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MOUNTAIN RATA or IRONBARK.
Metrosideros lucida, Menzies.
A handsome tree, 30 to 50 ft. in height, not uncommon in hilly situations from the Thames river southwards. It is particularly abundant in the sounds on the South West Coast of Otago, and presents a magnificent sight when covered with its bright scarlet blossoms, which are often so abundantly produced as to clothe the whole forest with colour for miles together. The flowers are smaller than those of the true Rata (M. robusta) or Pohutukawa (M. tomentosa) but are very similar in structure. It flowers in January and February.
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