Metrosideros perforata (J. R. et G. Forst.) A. Rich., Essai Fl. N.Z. (1832) 334, is restricted to New Zealand and is common in lowland forests except in the far south. The Metrosideros operculata Labill., Sert. Austro-Caled. (1824) 61, group is restricted to New Caledonia and has a wide altitudinal range, mostly in shrub associations, from near sea level to about 1500 metres.