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A Pohutukawa tree located in the north of Spain is raising debate over the possibility of earlier European discovery of New Zealand.
Locals in La Corunna in Spain are adamant that the tree is 400 years old, which would pre-date Abel Tasman's visit to New Zealand by 50 years.
Landcare Research botanist Dr Warwick Harris discovered the tree during a visit last month and he says the people of La Corunna know it is from New Zealand.
Dr Harris says that it is fair to assume that the tree got there through a Spanish connection voyaging in the Pacific.
He says that scientifically ageing the tree would settle the debate about when it got there.
Auckland University historian Dr Jamie Belich says that the tree could have been picked up in New Zealand and taken back to Spain long before Abel Tasman first arrived in New Zealand waters.
Dr Belich says there are legends about Spanish ships arriving in New Zealand in the 16th Century and that was a time when many explorers kept their discoveries to themselves.
So he says it is entirely possible that Spaniards arrived on New Zealand soil in the 1500s.
