Rata’s comeback a subject of celebration
With a blast of fiery red blossoms, the Bay's rata and pohutukawa trees have sprung to life to greet a summer that is predicted to be long, hot and dry.
The rata and its pohutukawa relative are regarded as icons among New Zealand's tree species. A month-long festival at The Naked Possum is celebrating the exuberant flowering season, which adds stunning splashes of colour to the dark forest canopy, and a constant stream of visitors has been travelling to the start of the Kaituna Track to enjoy the many high-calibre acts.
Dr Philip Simpson, who won the Montana Book Awards in 2006 for his work Pōhutukawa & Rātā: New Zealand's Iron-hearted Trees, said the rata of the Bay are generally in good shape, although the recent dry winds had given some trees a good battering. The rata have flowered early this year and the extravaganza will last about six weeks.
"Their health is pretty good. We had such a lovely wet year and rata tend to grow really well in such conditions," said Philip.The trees tend to flower well only once every few years. "There's a lot of new growth on them and rata don't flower on young growth so it's not been a particularly good flowering year."
Naked Possum proprietor Grant Fitz-William said possum control was vital in maintaining forest health and keeping the rata going, and control had made a huge difference. He can recall the bare branches and denuded canopies when he first arrived in the Bay many years ago.
Project Crimson and the Department of Conservation have been working together for many years to enable both rata and pohutukawa to flourish once again.
A rata trail has also been put together for those interested in finding the most outstanding rata specimens and stands. Each of the Crimson Trails is unique to its region and leads people along some of the Bay's most beautiful walks. Information is available from the DOC office.
For those wanting to add some rata to their garden backdrop, DOC community relations officer Greg Napp distributes about 400 northern rata trees every year to the community. The young trees are available from March/April, also from the DOC office.
Ina Holst
