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Tawa Esplanade Flora List

A robust fern with bright green, finely divided fronds

Turawera

Pteris tremula

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A sedge with drooping seed heads, forming dense clumps.

Rautahi

Carex lessoniana

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Tall cylindrical tree with dark green jagged leaves and dense spikes of reddish flowers

Rewarewa

Knightia excelsa

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A sedge thriving in dark, damp places like edges of bush streams or ponds.

Carex dissita

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Robust sedge with sharply three-angled stems and dense brownish-purple spikelets.

Upoko-Tangata

Cyperus ustalatus

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Evergreen perennial with long, strap-like leaves and tall flowering shoots.

Harakeke

Phormium tenax

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Robust, rhizomatous sedge up to 1.5 m high with pendulous brown spikes.

Rerewai

Carex geminata

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Low-growing shrub or small tree with shiny dark green leaves and orange fruit.

Taupata

Coproma repens

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A bushy shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters tall. Characterized by long, narrow, wavy-edged leaves that can range from green to red-purple. The bark is reddish-brown and flaky. Produces small, yellow-green to red-green flowers that develop into distinctive green, dry, winged capsules.

Akeake

Dodonaea viscosa

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Trees with drooping yellow flowers and knobbly seed pods.

Kowhai

Sophora species

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Coastal to lowland forest tree with large fruits dispersed by birds.

Tītoki

Alectryon excelsus subsp. excelsus

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Large bushy shrub with glossy leaves and red fruit in tight clusters.

Karamū

Coprosma robusta

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Small tree with pale trunk, light green toothed leaves, and purple fruit.

Māhoe

Melicytus ramiflorus

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Small tree with heart-shaped leaves and cylindrical fruiting spikes.

Kawakawa

Piper excelsum subsp. excelsum

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A small-leaved, divaricating shrub or small tree reaching 3–6 meters in height. Features dense, interlaced branches with dark green, glossy leaves. Produces small, pale flowers followed by translucent dark blue to indigo berries that are edible and attract birds.

Mingimingi

Coprosma propinqua

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Tree with flaky bark, needle-like leaves, and clusters of small white flowers.

Kānuka

Kunzea ericoides

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Shrubs with opposite leaves and spikes of purple, pink, or white flowers.

Koromiko / Hebe

Veronica stricta

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Vigorous climbing vine with glossy leaves and fragrant greenish flowers.

Kohia

Passiflora tetrandra

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A vigorous, twining climber with glossy, variable-shaped leaves. Produces clusters of small, creamy-white, sweetly scented tubular flowers from spring to autumn. The fruit is a long, narrow pod containing tufted seeds dispersed by wind.

Kaihua

Parsonsia heterophylla

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Shrubs or small trees with leathery leaves and daisy-like flowers.

Akepiro

Olearia furfuracea

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Small tree with large, palmate leaves and clusters of small flowers.

Patete

Schefflera digitata

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Shrub or small tree with prickly leaves and white or pink flowers.

Mānuka

Leptospermum scoparium var. scoparium

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Succulent herb with fleshy, jointed stems, often reddish.

Ureure

Salicornia quinqueflora

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Prostrate herb with small yellow flowers and rooting stems.

Remuremu

Goodenia radicans

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Large tree fern with black trunk and large fronds.

Mamaku

Sphaeropteris medullaris/Cyathea medullaris

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Shrub with clusters of small yellow flowers and hairy leaves.

Kūmarahou

Pomaderris kumeraho

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Fern with long, lance-shaped fronds forming a ground cover.

Rereti

Austroblechnum lanceolatum

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Fern with arching, leathery fronds and a creeping rhizome.

Makawe

Asplenium flaccidum

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Small tree with palmate leaves and greenish flowers.

Whauwhaupaku

Pseudopanax arboreus

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