pohutakawa cloze

Pōhutakawa Junior Journal 45

Because the pōhutukawa has red flowers and it blooms in December, it is often thought of as New Zealand’s  christmas    ✓   tree. The pōhutukawa is special to Maori   habitat   ✓ and food for many creatures.

Pōhutukawa prefer to grow in warm places by the sea, and they have special   features       ✓   which help them grow in sandy soil. The top of its leaves are shiny and green with a   waxy    ✓  coating which helps protect them from the salt, sun and dry conditions.

The   bark  ✓  is rough which protects the tree from losing water through its trunk and branches. New flower buds have a special covering which helps  protect  ✓    them from wind and salt. The roots grow deep into the soil or sand. They take water from the ground to help them grow and stand up.

Pōhutukawa provide a home and food for birds,  insects   ✓ and other creatures. Some  seabirds   ✓ such as shags make their nests in their branches. Other birds, like the tui, eat the   necter ✓   from the flowers. Lizards and pekapeka also like to eat the nectar. Insects such as weevils and moths eat the leaves, flowers, wood and bark, and live in the dead  leaves   ✓    under the trees.