In Māori traditions, spirits travel to a pōhutukawa tree (Metrosideros excelsa) at the end of Cape Reinga after death, and then descend into the water to reunite with their ancestors.

The stem leaves on the main shoot are a flat oval shape (when either wet or dry) and slightly overlap.

Each gynoecium is on the end of a leading stem and carries one flower-like structure, with a series of bracts and one or two branches surrounding it.

About half of the perianth sticks out from the surrounding structures, and it is a stretched oval shape with a somewhat triangular cross-section.

[4] Because of its rarity, and because the tree it grows on is rapidly declining in population, Frullania wairua is at risk of becoming extinct.