tōwai

Pterophylla sylvicola | tōwai, tawhero

 

A medium-sized evergreen tree native found in forests and forest margins from in the northern North Island. It's closely related to kāmahi (P. racemosa) which replaces it further south. Reaching up to 15 meters in height, tōwai features thick, leathery leaves with blunt-toothed edges.  Grows well in most types of soil that are free-draining and provide a cool root run. In spring and summer, it produces attractive clusters of white flowers at the branch tips, causing them to droop gracefully.