It is raining plant clumps in Waikanae

Gus Evans has spent decades tending plants, but in the end it was a lily called the widow maker that nearly killed him.

The Kapiti nurseryman was walking through Wi Parata Reserve in Waikanae when an astelia hastata – otherwise known as a perching lily, or the widow maker – plummeted to the ground beside him.

Now Kapiti Coast District Council has closed the reserve, due to the risk of falling ‘‘plant clumps’’.

‘‘Honestly, I jumped six frigging feet, my legs were going, and I was going nowhere,’’ Evans said of the November incident that prompted him to write a warning letter to the council.

Astelia ’’make themselves at home’’ in the tops of trees, and over time can grow to very heavy weights, Evans, owner of Gus Evans Nurseries, said.

‘‘I’ve heard stories about guys who’ve been killed by the bloody things.’’

He said the ground shook ‘‘like a frigging earthquake’’ when the plant fell near him and his brother.

They heard a crack and didn’t even have time to look up. ‘‘It really was sheer luck that you went the right way.’’

Because of the the size of the falling plant, it ‘‘certainly could have killed us if it hit us’’, he said.

Evans said he wasn’t keen to return to the reserve, and he hoped people would be kept safe.

Council parks and recreation manager Alison Law said the reserve was closed last Wednesday because of the risk of plant clumps falling on the track.

An arborist’s assessment showed 17 trees in the reserve with astelia in them, including some that overhung the track.

‘‘This poses a risk to public safety, particularly as the clumps can be quite heavy and fall from a height.’’

Any modifications to plants in the reserve needed resource consent, and the council was considering its options, she said.

‘‘One option we will be looking into is rerouting the tracks, and from there we will submit a resource consent application. It’s likely the reserve will be closed for several weeks while we go through this process.’’

Astelia were part of a plant family with high ecological value – it was even possible the nests at the reserve contained rare, threatened, or unclassified plant and animal species, the council said.