"They usually flower a bit later here than they do in the North Island, although there are some hot spots in Dunedin with a bit of a microclimate where they're already blossoming," Dunedin Botanic Garden team leader Alan Matchett said on Tuesday.
"They're very coastal and grow on cliffs. They're also quite wind-resistant and have a heavy, velvety leaf. We have a couple of them in the upper garden, although ours are bit more exposed and haven't flowered yet. I've also seen some rata, which are closely related to the pohutukawa, flowering at Musselburgh, St Clair and on the edge of the Town Belt."
The pohutukawa can live for up to 1000 years and grow 25m tall.
The tree flowers from November to January with brilliant crimson flowers, which give it its "New Zealand Christmas Tree" nickname.
Pohutukawa are regarded as a chiefly tree (rakau rangatira) by Maori and were often planted in memory of chiefs, to celebrate the birth of a chief's son and to commemorate battlefields.
Te Waha-o-Rerekohu, New Zealand's oldest and largest pohutukawa tree, believed to be about 600 years old, grows in the North Island coastal township of Te Araroa, near East Cape.
