One of New Zealand's most beautiful native trees. A tree that turns the spring forest into gold. Large-leaved kōwhai transforms the spring forest into gold. In September and October, masses of bright yellow flowers hang from the branches like golden tears. Each flower is a curved tube, full of nectar, waiting for the birds. A tree that feeds the forest. The flowers are the story. They hang in clusters, dripping from the branches. The tūī and bellbirds come from miles away, diving into the flowers, drinking the sweet nectar. Their heads get dusted with yellow pollen, and they carry it from tree to tree. The kōwhai depends on the birds, and the birds depend on the kōwhai. The leaves are larger and less divided than those of the more common weeping kōwhai. They are compound, with pairs of oval leaflets arranged along a central stem. The tree is small, reaching twelve metres at most, with a spreading crown and dark, furrowed bark. The wood is hard, strong, and durable. Māori used it for making weapons (patu, taiaha) and tools (adzes, chisels). The wood is dense and heavy, holding a sharp edge. A patu made from kōwhai could split a skull. The bark was boiled to make a medicinal drink for internal ailments. The yellow flowers were also used as a dye. The tree was treasured, protected, planted near settlements. To see a kōwhai in flower is to see the forest at its best. The spring forest is gold. The kōwhai blooms, yellow flowers hanging like tears, tūī diving for nectar. The tree does not know it is treasured. It does not know it makes weapons. It just wants to be pollinated. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as the birds remember the nectar.