A hardy shrub or small tree of the high places. A tree that lives where the air is thin. Mountain Ake Ake grows in montane and subalpine areas, near the treeline, where the forest gives way to tussock and scree. It is a tree of the cold, of the wind, of the snow. The leaves are thick, leathery, and silver-grey with a woolly underside. The woolly hairs trap moisture, reflect the sun, and protect the leaf from freezing. A tree that wears a woolly coat. The leaves are smaller than those of Chatham Island Ake Ake, but the colour is the same – silver-grey, catching the light. In summer, masses of white daisy flowers cover the tree, a patch of brightness against the grey mountain. The flowers are rich in nectar, attracting bees and insects even at high altitude. A tree that blooms where the wind never stops. The wood is hard and durable. Māori used it for making small tools and for fire-making. The woolly leaves were used as tinder, catching a spark from flint or friction. The tree was a resource of the mountains, a gift from the high country. To see a Mountain Ake Ake is to see a tree of the snow line. It grows on the rocky slopes, on the exposed ridges, in the wind. Its silver leaves shine, its white flowers glow, its trunk bends but does not break. The mountain is cold. The ake ake bends in the wind, silver leaves flashing, white flowers bright against the grey. The snow will come. The tree will bend but not break. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as the mountains stand.