Global InformationClianthus maximus information
| Clianthus maximus | |
|---|---|
| |
Conservation status
| |
 Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)[1] | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Clianthus |
| Species: | C. maximus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Clianthus maximus Colenso
| |
Clianthus maximus, commonly known as kaka beak (kōwhai ngutu-kākā in Māori), is a woody legume shrub native to New Zealand's North Island. It is one of two species of Clianthus (kaka beak) and both have striking clusters of red flowers which resemble the beak of the kaka, a New Zealand parrot.
The species is endangered in the wild, with only 153 trees found in a 2005 survey (down from over 1000 in 1996), in the East Coast and northern Hawkes Bay regions.[2] In 2023, the plant was voted New Zealand's favourite plant of the year in a competition run by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.[3]
- ^ de Lange (1998). Clianthus puniceus. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2007. Retrieved on 30 July 2008. Listed as Endangered (EN D v2.3). This pre-2000 entry refers to C. puniceus sensu lato.
- ^ Wild kaka beak close to extinction, New Zealand Biodiversity, 23 December 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
- ^ Jacobs, Maxine (16 December 2023). "Ngutukākā crowned Aotearoa's favourite native plant for 2023". Stuff. Retrieved 1 January 2024.