NZ Visual Diary - entry 352
venerable trees - Whanganui riverfront
Dr. Tom Kimmerer is a good friend from my time in Lexington, Kentucky. Tom, by training, professional experience and disposition, is a forest scientist, author and photographer, and has written extensively about what he calls ‘venerable trees,’ those ancient and magnificent trees of old growth Kentucky forests.
Among New Zealand’s stock of venerable trees are the Kauri and Pōhutukawa.
Pictured in today’s image is a pair of pōhutukawa trees, serving as sentinel and shade along the banks of the Whanganui River in the riverside city of Whanganui. Pōhutukawa trees are often referred to as New Zealand’s Christmas tree because the tree’s lovely red flowers bloom in December. Look carefully across the tree canopy and you will find the last remnants of this year’s flowering.