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| Family |
Fabaceae |
| Name |
Clianthus puniceus |
| Common Names |
Kaka beak, Red kowhai, Kowhai ngutukaka |
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This is a quick growing shrub is endemic to New Zealand.
It grows to 1-2m in 2-3 years.
The flowers look like large red pea blossoms, and is especially attractive to nectar feeding birds.
Plants flower from their second year and usually put on a spectacular display in late Winter / early Spring.
The journals of both Cook and Surville mentioned cultivation of this plant by the Maori for the flowers.
Seed pods are said to be edible, though I haven't tried them myself.
Kaka beak is now very rare in the wild, being restricted to only several pockets in the North Island.
It is listed as "Nationally Critical".
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Flowers
