and birds. Flowers appear in December and January and whitish seed capsules follow the flowers and open around May to release multitudes of thin, brown seeds which ripen by the following spring.

The leaves are paired, and arranged in four rows on the stem. They are deep green and leathery, shiny on top, with a thick white tomentum underneath. The flower clusters appear on the ends of branchlets, with many brilliant red stamens, like a soft brush, tipped with yellow anthers. Birds love the flowers as they are full of nectar. When the stamens fall they form a soft red carpet under the tree.

The trees in this photo are at the beach reserve at Murrays Bay on the North Shore of Auckland. Those 12 –14 trunks coming out of the ground in the centre (yes, I know it is in the centre, but I did want to get it all in the shot) belong to just 2 trees. The blooms open up on the trees at different times and it means that the flowering season can last quite a while. This year is a very windy year, so unfortunately once the plants stop flowering the flowers will drop their needle-like stamens quite quickly, colouring the ground beneath them with this lovely red haze.
naxius, jurgen, red45, oochappan, Jeppe, technogran, elihesamian, nwoehnl, apazevedo, Nina, banukulaksiz has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To serravezza: Thankyou AntonioJanice 1 01-03 23:02
To justa: Thank you for your commentsJanice 1 12-25 23:06
To oochappan: FlowersJanice 1 12-21 16:01
To technogran: Close-up of the flowers for youJanice 1 12-21 15:58
To Jeppe: Thank you JeppeJanice 1 12-21 15:56
To elihesamian: PohutukawaJanice 1 12-21 15:54
To technogran: Closup of the flowerJanice 1 12-21 05:39
To red45: OverexposureJanice 1 12-20 06:23
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • naxius Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2499 W: 96 N: 2344] (16673)
  • [2004-12-20 4:52]

Waouh! That's an impressive tree, with excellent colors. Indeed a good photo.
Well done Janice.
Alexandre

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 77 W: 0 N: 160] (1615)
  • [2004-12-20 5:31]
  • [+]

Hi Janice :-)
Pohutukawa strikes again :-) Very good photo of this colorful beauty. I like silhouette of the tree. Pity that sky is little overexposured.

Indeed a most impresionant tree and that for Christmas , good to show us as here it is rather cold on the edge of snow. What a flowers !

Certainly a very impressive tree Janice, it is gorgeous. It's a good shot of it, and you have composed it very well. You know, it would be nice to see a closup of the flower one day. Perhaps you can do this and post it for us to see. Very nicely done.

Really it's wonderful,as beautiful as it gets,I have noyt seen before,and thanks a lot for posting it here and show us,I add it to my theme,hope yopu like it,...very beautiful,great note,and really the shot very well captured with a good composition,nicely done,Janice

  • Great 
  • justa Gold Star Critiquer [C: 212 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2004-12-21 16:00]
  • [+]

This tree is really very beautiful and very big. It would be nice see this tree now, in winter. What a colours, good, very good photo.

  • Great 
  • Jeppe Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4590 W: 390 N: 4188] (18552)
  • [2004-12-21 16:54]
  • [+]

Lovely sight of this local Christmas tree - well cropped and framed as well - Some of my neighbors just came home from 5 weeks in NZ - I will show them this.

Thanks for sharing Janice this tree unknow at this place - I like sight very much

What an abundance of color, Janice - and of course a lovely frame-filling appearance of this "Christmas tree" that you are presenting here, I never saw one of those. Interesting how the trunk makes it actually look like an XXL-sized bouquet of Christmas flowers. Thanks for sharing, and happy holidays to you!

Bonsoir Janice, Merci pour ta belle image pour Noël chez nous les fêtes de fin d'année se passent avec de la neige du froid et des fleurs venues de l'autre coté de la planète, de chez vous. Amitié et bonne fêtes de fin d'année. /jr

Fantastic natural Christmas tree that I didn't know, Janice! Really beautiful, as your photo. Thanks for sharing!

  • Great 
  • manny Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2980 W: 89 N: 4012] (21348)
  • [2005-01-02 22:53]

Happy New Year again, Janice. You seem to have good fortunes with trees. The way this shot was composed with the house in the background is well-thought. It didn't lose its context.

Beautiful tree ! I wonder if it could grow in my country, 400 m a.s.l., cold winter and warm summer ....

Wonderful capture of this unique tree, and excellent info note also.

  • Great 
  • Nina Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 827 W: 296 N: 100] (4519)
  • [2005-01-28 18:08]

Lovely specimen Janice. Thank you for your informative notes.

OOO Super, wonderfull composition.

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