Mountain neinei (Dracophyllum traversii) is a tree Dr. Seuss would have been proud to call his own. Sparsely branched, with the leaves concentrated in tufts on the ends of the branches and bright red flower spikes on top, it would look right at home in Yertle the Turtle or The Cat in the Hat.
Aside from its goofy look, mountain neinei is an interesting plant. It is endemic to New Zealand (found nowhere else in the world), and inhabits ridgelines from about Arthur’s Pass north. We saw this one (and many others) on the way up Avalanche Peak near Arthur’s Pass last week. Though it is small (no more than 10 metres tall), it can live for up to 600 years, making it New Zealand’s longest-lived small tree.
It’s a useful plant, too. The leaves are used in weaving, the stems have been used to make walking sticks, and there is even an example of a flute made from mountain neinei.
It’s such a neat plant, it makes you want to speak in rhyme.
The ridge was quite steep,
And the day was too hot,
But the neinei were flowering.
We saw quite a lot.
Up rocks we scrambled.
The forest got smaller,
It looked like the top,
But the mountain was taller.
Higher and higher
We climbed and we huffed.
Till we reached the peak,
We really were puffed.
Spectacular views
And black jagged rock
Were our reward
For this strenuous walk.
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Robinne Weiss 
I was playing Scrabble online and came across the word ‘neinei’,and thought what a curious word! I wondered what it was and see it a lovely grass native to New Zealand,but wondered if it could be grown in our front or back yard here in Moose Jaw,Saskatchewan,CANADA! I am no ‘green-thumb’ but we do have some different grasses growing in pots,and want to know if it might grow here.As you say,it is goofy-looking but gorgeous…and yes,I’m sure Dr. Seuss would agree…it would look good on the Cat or Yertle’s head!!
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Neinei isn’t exactly a grass … it’s a shrub or small tree, though its leaves are quite grass-like. Probably wouldn’t grow in Moose Jaw–I suspect your winters would kill it. In its native range it probably doesn’t experience temperatures colder than -10C. But you never know …
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Thanx for that Robinne,we could always wrap it and keep it in the garage over our coldest time of year,but then I am thinking it would not care to sit in a huge pot all its life!!haha
And it is very dry here almost always,so would have to be well-watered?
I must look around some of our larger city’s greenhouses/arboreta,as in Saskatoon–great one there!!
Still a fascinating plant;and I must get hold of one of your books to read…sounds like interesting literature!
THANX again!
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