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A rare shrub that only grows in a handful of places, including between Warkworth and Leigh, is currently in flower and at least one local plant lover wants to make sure people don’t mistake it for a weed.
Angela Gibbons, who lives near Whangateau, says the pale-flowered kumarahou, or Pomaderris hamiltonii, is sometimes mistaken for a similar bush, the much more common yellow-flowered Pomaderris kumeraho, known as gum digger’s soap or golden tainui, or even an invasive weed, cotoneaster.
“This kumarahou grows locally, it’s very special, but I’ve seen locals cutting it down, not knowing what it is,” she says. “It’s a good time to let people know as it is in flower now.”
So, how do you tell your local kumarahou from your kumeraho or cotoneaster?
According to the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, pale-flowered kumarahou is a rare native shrub that grows to between three and six-metres tall. It’s branches point upwards, it has small, oval pointed leaves with prominent veins underneath and has sprays of small cream flowers.
Kumarahou only grows in a few spots in the North Island, including around Warkworth, Whangaripo, Big Omaha, Whangateau, Ti Point and Leigh, where it can often be seen growing along the roadside. It can also be found around the Firth of Thames, the Wairoa estuary and on Aotea Great Barrier.
The shrub was named Pomaderris hamiltonii in 1955 by renowned Warkworth botanist Lucy Moore, after Dr Max Hamilton, another respected Warkworth plant scientist, who was head of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at the time.
The other, more widespread Pomaderris is easy to tell from the local rarity because it’s flowers are a pale golden yellow, not cream. Plants are also shorter and more bushy than pale-flowered kumarahou, rarely reaching four-metres tall, and its leaves are wrinkled and blunt-tipped.
Meanwhile, non-native weed species cotoneaster is a spreading, evergreen shrub with little clusters of white flowers spread quite evenly along lengthy, arching shoots. It usually flowers later than kumarahou and is distinguished by its vivid red or orange berries in the autumn.
Info: www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species
