Biology:List of Māori plant common names

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This is a list of Māori plant common names. In some cases, a Māori name may apply to two or more species, either similar visually or in terms of traditional use.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

A–H

Māori name	Alternative name(s)	Scientific name	Image	Notes
Akakura	Carmine rātā	Metrosideros carminea	100px
Akatea	White rātā	Metrosideros albiflora Metrosideros perforata	100px
Akeake	Tree daisy Broadleaf hopbush	Dodonaea viscosa Olearia avicenniifolia Olearia traversiorum	100px
Aruhe	Bracken	Pteridium esculentum	100px
Harakeke	New Zealand flax	Phormium tenax	100px
Heketara		Olearia rani Lepidium oleraceum	100px
Heruheru	Single crape fern Prince of Wales feathers	Leptopteris hymenophylloides Leptopteris superba	100px	The image is of L. superba.
Hinau	New Zealand privet	Elaeocarpus dentatus Geniostoma ligustrifolium	100px	Also known in Māori as hangehange.
Horoeka	Lancewood	Pseudopanax crassifolius	100px
Horokaka	Ice plant	Disphyma australe	100px
Horopito		Pseudowintera sp.	100px
Houhere	Lacebark	Hoheria sp.	100px
Houpara		Pseudopanax lessonii	100px
Huruhuruwhenua	Shining spleenwort	Asplenium oblongifolium	100px
Hutu		Ascarina lucida	100px

K–M

Māori name	Alternative name(s)	Scientific name	Image	Notes
Kahakaha	Bush lily Bush flax Widow maker	Astelia fragrans Astelia hastata	100px
Kahikatea	White pine	Dacrycarpus dacrydioides	100px
Kaikawaka	New Zealand cedar	Libocedrus bidwillii	100px	Also known in Māori as pāhautea
Kaikōmako		Pennantia corymbosa	100px
Kāmahi		Pterophylla racemosa	100px
Kānuka	White tea-tree	Kunzea ericoides	100px
Kapuka	New Zealand broadleaf	Griselinia littoralis	100px	Also called pāpāuma in Māori.
Karaka	New Zealand laurel	Corynocarpus laevigatus	100px
Karamū		Coprosma robusta	100px	The name karamū is also used as part of the name of Coprosma lucida (Shining karamū) and Coprosma macrocarpa (Coastal karamū).
Kareao	Supplejack	Ripogonum scandens	100px	Also called pirita in Māori.
Karo	Stiffleaf cheesewood	Pittosporum crassifolium	100px	Also called kaikaro or kihiki in Māori.
Kātote	Soft tree fern	Alsophila smithii Cyathea smithii	100px
Kauri		Agathis sp.	100px	The Māori term kauri is used around the world for various species; in New Zealand it almost always refers to the Agathis australis.
Kawakawa		Piper excelsum	100px	See note after Kiwikiwi (below).
Kiekie		Freycinetia banksii	100px
Kiokio	Palm-leaf fern	Parablechnum novae-zelandiae	100px	The name kiokio is also used as part of the name of Parablechnum procerum (Small or mountain kiokio).
Kiwikiwi	Star fern Creek fern	Cranfillia fluviatilis Blechnum fluviatile	100px	Also sometimes referred to as kawakawa (qv).
Kohekohe	New Zealand mahogany	Didymocheton spectabilis	100px	See note after Kōhia (below).
Kōhia	New Zealand passionflower New Zealand passionfruit	Passiflora tetrandra	100px	Also sometimes referred to as kohekohe (qv).
Kōhūhū	Black matipo	Pittosporum tenuifolium	100px	Also called kohukohu or tawhiwhi in Māori.
Korokio tāranga		Corokia sp.	100px
Koromiko	Willow-leaf hebe	Veronica salicifolia Veronica stricta	100px
Kōtukutuku	Tree fuchsia New Zealand fuchsia	Fuchsia excorticata	100px
Kōwhai		Sophora sp.	100px	The national flower of New Zealand.
Kōwhai ngutu kākā	Kākā beak	Clianthus sp.	100px
Kūmara	Sweet potato	Ipomoea batatas	100px
Kūmarahou	Golden tainui Gumdigger's soap	Pomaderris kumeraho Pomaderris hamiltonii	100px
Māhoe	Whiteywood	Melicytus ramiflorus	100px
Makawe	Hanging spleenwort Drooping spleenwort Weeping spleenwort	Asplenium flaccidum	100px
Makomako	Wineberry	Aristotelia serrata	100px	Often simply called Mako in Māori.
Mamaku	Black tree fern	Sphaeropteris medullaris Cyathea medullaris	100px
Mānawa	Grey mangrove White mangrove	Avicennia marina	100px
Mangemange	Bushman's mattress	Lygodium articulatum	100px
Mānuka		Leptospermum scoparium	100px
Mataī	Black pine	Prumnopitys taxifolia	100px
Mingimingi		Coprosma propinqua	100px	The name mingimingi is also used as part of the name of Leucopogon fasciculatus (Tall mingimingi) and Leptecophylla juniperina (Prickly mingimingi)
Miro		Prumnopitys ferruginea	100px
Monoao	Silver pine Westland pine	Dracophyllum subulatum Halocarpus kirkii Manoao colensoi	100px	The name monoao is used for two widely different plant types, the shrubby Dracophyllum and the tall trees Halocarpus and Manoao. The image shows shoots of the Halocarpus kirkii.

N–R

Māori name	Alternative name(s)	Scientific name	Image	Notes
Neinei	Spiderwood	Dracophyllum latifolium	100px	Image is of closely related species Dracophyllum traversi (Mountain neinei)
Ngaio	Mousehole tree	Myoporum laetum	100px
Ngārara wehi	Leather-leaf fern	Pyrrosia eleagnifolia	100px	Also called ota in Māori
Nīkau	Nikau palm	Rhopalostylis sapida	100px
Pānoko	Thread fern	Blechnum filiforme Icarus filiformis	100px	Also spelt pānako
Parataniwha	Begonia fern	Elatostema rugosum	100px
Paretao	Strap fern Finger fern	Notogrammitis billardierei	100px	Not to be confused with peretao (qv)
Patē	Seven-finger Umbrella tree	Schefflera digitata	100px
Petako	Sickle spleenwort	Asplenium polyodon	100px
Pikopiko	Hen and chicken fern Mother spleenwort Common shield fern	Asplenium bulbiferum Polystichum richardii	100px	Also called mouku or mauku in Māori. The term pikopiko is also used for the curled baby shoots of many species of ferns.
Peretao	Waterfall fern	Blechnum colensoi	100px	Not to be confused with paretao (qv)
Pīngao	Golden sand sedge	Ficinia spiralis	100px	Called pīkao in Southern Māori.
Pōhutukawa		Metrosideros excelsa	100px	Sometimes called "The New Zealand Christmas Tree" due to it regularly blooming in late December.
Pōkākā		Elaeocarpus hookerianus	100px
Ponga	Tree fern Silver fern	Cyathea dealbata	100px	A national symbol of New Zealand.
Pūhā	Sow thistle Hare thistle	Sponchus sp.	100px	Also called rareke or raraki in Māori.
Puka	Shining broadleaf	Griselinia lucida Meryta sinclairii	100px	Also called Akapuka in Māori.
Pukatea		Laurelia novae-zelandiae	100px
Pukupuku	Rasp fern	Doodia media	100px
Rangiora	Bushman's friend	Brachyglottis repanda	100px	Also known by a variety of other Māori names (see article).
Rātā		Metrosideros sp.	100px	See also Akakura and Pōhutukawa (above).
Raurenga	Kidney fern	Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum	100px
Rereti	Lance water fern	Austroblechnum lanceolatum Blechnum chambersii	100px	Also called nini in Māori.
Rewarewa	New Zealand honeysuckle	Knightia excelsa	100px
Rimu	Red pine	Dacrydium cupressinum	100px

T–W

Māori name	Alternative name(s)	Scientific name	Image	Notes
Tānekaha	Celery pine	Phyllocladus trichomanoides	100px	Also called Toatoa (see below)
Tarata	Lemonwood	Pittosporum eugenioides	100px
Tarawera	Button fern	Pellaea rotundifolia	100px
Tauhinu	Cottonwood	Ozothamnus leptophyllus Pomaderris phylicifolia	100px
Taupata	Mirror bush	Coprosma repens	100px
Taupeka	Gypsy fern	Ctenopteris heterophylla Notogrammitis heterophylla	100px
Tawa		Beilschmiedia tawa	100px
Tawāpou		Planchonella costata Pouteria costata	100px
Tāwhai	Silver beech	Nothofagus menziesii	100px
Tītoki	New Zealand oak	Alectryon excelsus	100px
Tī kouka	Cabbage tree	Cordyline australis	100px	Often simply called Tī in Māori. Known in Britain, where it is an introduced species, as the Torbay or Torquay palm.
Toatoa	Celery pine	Phyllocladus toatoa Haloragis erecta	100px	The Tānekaha (qv) is also sometimes called toatoa. The name toatoa is also used as part of the name of Phyllocladus alpinus (Mountain toatoa). The image shown is of Phyllocladus toatoa.
Toetoe	Toetoe grass	Austroderia sp.	100px
Tōtara		Podocarpus totara	100px
Tutu	Toot	Coriaria sp.	100px
Wharariki	Mountain flax	Phormium colensoi Phormium cookianum	100px
Whekī	Rough tree fern	Dicksonia squarrosa	100px
Whekī ponga	Golden tree fern	Dicksonia fibrosa	100px