lacebark of the wet western mountain valleys

Size
Height: 6–10 m
Lifespan
50–100 years
Diet
Not applicable (tree)
Habitat
Mountain forests, stream banks, and open sites in montane to subalpine zones. Prefers damp, well-drained soils with full sun to partial shade. Tolerates cold, snow, and frost. Often found near streams and on slip faces.
Range
Found in South Island west of the Southern Alps, from north-west Nelson to Fiordland. Most common in mountain forests. Also found in central Otago where ranges overlap with H. lyallii.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
Habitat loss from land clearance is the primary threat. Browsing by introduced possums and deer. Climate change affecting subalpine habitats. No significant pest or disease issues.
Population
Populations are considered stable in remaining forest fragments. The species is common in mountain forests west of the Southern Alps. It is not considered threatened. It is threatened by ongoing habitat loss and browsing by possums. Protection of mountain forest is critical for the species survival.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
One of two fully deciduous lacebark species in the South Island mountains. A tree that loses its leaves on purpose. Mountain lacebark (west) grows mainly west of the Southern Alps, where the rain falls and the mist hangs. It loses its leaves in winter, standing bare against the snow. A tree that does not try to fight the cold. The leaves are large, heart-shaped, and soft, up to 15 centimetres long. They are bright green and toothed, turning yellow before they fall. The flowers are the story – large, white, and sweetly scented, appearing in summer in clusters. The tree is a cloud of white, a patch of perfume in the mountain forest. A tree that blooms when the weather is warm. The bark peels to reveal tough, net-like fibrous layers, like all lacebarks. The fibres were used by Māori for making rope and fishing nets. To see a mountain lacebark in summer is to see a tree transformed. White flowers cover the branches, the air is sweet with perfume. The leaves are green and soft, the bark is peeling, the trunk is straight. In winter, the tree is bare, a skeleton against the snow. This species grows mainly west of the Southern Alps. It overlaps with H. lyallii in central Otago, where the two species hybridise. The flowers are showy, the bark is fibrous, the tree is deciduous. Mountain lacebark is not a king. It is not a warrior. It is the tree of the mountain, the one that loses its leaves in winter and flowers in summer. The snow falls. The tree stands bare, branches black against the white. The snow melts. The leaves return. The flowers bloom. The tree does not complain about the cold. It just waits for summer. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as the snow falls on the mountains.