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Myrtaceae
Rata Vine
Metrosideros perforata
Perseverance and reaching for the canopy.
- Family
- Myrtaceae
- Genus
- Metrosideros
- Native to
- New Zealand
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- climbing woody vine
- Height
- up to 15 m
- Sunlight
- part shade to full sun
- Soil
- moist, well-drained forest soil
- Water
- medium to high
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial vine
Did you know
- Rata vines begin life on the forest floor and slowly climb toward light, taking decades to reach the canopy.
- The perforated leaves of young plants look completely different from the adult foliage — a dramatic change.
- Unlike its relative the pohutukawa, the rata vine has white rather than red bottle-brush flowers.
- Maori traditionally used the strong, flexible rata stems for lashing and binding in construction.
- The vine can girdle and eventually kill its host tree, similar to strangler figs in tropical forests.
Color meanings
White
aspiration and forest tenacity