Metrosideros perforata

Metrosideros perforata, known in te reo Maori as akatorotoro or white rata, is an evergreen woody climber in the Myrtaceae endemic to New Zealand, occurring throughout the North Island and northern parts of the South Island. Juvenile plants begin as scrambling lianas that attach to host trunks by numerous aerial roots, eventually forming massive woody stems that ascend high into the forest canopy. The opposite leaves are small, leathery, ovate to oblong, 0.5 to 1.5 centimetres long, dotted with translucent oil glands that give the species its epithet meaning perforated. Terminal cymose inflorescences carry clusters of small white flowers in summer in which numerous slender stamens form the showy display; the calyx and corolla are inconspicuous. The fruit is a woody capsule that releases tiny wind-dispersed seeds. The species is a characteristic component of lowland and coastal broadleaf forest.