Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand.
It was formed by a series of eruptions between 550 and 600 years ago
and is the most recent and the largest of the 49-50 volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field.
Rangitoto's lava rock seems an inhospitable environment for plant life,
yet the island hosts over 200 species of native trees and flowering plants,
more than 40 kinds of fern and several species of orchid.
The crimson-flowered Pohutukawa is Rangitoto's dominant tree
and it grows as shelter for other native species like mingimingi, koromiko and puka.