Ruud Kleinpaste: The Walking Tree

A few weeks ago, the New Zealand Arboriculture Association stunned New Zealanders with a remarkable Tree-of-the-Year competition won by the walking tree. The magnificent Northern Rata (Metrosideros robusta) looks like it is walking on high heels (see Gareth Andrew’s stunning photograph). 

As it happens, this rata species belongs to the myrtle group that includes pohutukawa and many different climbing rata, as well as Southern rata and the extremely rare Bartletts rata. 

I love these trees; they are endemic to New Zealand. Yes, only in New Zealand! This is where they evolved. 

Some Northern Rata germinate from the ground like any other boring tree, but the majority of Northern Rata is known as a Hemi-Epiphyte (not a true strangling epiphyte that uses another tree for support and “lifestyle”). 

It usually starts life from a seed that lands somewhere in the canopy of a host tree (many different tree species can be a host: from podocarps to tawa, mahoe, beech, kamahi and even tree ferns. 

The magic starts when the germinated plant becomes an epiphyte (perching plant) for the beginning of its life, sending roots downwards to the ground – Takes Ages!! Often many decades. The descending roots are usually “fused” together and become a tough root system. 

  

It also sends some shoots with leaves upward to the lighter parts of the host trees’ canopy. The rata has a rather constant root-to-shoot ratio as it is growing up. 

One of the roots will become dominant as it reaches the soil where the nutrients are; the shoots then have plenty of food to race up to the top of the host tree and create their own Photosynthetic factory. 

Rata can be hundreds of years old – perhaps beyond 1000 years!  

The original “host tree” usually dies well before the Rata is getting to its maximum size. As the host decays, the rata will “stand on its own feet” and is left with a hollow trunk – a great home for bats and native birds in the forest! 

Why does this tree look like a “walking” Tree? 

Look again at the picture: old, descending fused roots on the left and a rather smooth “trunk” on the right. 

Rata (and pohutkawa) are able to grow new roots when and where they are needed from anywhere on the tree – and they can do so relatively quickly. 

The hypothesis (proposed by my old mate Stephen King) is that the old Rata tree developed a “lean” when the old host tree perished. A new vertical root (the right one) became a smooth trunk to support the new vertical crown. 

And just to make things a bit more extraordinary in the story of this walking tree: Take a look at the old fused roots on the left: This is now the spot where a pohutukawa decided to start its own life on the ancient roots of that walking Northern Rata! 

If you are interested in trees and spectacular notable trees, visit the notable trees register.   

More info on Rata and other Metrosideros species, cruise to the Project Crimson Website. 

And grab a copy of Philip Simpson’s book Pohutukawa & Rata – New Zealand’s iron-hearted Trees. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at be.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Rude climb passes our men in the garden, Hey rude.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Hey Jack, not so much in the garden. I'm in
the forest.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Ah, that sounds pretty good. That's where you like to be, right.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
That's exactly what my place is. That's right. Hey, did you,
by any chance notice a couple of weeks ago that
the New Zealand arborri Cultural Association did a Tree of
the Year competition and it was won by a Northern
rata in Carimea. Yeah, on the other side of your parents.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Right, yeah, yeah, it's beautiful. Right.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Have you seen the picture.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
I've seen the picture. It is just absolutely gorgeous. I
mean that whole coastline. I mean, I've just I'm a
completely complete pathetic softy for that part of the part
of the world, the sort of northwest of the South Island.
But it is that the photo is gorgeous.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Isn't it beautiful? Yeah? So I think Libby's got it
on the website, so people, if you haven't seen it,
you can ever look at that.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
But now we should say that there's something that really
distinguishes that the tree in the photograph isn't there.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
It is because it has kind of looks like two
trunks and they are ordered in such a way that
it looks as if the tree is walking in high heels,
no doubt.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, I mean that's a really good description. It doesn't
go there.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
Yeah, it does look like that, So there you go.
So first of all, a little story about this rata.
This is the Northern Rata that occurs in the north
of the or in the Northern Island and the north
of the South Island. It's well, actually, by the way,
it's one of those trees that can be come up
to one thousand years old. It's huge and tall as
so it's a fabulous thing. But it's a myrtle. So

(01:47):
it belongs to the group of pul Ta Kawa. It
belongs to the climbing ratas and the bikes rata and
all that sort of stuff. But this particular Northern Rata
is quite an amazing tree because it is kind of
like an epiphyte, which means it lives or starts life
living on other trees. Yeah, which I think is pretty cool.

(02:08):
So imagine, yeah, that's how that works. And then what
happens is when when it starts to germinate somewhere from
a leaf or a branch or whatever from another it's
from a host tree, it sends down roots down that
literally a number of roots downwards to the ground, and
it sends the leaves up the canopy of the of

(02:28):
the of the host tree as well. And then of
course finally at the end the roots trees of this
rather get into the soil and finally can feed off
the soil the nitrogen, the phosphates and all that sort
of stuff, and then they start really growing. It's absolutely wonderful.
Now one of those roots becomes dominant, dormant dominant, sorry,

(02:50):
not dormant dominant, and that is the one that actually
makes that tree really start to put the passon to
grow up and become old. Now what happened here is
we've actually had to go with a couple of guys
like Bread and Stephen King old sort of old of
arboris to see how did this thing actually became a

(03:11):
walking tree, what it came from, how did how did
that work? And they have a feeling that this one
basically got on a lean and needed to, if you like,
redress itself with another trunk to have its own balance back.
I think that it's such a clever trick. So this

(03:32):
this tree looked after its own self. And the cool
thing is, if you look very carefully on the bottom
of the left leg, you'll see another green tree taking root.
And that, believe it or not, is a boutakawa uses
that rata to grow up. Isn't it?

Speaker 1 (03:48):
This so clever?

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah? Okay, So we're going to make sure this photo
is up at news so everyone can see exactly what
we're talking about. It's utterly gorgeous. Believe that they can
live for like maybe a thousand years a northern rata.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
There you are, yes, and don't forget I put it.
I put a couple of wonderful wonder or email addresses
there or what do you call it, websites on it
if you're interested in the strites. It's brilliant.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Thank you so much, Roud. We will catch you again
very soon. Road climb past in the garden. It's almost
eleven o'clock.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.