This is a feature tree up to 12m that is in best form for the Christmas Holidays. The flowers are red in colour and are borne from November to January. This tree begins as a shrub with lots of low-growing branches which make it dense. When mature, a stem forms as well as a canopy. The leaves are oblong, dull dark green above and grey underneath. Other Metrosideros species come from Polynesia and tolerate humidity, but not frost, for northern areas.