Knightia excelsa, commonly called rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand's North Island and Marlborough Sounds (41° S)[2] and the type species for the genus Knightia.[3]
Rewarewa grows to 30 m tall, with a slender crown.[4] The leaves are alternate, leathery, narrow oblong, 10 – 15 cm long and 2.5 - 3.5 cm wide, and without stipules. The flowers are 2 - 3.5 cm long, bright red, and borne in racemes 10 cm long. Produces dry woody follicles.
It was called New Zealand honeysuckle by early European settlers but the name has fallen into disuse in preference for the Māori name. Rewarewa flowers are a great source for honey production.
The rewarewa is noted for its timber, which is handsomely figured for interior work although not durable in exposed situations.[5]
Rewarewa in flower
^ abc"Knightia excelsa (Knight) R.Br". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
^Meylan, BA; BG Butterfield (1973). "Scanning Electron Micrographs of New Zealand Woods 2. Knightia excelsa R.Br". New Zealand Journal of Botany. XI: 201–12. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1973.10430273.
^"Knightia". Index Nominum Genericorum. International Association for Plant Taxonomy. 9 February 1996. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
^Lehnebach, Carlos A.; Meudt, Heidi (1 October 2022). Native Plants of Aotearoa. Te Papa Te Taiao Nature Series. Te Papa Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-9911509-3-6.
^Metcalf, L. J. (Lawrence James) (2011). The cultivation of New Zealand trees and shrubs (Rev. and updated ed.). Auckland, N.Z.: Raupo. ISBN 9780143565611. OCLC 753700257.
Knightiaexcelsa, commonly called rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand's North Island...
leaves of species in the genera Weinmannia and Elaeocarpus as well as Knightiaexcelsa, although only rarely for the later species. John Stewart Dugdale (23...
trichomanoides), tall mingimingi (Leucopogon fasciculatus), rewarewa (Knightiaexcelsa) and Astelia trinervia. It is thought that the community of symbiotic...
when pure Rewarewa New Zealand The honey flavor is malty. Rewarewa, Knightiaexcelsa, was called New Zealand honeysuckle tree. Reddish amber Rosemary France...
formed on the bark of these trees. It has also been hypothesised that Knightiaexcelsa may also be a larval host of X. nielseni. Wikimedia Commons has media...
taraire (Beilschmiedia tarairi), pūriri (Vitex lucens), rewarewa (Knightiaexcelsa) or tree ferns (Cyathea spp.). Occasionally, the tree is found growing...
(toatoa), and Weinmannia racemosa forest; or Libocedrus plumosa (kawaka), Knightiaexcelsa (rewarewa), and Astelia fragrans (bush flax) forest; or Nothofagus...
Jussieu. It was illustrated by two Ferdinand Bauer plates, depicting Knightiaexcelsa and Dryandra formosa (now Banksia formosa). The paper begins with a...
includes pukatea (Laurelia novaezelandiae), along with some rewarewa (Knightiaexcelsa), tawa (Beilschmeidia tawa), and kahikatea (Dacrydium dacrydioides)...
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