Raupō taranga

Xeronema callistemon (Xeronemataceae)

ETYMOLOGY:
From Tahitic *Raupo "Bulrush"; the qualifying adjective is ultimately derived from Proto Malayo Polynesian *tara, cock spur, through Proto Polynesian *tala "sharp pointed object, spine, prong", also a metaphor for a ray of the sun (see below).

COGNATE WORDS IN SOME OTHER POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES
Tahitian: Mō'ū raupō (Cyperus sp., Cyperaceae)
Mangaia: Raupo (Schoenoplectus litoralis thermalis, "Island Bulrush", Cyperaceae)
Rarotongan: raupo (Schoenoplectus californicus, "Giant Bulrush", Cyperaceae); mō'ū raupō [from Tahitian] (Scirpus subulatus, "Island bulrush", Cyperaceae).

RELATED MĀORI PLANT NAMES
Raupō Typha orientalis (Typhaceae).

NOTE - THIS PAGE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

The name of this plant references its sheaving leaves (by analogy with the raupō) and its striking inflorescence, blazing like a sunburst, or a whole set of sun rays (tara)! It is cultivated widely enough not to be in any great danger, although a genetic variant, Xeronema callistemon f. bracteosa, with a longer inflorescence characterized by prominent green bracts, found only on the Poor Knights Islands is less common even in the wild than the typical form, X. callistemon f. callistemon, which itself is found naturally only on Motu Aorangi (Chicken Island) as well as the Poor Knights. The only other species belonging of this genus is found in New Caledonia. The plant grows vigorously but is very susceptible to frosts; we had a thriving clump in Te Māra Reo which flowered, but unfortunately thinning some of the growth around it reduced the protection from frost and it did not survive one winter when we had a series of nights when the temperature went below -2 degrees Centigrade. Its natural environment is frost free, and very rugged -- it is found mostly on rocky outcrops and cliffs exposed to sea-spray, although it sometimes grows on the forest floor, or as an epiphyte on pohutukawa trees.

There is a very interesting section on this plant in Muriel Fisher's Gardening with New Zealand Plants (publication details are in the bibliography), which notes that it was unknown to New Zealand botanists until Dr W. R. B. Oliver's expedition to the Poor Knights in 1924 . This had been sparked by the plant's having been located a couple of years earlier by the secretary of the Whangarei Harbour Board, Mr W. M. Fraser, following up on a request from the ethnologist Eldson Best for help in finding a plant known in Maori tradition as raupō taranga, said to grow on an island somewhere off the Northland coast.