With the Pohutukawa flower successfully replacing the holly in the New Zealand Christmas, The Department of Conservation and Environment BOP are suggesting other natives can also play a role in New Zealand Christmas celebrations.

Flowering pohutukawa at Christmas

The bureaucrats are suggesting matai, totara, miro and rimu all make attractive gifts which will add to the region's biodiversity. But while trees are the gift that keeps on giving, recipients are warned to beware of the Labrador puppy effect. Some trees grow very large.
Others have been domesticated a little. Kowhai is now available in a range of hybrids selected for size, form and flower. It's a great one to plant to bring tui into the garden.
'If you're wondering what native plants grow well where you live, its a good idea is to look at what grows naturally in your area,” says Department of Conservation (DOC) BOP botanist Paul Cashmore.
'Naturally occurring native plants are well adapted to local conditions so chances are that the same species bought from a nursery will do OK in your garden too, if you've got the right conditions for it. Of course you can always talk to your local nurseryman or garden centre for advice as well.”
Animals are another line of traditional gift that has played havoc with native biodiversity.
The discovery of a young wallaby on the loose at Mt Maunganui last year was a powerful example of how something cute can find its way into a home and quickly become an escapee.
Wallabies do an enormous amount of damage and are an unwanted pest in the Bay of Plenty, and it seems likely the Mt Maunganui one was being kept as a pet.
Wallabies are not usually on the gift list but certainly a number of other animals are, including red eared slider turtles, cockatiels, rabbits and puppies and kittens.
All have the ability to have serious impact on native New Zealand once out of their domestic setting. 'Many pet species such as cats, dogs and rabbits have been let loose in the wild and their impacts on native species are well known,” says DOC BOP pest animal advisor Matt Hickson.
'Less common species such as eastern water dragons, red-eared slider turtles and shingleback lizards could have major impacts on native species through the introduction of new diseases and predation. Most of what is known about the impacts of these less common species is based on overseas experience, but we do not want to find out these impacts first hand”.
Think carefully this Christmas before giving any animal as a gift. It's a commitment for a lifetime (usually the animals, but sometimes the owners) and if there's any chance it might be dumped or set free to roam, multiply and destroy - think again. Enjoy our New Zealand Christmas tree and its glorious display along the Bay of Plenty coastline this summer. Then consider that without a concerted effort, we could have lost them due to a cute furry little possum pair that someone let go.
Our biodiversity is struggling to bounce back from that one and a carefully chosen gift this Christmas could certainly be a helping hand that your country will thank you for, for generations to come.