| *Lata [Proto Polynesian] or *Rata [Proto Eastern Polynesian] |
Rātā |
Metrosideros robusta & M. umbellata (Myrtaceae) |
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ETYMOLOGY:
From Proto Central Eastern Polynesian *Rata, Metrosideros collina (Myrtaceae)
Possibly ultimately linked to:
Fijian Lato, Metrosideros collina (Myrtaceae)
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COGNATE WORDS IN SOME OTHER POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES
Tahitian: Rata (Metrosideros collina [Myrtaceae]) & Rātā (Inocarpus edulis [Fabaceae])
Marquesan: Ata (Eugenia rariflora [Myrtaceae])
Rarotongan: Rātā (Metrosideros collina)
Note: Possible Fijian cognates are listed on the page for *Lata ~ *Rata (link at the top).
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RELATED MĀORI PLANT NAMES
The flower of the (initially epiphytic) rātā is known as kahika -- q.v. |
Watch this space! This is one of the pages written in the prototype stage of this web site, which has been transferred with minimal changes to the newer format. It is still therefore very much under construction, but contains the essential linguistic and botanical information, and both updated text and pictures will be added progressively as soon as time permits (new pages for plant names not yet discussed are being given priority). If you would like this page to be updated sooner than planned, please email a note to temaarareo at gmail.com.
The Northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta) is a huge forest tree that usually begins life perching on a host tree, which it eventually engulfs with its aerial roots and replaces. When mature it will be 25 metres or so high. The Southern rātā (Metrosideros umbellata, which is also found naturally in the north of the North Island, but is more common in the South Island) is a smaller, more conventional tree (i.e. it starts off as a seedling in the ground).
The flower of the (initially epiphytic) rātā is known as kahika -- q.v.
Reserved for photograph - yet to come
(Aroha mai!)
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Reserved for photograph - yet to come
(Aroha mai!) |
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| References and further reading: More later -- meanwhile see the general works on NZ trees in the bibliography. Websites with information on New Zealand plants include Robert Vennell's The Meaning of Trees, the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, and the Landcare / Manaaki Whenua NZ Flora database, all of which have links to other sources of information. The University of Auckland School of Biological Sciences also has an excellent website dedicated to New Zealand native plants. The Cook Island Biodiversity Network Database and Wikipedia are good places to start looking for information about the tropical plants. |
Photographs: The photographs are acknowledged in the captions. We are grateful to all the photographers for permission to use their work.
Citation: This page may be cited as: R. A. Benton (2010) "Rātā" (web page periodically updated), Te Mara Reo. "http://www.temarareo.org/TMR-Rata.html" (Date accessed)
(Hoki atu ki runga -- Go back to the top of the page.) |
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