Botanical name:

Clianthus puniceus ‘albus’

Common name(s):

White Flowering Kaka Beak

About:

This low-growing, spreading shrub features dense green branches adorned with multiple pairs of leaflets. Large, striking white flowers, resembling a parrot's beak, cluster together in groups of 15-20 from spring to early summer. It is an excellent choice for home gardens, thriving in large containers, barrels, or along fences and trellises in nutrient-rich soil. This plant attracts birds, but it does not withstand strong winds or frost.

Natural habitat:

UNKNOWN. Exact habitat preferences are uncertain. Historic records rarely provide any habitat details, and with many it is difficult to determine if the specimens come from Maori plantings. The only known wild population grows in short coastal scrub on talus at the base of eroding mudstone (turbidite) cliffs.

Growing environment:

Sun & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

This rare white variant of the red kakabeak (Ngutukākā or Clianthus) which grew at the Tiniroto cliffs near Wairoa has not been seen in the wild since the 1950s

Height: 2m

Flowering:

May flower throughout the year. However plants are most usually found in flower between August and January with a white coloured flower/s

Fruiting:

Seed pods may be present at anytime of the year.

Uses:

Bird food / Attractant, Bee food & container friendly.

How to grow:

Easily grown from seed, semi-hardwood cuttings, and stem layerings. Plants tend to be short-lived in cultivation (2-4 years), and benefit from hard pruning after flowering. Kakabeak is vulnerable to a range of common garden pests which include slugs and snails, it can be severely defoliated, by these animals, and young plants may be killed completely.

**Seed requires scarification before sowing. Hot water treatment works well for this species