.LynEve

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From my garden. My Kowhai tree is living on borrowed time - it has grown very large and its roots are very close to the house foundations :( The word Kowhai means Gold.

Legend
"It is said that the Kowhai sprung from the shreds of the cloak of tohunga Ngatoro-I-rangi of the Te Arawa waka on its arrival to Aotearoa.
The legend says that a young tohunga asks a girl to marry him while they sit under the bare branches of a Kowhai tree in the month of August. She replies that she will only marry him if he can perform some brilliant act. “I will show you what I can do. I will cause this tree to spring instantly into flower before your eyes.” He uses all his powers and the tree bursts into bloom, his final touch causing a ring of yellow blossoms to appear around the dark hair of the girl. Ever since, say Te Arawa, the Kowhai has flowered on bare and leafless branches."
(Source Wikipedia)

Aotearoa . . . . 'the land of the long white cloud' . . .New Zealand

Tohunga . . Holy man

Waka . . canoe