Metrosideros fulgens 'Jaffa' (Scarlet Rātā)

Metrosideros fulgens (Scarlet Rātā, Rātā Vine or Akatawhiwhi) is a forest liana or vine endemic to New Zealand. It occurs in coastal and lowland forest throughout the North Island, on the west coast of the South Island and on the Three Kings Islands north of Cape Reinga. It is one of a number of New Zealand Metrosideros species which live out their lives as vines, unlike the northern rata (M. robusta), which generally begins as a hemi-epiphyte and grows into a huge tree. Scarlet rātā is one of the better-known species of rātā vines, because it flowers in autumn or winter, and is often highly visible on well-lit host trees along forest roads, with vibrant displays of large red flowers (sometimes orange or yellow) that rise above the forest canopy.

Metrosideros fulgens 'Jaffa' is a compact bush producing brilliant burnt-orange flowers. This cultivar was selected in the mid-1990s from a specimen growing on the Tairua-Whitianga Road in the Coromandel Peninsula by Jenny Oliphant. It has been available since 2001.