Clianthus puniceus (G.Don) Sol. ex Lindl. (1835 "1834")
Kaka beak, kākābeak, Kōwhai Ngutu-kākā
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Donia punicea G.Don in Gen. Hist. 2: 468 (1832)
Conservation Status
Extinct in the Wild (de Lange, 2025)
Last wild record: 2015 (de Lange, 2025)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct in the Wild
A white flowering form has historically been known which disappeared in 1950, but was subsequently rediscovered (source).
Distribution & Habitat
North Island (=Te Ika-a-Māui), New Zealand
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Allan, H. A. (1961). Flora of New Zealand 1: 1-1085. Botany division, D.S.I.R., Christchurch.
de Lange, P. J. (2025). Clianthus puniceus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T272625865A47608529. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T272625865A47608529.en. Accessed on 06 August 2026.
de Lange, P. J., Heenan, P. B., Norton, D. A., Rolfe, J. R. and Sawyer, J. (2010). Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
de Lange, P. J., Rolfe, J. R., Barkla, J. W., Courtney, S. P., Champion, P. D., Perrie, L. R., Beadel, S. M., Ford, K. A., Breitwieser, I., Schönberger, I., Hindmarsh-Walls, R., Heenan, P. B. and Ladley, K. (2018). Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017. New Zealand Threat Classification Series, 22.
Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
Heenan, P. B. (2000). Clianthus (Fabaceae) in New Zealand: A reappraisal of Colenso's taxonomy. New Zealand Journal of Botany 38(3): 361–371.
Jørgensen, P. M. and León-Yánes, S. (eds.). (1999). Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador: 1-1181. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
Kumar, S. and Sane, P. V. (2003). Legumes of South Asia. A Checklist: 1-536. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
POWO. (2026). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 6 August 2026]
Shaw, W. B. and Burns, B. (1997). The ecology and conservation of kowhai ngutukaka Clianthus puniceus in New Zealand: an endangered endemic shrub and common cultivar. Biological Conservation 81: 233−245.
Song, J., Murdoch, J., Gardiner, S. E., Young, A., Jameson, P. E. and Clemens, J. (2008). Molecular markers and sequence deletion in intron 2 of the putative partial homologue of LEAFY reveal geographical structure to genetic diversity in the acutely threatened legume genus Clianthus. Biological Conservation 141(8): 2041-2053.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2019/09/19/the-doomsday-shelf-for-native-plants/
http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/table-1/clianthus-puniceus-albus-white-kaka-beak.html [deadlink]