''Clianthus'', commonly known as kaka beak (''kōwhai ngutukākā'' in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

), is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the legume

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

, comprising two

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. They have striking clusters of red flowers which resemble the beak of the

kākā The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family New Zealand parrot, Strigopidae found in New Zealand, New Zealand's native forests across the three main Islands of New Zealand. The species is often kn ...

, a New Zealand parrot. The plants are also known as parrot's beak, parrot's bill and lobster claw – all references to the distinctive flowers. There is also a variety with white to creamy coloured flowers called: "Albus", and a variety with rosy pink flowers called: "Roseus".

Description and taxonomy

Kakabeak grows to around two metres high, with spreading branches producing leaf stalks up to 15 cm long bearing several pairs of small leaflets. They usually flower from spring through to early summer, but can flower twice a year or even year round.

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

and

Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Sweden, Swedish naturalist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot o ...

collected specimens of ''Clianthus'' in 1769 and ''C. puniceus'' was described in 1835.

William Colenso William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an acco ...

identified two species of ''Clianthus'' as early as 1847 and described ''C. maximus'' in 1885. However Thomas Kirk reduced ''C. maximus'' to a variety of ''C. puniceus'' in 1899. Peter Heenan reinstated ''C. maximus'' as a separate species in 2000. ''Clianthus'' forms a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

with the genus '' Carmichaelia'', New Zealand broom. Together they form a larger

with the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n genus ''

Swainsona ''Swainsona'' is a genus of about 85 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are herbs or subshrubs with imparipinnate leaves and usually purple flowers similar to others in t ...

'' and the New Zealand '' Montigena'' (scree pea). Sturt's desert pea, ''Swainsona formosa'', has some similarities to kakabeak and was initially placed in the genus ''Clianthus''. The fourth genus of New Zealand native legumes is ''

Sophora ''Sophora'' is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the pea family Fabaceae. The species have a pantropical distribution. The generic name is derived from ''sophera'', an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree. The genus formerl ...

'', represented by eight species of kowhai.Taxonomy of New Zealand Native Legumes
Retrieved 7 April 2006. The floral emblem of South Australia, ''

Swainsona formosa ''Swainsona formosa'', commonly known as Sturt's desert pea or Sturt pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is native to all continental states and the Northern Territory of Australia, with the exception of Victoria. It ...

'', formerly ''Clianthus dampieri'', is similar.

History

''Clianthus'' was traditionally cultivated by the

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori people, Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, New Zealand, Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective ...

people. The plants were used for

nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen () is converted into ammonia (). It occurs both biologically and abiological nitrogen fixation, abiologically in chemical industry, chemical industries. Biological nitrogen ...

of the

kūmara The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...

plantations on Motukaraka Island, and the flowers for elaborate garlands for high-ranking women. Kakabeak featured on New Zealand's definitive stamps from 1960 to 1969, initially on the pre-decimal 2 d stamp, and then on its replacement 2 c stamp from 1967. The two species are the critically endangered '' Clianthus puniceus'' which is now known in the wild only on Moturemu Island in the

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auck ...

, and the endangered '' Clianthus maximus''. In a 2005 survey, only 153 plants of ''C. maximus'' were found (down from over 1000 in 1996), mainly in the

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is at the northern end of the Gisborne District of the North Island. East Cape was originally named "Cape East" by British explorer James Cook during his 1769–1779 voy ...

region.Wild kakabeak close to extinction
, New Zealand Biodiversity, 23 December 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2008. ''C. maximus'' is widely grown as a garden plant in New Zealand, but the cultivated lines are descended from only a few plants and are not genetically diverse. ''C. puniceus'' is cultivated and has given rise to award-winning

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

Gallery

Image:CPuniceusDrawing.jpg, Botanical illustration from Cook's first voyage Image:Clianthus puniceus2.jpg, Variety with white flowers known as "Albus".

References

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the Kaka-beak ''(Clianthus puniceus)''
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2975317 Fabaceae genera Galegeae Trees of New Zealand Endemic flora of New Zealand Flora of the North Island