A handsome tree daisy endemic to the Chatham Islands. A tree that learned to thrive where others fail. Chatham Island Ake Ake grows on exposed cliffs where few other trees survive. Its thick, leathery, silver-grey leaves catch the light, turning the tree into a flash of silver against the grey sea. The leaves are the story – tough, resilient, covered in fine hairs that reflect the sun and reduce water loss. The tree is extremely wind-hardy, bent and shaped by the constant gales. A tree that bends but does not break. In summer, masses of white daisy flowers cover the tree, each one a small sun. The flowers are rich in nectar, attracting bees and insects. The tree is a patch of light in the coastal scrub. A tree that blooms where the wind never stops. The wood is hard, durable, and beautifully figured. Moriori and Māori on the Chatham Islands used it for building and for making tools. The tree was a resource of the coast, a gift from the forest. A tree that gave itself to the people. To see a Chatham Island Ake Ake is to see a tree of the edge. It grows on the cliffs, in the spray, in the wind. Its silver leaves shine, its white flowers glow, its trunk bends but does not break. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as the Chatham Islands stand. The cliff is exposed. The wind blows. The ake ake bends, silver leaves flashing, white flowers glowing. The salt spray coats its bark. The tree does not complain. It has been here for thousands of years. It will be here when the wind stops blowing. Which is never.