I took Wilby for a wander around the head of the harbour this afternoon, and spent some time puzzling over where the rather unpleasant floral scent that pervaded the air was coming from. On our way back I tracked it down to the saltmarsh ribbonwood bushes (Plagianthus divaricatus, maakaka) which were in full flower at the water's edge.
I think I prefer these plants in winter, when their purply-reddish twiggy forms
cheer up the edges of salt flats. Their flowers smell rather stale and 'off', to my nose. I looked them up and found that although they are common in NZ, being found throughout the country, there are only two Plagianthus species in the whole world, and both are endemic to NZ. P. divaricatus was named such as long ago as the 1770s, by Johann and Georg Forster. They were the father and son naturalist team who sailed with Captain Cook on his second exploration of the southern ocean and its islands.
Some reference sources think that the maakaka smells sweet. I think they are mistaken. Possibly as mistaken as Te Ara The Encyclopaedia of NZ on line is about the correct Maori name for the plant. It gives makamaka, whereas more reliable botanical sources give maakaka, and so does the Maori Dictionary on line. So now all us train-spotting tree-spotters know...
Even though P. divaricatus is not as strikingly attractive as its big brother ribbonwood, P. regius, (which makes a terrific narrow specimen tree) it is arguably more important ecologically, for the role it plays in providing much-needed shelter, food and shore stabilisation for the creatures who inhabit those exciting edges between land and sea. So it is worth getting to know, and appreciating.
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