Tourists mostly care about Queenstown, Botanical Gardens and other stuff, there is one thing they forget about. That is the Kowhai tree! Now you are probably wondering “What is a Kowhai tree?”. A kowhai tree is the unofficial national tree of New Zealand, growing about 8 meters / 26 feet long. It’s a type of small, woody tree that is part of the pea family. There are eight different species of kowhai trees. This tree has smooth bark and tiny leaves. After the flowers bloom, unique looking seed pods appear. These seed pods keep six or even more smooth, hard seeds. Kowhai flowers bloom from July to November. This means tui birds, wood pigeons and bell birds can enjoy their nectar for about 4 months! If you plant a kowhai tree as a seed it will take many years to grow. The wood from kowhai is strong and dense. In the past, people used it to make tools or machines. Kowhai trees were a part of the Maori culture. They used its flexible branches to build parts of their houses. They also used it so that they could capture birds. The bright yellow kowhai flowers were used to make yellow dye. Kowhai was a very important medicine for Maori. They would heat the bark with hot stones inside a calabash. It was then made into a cloth to help heal wounds or to rub on a sore back. In some cases they would turn kowhai into a liquid medicine called an infusion. The medicine was used to heal bruises or muscle pain. Legend says if someone was bitten by a seal the medicine was put on the person and they would get better in a few days.
So now you know about the kowhai tree. Did you ever think that kowhai was used as a medicine?