Ann Russell Writer

“Kowhai” is the Maori word for “yellow.

Hi! It’s Little Truff again.

A surge of yellow can been seen in the bush and the gardens of suburbia as I went walking with my family this weekend. Kowhai trees are in full bloom, kick-starting spring with brilliant golden flowers drooping from their branches. Foliage buds soon follow, a fave food of the beautiful kereru, New Zealand’s largest native bird.

A shower of golden kowhai flowers.

“Wow! Aren’t the flowers gorgeous,” Leila said.

“An inspiration for Kiwi art work,” her mum added with a smile.

“And the bark has a medicinal use,” stated Pop, pointing to the slender, grey tree trunk. “Maori uses it in a poultice for wounds, or rubs an infusion on to relieve muscular pain.”

“Really handy if you get lost in the bush,” David joked, grinning at his grandfather.

I think he was reminding Pop of his promise to walk the Waitakere Ranges’ Hillary Track this summer.

Decorative lengths of seeds hang from this kowhai tree