rata

Meanings

1. Any of various New Zealand plants of the genus Metrosideros.
2. The hard dark red wood of trees of genus Metrosideros.

1. yellow mangosteen (Garcinia dulcis), a tree native to Indonesia, the Philippines, and India.

1. Any of several legendary heroes in various Polynesian mythologies, notably associated with canoe building; in the context of comparative mythology, these figures are frequently identified with each other, resulting in as few as one or two distinct identities.

Etymology

] From Māori rātā or cognate Tahitian rātā (“tree of genus Metrosideros”). Compare Tahitian puarātā (“Metrosideros collina”).