Here's another native tree - the kowhai. Photographed right in the City Centre in the grounds of St Paul's Cathedral and with the Town Hall Clock Tower in the background I wonder how many people have noticed these two trees.
Kowhai is Maori for yellow.
Generally two species of Sophora sp. are recognised tetraptera and microphylla, though in fact they readily hybridise. It seems as though each tree has its own particular features. Mostly they flower in early spring, but some flower earlier, some later, and some not every year. Related species are found in Chile and Hawaii.
I have seen a variety of birds in the kowhai growing just outside our kitchen window, (it's not yet in flower, but is generally a late flowerer) feeding from the nectaries at the base of the florets, bellbirds, silvereyes, fantails, dunnocks, and tuis.
