KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's iconic pohutukawa trees have started to flower, the annual sign that summer is here and Christmas is just around the corner.
Mt Maunganui beach is lined with pohutukawa that are in full bloom looking down on crowds of sunbathers.
During summer the "New Zealand Christmas tree" is covered with clusters of dark crimson flowers as hardworking bees collect nectar.
Professor Paula Jameson, head of the University of Canterbury's School of Biological Sciences, says the flowers are right on time.
"They start about mid-November and have stopped flowering by Christmas and New Year."
Legend has it that if the pohutukawa flowers early it will be a long hot summer.
However, Professor Jameson is sceptical.
"A tree predicting a long hot summer is more amiss than anything shown scientifically."
The pohutukawa grows naturally around the northern North Island coast, as far south as northern Taranaki in the west and the Mahia Peninsula in the east.
The trees have since been planted in coastal areas throughout the country.
However, trees growing inland in Rotorua and Taupo may occur naturally or have been planted.
Pohutukawa, which grow to 25m high, are under threat in many areas from possums, which strip their leaves.
The Project Crimson conservation trust, set up in 1990, protects the pohutukawa and the rata tree.
Pohutukawa honey is popular, commonly used to cure sore throats.
Historically, bark from the tree has been used as a remedy for diarrhoea, toothaches and to stop bleeding.
The tree was used by early European boat builders because the timber provides natural curves and is immune to sea worms.
