Rewarewa
A New Zealand forest tree of the protea family; its velvety red flowers yield ample nectar, giving a dark amber, malty honey.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSouthern hemisphere months
- Crystallisation
- Slow
- Height
- 20-30 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Rewarewa is a slender, tall-trunked tree of the protea family that grows in the forests of the North Island and the northern tip of the South Island of New Zealand. Its dark red-brown, velvety tubular flowers hold plenty of nectar; although birds do the natural pollination, honey bees collect the nectar intensively. It establishes easily on forest edges and cleared land, so it is also abundant in secondary forest.
Flowering
It flowers from October to December, at the end of the New Zealand spring. The flowers form dense, brush-shaped clusters on the branches.
Honey and pollen
The honey is dark amber with a malty, caramel-like aroma; it crystallises slowly. In New Zealand it is sold separately as one of the native forest honeys.
Note for the beekeeper
The tree occurs naturally only in New Zealand; for Europe and Turkey this is an entry for information. Its wood is also valued for its decorative figure.