The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

I'm trying to find out the Maori name for the Tecomanthe speciosa vine... If indeed there is one...?

It doesn't have one - it was discovered in 1946 and iwi left that island in the 1830s. If there was a legitimate Maori name its been lost.

Thanks Peter, I had assumed that if there ever was one then it had been lost. Also, being only found on an isolated ocean rock, it seems unlikely that many Maori were ever aware of it and of course they never cultivated it or transplanted it to the mainland. My reason for asking about them now is because a Kaumatua insisted that it was known as 'Tauwhata' after he saw me selling them at the Kawakawa market recently, but after googling the name I can still find no reference to it. I would like to confirm whether it's genuine or did he just wish to appear more knowledgable than a 'Pakeha' nurseryman...?

I cannot comment except perhaps that the name 'tauwhata' might be a derivation of the name for the main island of the Three Kings group Manawatawhi (which at 406 ha is not an 'oceanic rock') where this vine occurs - possibly 'tauwhata' has been derived from 'tawhi' - a long shot and probably inaccurate. Either way that is not a name I ever heard used by Ngati Kuri who were the last iwi to live there, and elders of whom when I showed them the vine on Manawatahi (also known as Great island) in 1991 told me emphatically that they had no name for it. As I said if it had a name then it almost certainly had been lost. Should your informant be more insistent - it would be good to learn from them on what basis this name should now be used. I would certainly like to know, as for now we call this vine 'tecomanthe' and a genuine name (if one can be substantiated) in Te Reo would be much preferred.