Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Dracophyllum
Scientific name: Dracophyllum latifolium
Common name: Neinei, neinei, taritari, taritari, awha, Spiderwood, needle-leaved neinei
Dracophyllum latifolium is not common in Taranaki but grows in the backcountry of Northern Taranaki.
The leaves are stiff, leathery and shiny, with minute serrations at the margins. They are 25–60 cm long, 2.5–3.5 cm wide at the base, tapering gradually to a long, fine pointed tip. The young tree stems are marked with numerous rings left by leaves that have dropped off.
The flowering stems are slender, usually up to 30 cm long (though sometimes longer), and arise singly from the tips of branches. Flowers are reddish, small and numerous. The tiny seed capsules release prodigious numbers of minute dry seeds.
Photographed at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth
Photo showing the inflorescences growing from below the terminal leaves.
A stem below the terminal leaf cluster.
The main trunk.
Photographed at Otari Native Botanic Garden Wellington
Click to enlarge
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
