Clianthus
| Kaka Beak | |
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| Kaka Beak leaves and flowers | |
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| Species: | C. puniceus
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| Binomial name | |
| Clianthus puniceus (G.Don) Sol. ex Lindl. (1835)[1]
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Kaka Beak (Kōwhai ngutukākā in Māori) is a woody legume shrub native to New Zealand's North Island, with striking clusters of red flowers. These flowers resemble the beak of the Kaka, a New Zealand parrot, and the plant is also known as Parrot's Beak, Parrot's Bill and Lobster Claw. There is also a variety with white to creamy coloured flowers.
The species is endangered in the wild, with only 153 trees found in a 2005 survey (down from over 1000 in 1996), mainly in the East Cape region.[2] They are widely grown as a garden plant, but the cultivated lines are descended from only a few plants and are not genetically diverse.
Kaka Beak grow to around two metres high, with spreading branches producing leaf stalks up to 15 cm long bearing several pairs of small leaflets. They usually flower from spring through to early summer, but can flower twice a year or even year round.[3]
There are three other genera of native legumes in New Zealand; Carmichaelia, Montigena, and Sophora.[4] Kaka Beak also has some similarities to Sturt's desert pea from Australia, which was initially grouped together with Kaka Beak in the Clianthus genus.
Kake Beak featured on a New Zealand 2 cent stamp in 1967.
Notes
- ^ Entry in New Zealand Plants database, Landcare Research. Retrieved 7 April 2006.
- ^ Wild kakabeak close to extinction, Department of Conservation press release, 23 December 2005. Retrieved 8 April 2006.
- ^ "Kakabeak", pp. 168-169 in Gerard Hutching's The Natural World of New Zealand, Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, 1998. ISBN 0-670-87782-4
- ^ Taxonomy of New Zealand Native Legumes. Retrieved 7 April 2006.
