One of New Zealand's rarest native plants. A flower that looks like a parrot's beak. This shrub produces brilliant red, claw-shaped flowers that hang in clusters, resembling the curved beak of the kākā parrot. The flowers appear from early spring to late summer. The plant has neat, fern-like compound leaves with up to 40 pairs of small leaflets. It is a sprawling shrub that can reach three metres in height. A plant that wears its best feature on its face. The flowers are the plant's most striking feature. They are bright red, sometimes with a hint of orange or pink, and hang in drooping clusters. Each flower is shaped like a curved claw, with a hooded upper petal and a projecting lower lip. The flowers are pollinated by birds, particularly tūī and bellbirds, which are attracted to the nectar. A flower that feeds the birds that look like it. The species has declined dramatically due to habitat loss and browsing by introduced animals. Possums, goats, and rabbits eat the leaves and shoots, preventing regeneration. Weeds compete for light and space. Only one wild population remains, on a remote coastal cliff. The plant is critically endangered in the wild. A flower on the edge. Conservation efforts include seed banking, propagation, and predator control. Seeds are stored in seed banks to preserve genetic diversity. Plants are grown in nurseries and reintroduced to predator-fenced sanctuaries. Some of these reintroductions have been successful, with plants flowering and setting seed. The species may have been cultivated by Māori near settlements, which could explain some of the wild populations that are not in natural habitat. It was prized for its beautiful flowers, which were used in garlands. The coastal cliff is remote. The kākā beak grows, red flowers hanging, waiting for a bird that may not come. The possums are elsewhere. The weeds are held back. The plant flowers. It does not know it is rare. It does not know it is hanging on. It just blooms.