Pennantia corymbosa

Pennantia corymbosa, commonly known as kaikomako (from the Māori kaikōmako), is a small dioecious forest tree of New Zealand.

Pennantia corymbosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Pennantiaceae
Genus: Pennantia
Species:
P. corymbosa
Binomial name
Pennantia corymbosa
J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

Small creamy, white flowers are produced between November and February, followed by a shiny black fruit in autumn. They are a favourite food of the New Zealand bellbird.

The Māori name kaikōmako means food (kai) of the bellbird (kōmako). Traditionally, Māori used the tree to make fire by repeatedly rubbing a pointed stick into a groove on a piece of mahoe.[1]

An English name is "duck's foot", coming from the shape of the juvenile plant's leaf.[2] Juvenile plants have small leaves with tangled, divaricating stems, while mature plants have much larger leaves and a normal tree architecture.

A kaikōmako tree

References

  1. "Traditional Plant Use By Māori". eske-style. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  2. "Kaikomako (Pennantia corymbosa)". Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network. Retrieved 23 April 2012.


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