An attractive specimen tree from the Three Kings Island. Once regarded as the worlds most endangered plant, its rescue is an environmental success story. Still one of New Zealands rarest trees, it has large, rich, glossy green foliage and produces clusters of white flowers. Plant in organically rich soil with full sun or partial shade. Avoid very cold and frosty sites.
Pennantia baylisiana, the Three Kings kaikomako, is a species of plant in the Pennantiaceae family. It is endemic to the Three Kings Islands, where only one plant is known to exist. Its seeds have also been harvested. It is threatened by habitat loss. Since its discovery in 1945; it has been successfully propagated. The single tree known in the wild grows on a scree slope on the northern face of Great Island in the Three Kings group off Cape Reinga, New Zealand. The species was discovered in 1945 by Professor Geoff Baylis of the University of Otago.
https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/news/kaikomako-manawa-tawhi-pennantia-baylisiana-returned-to-iwi/