Cabbage tree flowering hard to predict
It has been said that a prolific flowering of cabbage trees can foretell the coming of a dry summer.
This is doubtful as observations seem to suggest that a prolific flowering actually follows a dry summer and does not precede it.
However, putting predictions aside a study of cabbage tree flowers is an interesting exercise.
Flowering takes place over a period of four to six weeks and this gives ample time for insects and birds to visit the flowers and assist with pollination.
The flowers have sweet perfume and this attracts insects and moths.
The nectar in the flowers also attracts insects and birds.
The tui, bellbird and waxeye are frequent visitors.
A cluster of cabbage tree flowers is called an inflorescence or cluster. Each cluster can bear 6000 to 10,000 flowers and there can be at least 20 clusters on a good sized cabbage tree. With each flower producing three to six tiny black seeds it’s easy to accept that over one million seeds can be produced by a single cabbage tree in a season.
It takes two years for a stem to produce an inflorescence and this is probably the best reason to explain why there’s a bumper crop of flowers every three to five years.
Cabbage trees are long lived and are tolerant of extreme conditions. The oldest known specimen is in the Hawkes Bay and is thought to be at least 400 years old. It has a circumference of 9 metres and is 17 metres tall.
Another interesting observation: the cabbage tree has good fire resistant properties and is often the first native plant to recover after a forest fire.
Early settlers observed this and sometimes used a hollowed cabbage trees as a chimney for their fire.