#pandanaceae

The Māori name is related to the Hawaiian ʻieʻie, from Proto-Oceanic *kiRekiRe for the genus in general.

A climbing screwpalm, with abundant aerial roots and stems up to 30m long. It grows over much of the North Island, but is restricted to those parts of the South Island with higher rainfall. In coastal karst areas often grows in massive impenetrable tangles.

The flowers are one of few in New Zealand apparenty ideal for bat pollination. Introduced rats eat most of the fruit and flowers over most of its range, causing disasterous reproductive failure. The introduced brushtail possums also devour the flowers and fruit they also disperse the seeds.

The fruit and succulent flower bracts were collected as a delicacy, the leaves for weaving, and the aerial roots for binding tools, nets, and sandals.

A very tall Screwpine. Many species are well known as waterside plants; this one is a small (~15m) tree of the understory (again, very hard to show scale).