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NEW ZEALAND Te Whakapapa o nga Rakau Interpreting the Special Features of Native Plants In Plant Heritage New Zealand, Tony Foster provides us with an accessible and reliable resource on the character of New Zealand’s plantlife — a work to cherish for years to come. A RAUPO ORIGINAL Natural history RAUPO XXXQFOHVJODPO[ RAUPO Part 1 introduces us to the nature of New Zealand’s extraordinary plants. Here we learn about speciation, taxonomy, growing and dispersal patterns, and what exactly makes a plant a New Zealand plant? How have plants grown and adapted in New Zealand’s very distinctive climate? Part 2, the main section of the book, presents a selection of trees, shrubs and flowers, their classification, names, botanical description, traditional and modern uses, cultural heritage and significance to Maori. Stunning photography highlights the beauty of the plants, as well as helping with identification. TONY FOSTER love of the outdoors and New Zealand’s natural world led to a degree in biological sciences from Waikato University. He went on to teach biology and science in rural New Zealand secondary schools, including Ngata Memorial College, Ruatoria, Whangaroa College and most recently as Deputy Principal at Taipa Area School. He has also tutored environmental sciences and horticulture at North Tech, Kerikeri. In 1989 he moved with his family to Totara North, Whangaroa. The abundant native bush and unspoilt harbour of Whangaroa became the inspiration for his tourism business — Bushman’s Friend, www.bushmansfriend.co.nz — specialising in ecotours of the surrounding bush reserves. He now divides his time educating tourists and students of of New Zealand all ages about the special features on plants and their heritage, as well as offering other nature-tourism products, including harbour tours and houseboat hire. Plant Heritage NEW ZEALAND Tony Foster has had a lifelong interest and passion for New Zealand’s native plants. Wellingtonbred, he tramped and botanised in the Tararuas and central North Island during his teens. His growing Plant Heritage Plant Heritage New Zealand looks at the unique characteristics of New Zealand’s plants, what makes them so special. It delves into the origins and evolution of the plants, how they have inspired songs, poems and works of art, Maori myths, stories and proverbs associated with them, and their many uses as a natural resource. TONY FOSTER Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 2 18/7/08 8:43:00 AM Plant Heritage NEW ZEALAND Te Whakapapa o nga Rakau Interpreting the Special Features of Native Plants TONY FOSTER RAUPO Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 3 18/7/08 8:43:00 AM A BUSHMANS FRIEND BOOK Published by Bushmans Friend Ltd RD 2, KAEO, New Zealand www.bushmansfriend.co.nz This edition published by Bushmans Friend Ltd, 2012 First published by Penguin Group (NZ), 2008 Copyright © Tony Foster, 2008, 2012 The right of Tony Foster to be identified as the author of this work in terms of section 96 of the Copyright Act 1994 is hereby asserted. Originally designed and typeset by NickTurzynski, redinc., Auckland Maps by Outline Draughting and Graphics Ltd Prepress by Weaving the Strands Printed by Jeff Oliver Print, Whangarei, New Zealand All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. ISBN 978-0-473-21912-3 A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand. Contents Preface 7 Introduction to New Zealand’s remarkable plants 1 New Zealand plants in the landscape 13 2 The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora 29 3 What’s in a name? Classifying plants 51 4 Maori and the plant world 55 The plants Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 5 5 Conifers 69 6 Angiosperms: dicotyledons (flowering trees, shrubs and climbers) 83 7 Angiosperms: monocotyledons (flowering grasses, sedges and allies) 161 8 Ferns 177 Glossary 195 References 198 Index to plants 203 18/7/08 8:43:01 AM Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 2 18/7/08 8:43:00 AM Preface Most botanists and observers would agree that New Zealand’s flora is among the world’s most remarkable. How this came to be, why New Zealand’s plants are so special, and an explanation of their unique characteristics are the main themes of this book. The New Zealand flora can be a puzzle. Naming and grouping the plants is not always easy, and devising a logical explanation for all their forms and expressions is fraught with difficulties and anomalies. Their many contrasting qualities and features can be as wide-ranging and mixed as the views of the people who share this land with them. What is it about New Zealand plants that makes them so special to New Zealanders? Their presence as individuals and as forest associations embodies a large part of our national heritage. Poems and songs have been composed about them; works of art have been created celebrating their colours, textures and moods. They inspire ordinary New Zealanders in their endeavours; they evoke feelings, memories and stories. Maori proverbs and sayings (whakatauki and pepeha) often refer to the characteristics of individual plants to describe the trials, tribulations and experiences of the human condition. The behaviours of some plants are perceived to predict the future, while others evoke memories of loved ones, past events of importance, or even send messages of warning. For some people they provide evidence of our relationship with a spiritual being and our creation, to others they tell the story of the development and evolution of species. To many they are a natural resource and an important contributor to the economy; to visitors they are just one of the many delights of touring these islands. New Zealand plants are becoming increasingly popular in the garden and landscape. Their aesthetics of form and space, the colours of their flowers, the number of species and varieties make them a favourite of designers and landscapers when creating an endemic garden architecture. Part One of the book provides an introduction to the plants and their environment. Chapters explore the origins and evolution of New Zealand’s flora, and account for present distributions and varieties of plants. A discussion of the existing vegetation cover outlines the broad forest and vegetation types and the common plant associations. The unique features, botanical and otherwise, that are characteristic of New Zealand’s plants are briefly explored. Identifying, naming and classifying plants are important steps towards understanding their uniqueness, so a brief introduction to the taxonomy of the New Zealand flora and an explanation of names and meanings is provided. The last chapter of this introduction provides a traditional Maori perspective of Aotearoa’s forest and plant world and how it came to be. Preface Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 7 7 18/7/08 8:43:01 AM Part Two presents a selection of the plants themselves, arranged broadly into conifers, angiosperms and ferns. The aim has been to offer something of the uniqueness of each plant: its classification, names, botanical description, peculiarities, distribution and associations, traditional and modern uses, cultural heritage and significance in the Maori world. Photographs assist in the classification and identification of the plants as well as illustrating their beauty. I have relied upon Flora of New Zealand by H.H. Alan (vol. 1, 1961, reprinted without amendment 1982) as the primary source of botanical descriptions. I have added my own observations as well in describing the species. The classifications are based on New Zealand Indigenous Vascular Plant Checklist (Peter J. de Longe, John W.O. Sawyer, Jeremy R. Rolfe, New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, July 2006). The most difficult part of preparing the book has been to decide which plants to incorporate and which to leave out. It is obvious that all living things are beautiful and remarkable and have a story to tell. I have selected those plants which have inspired me, my students or the tourists I have guided. These tend to be the more common or cosmopolitan plants found throughout New Zealand, in the bush and in ornamental gardens. Or it may be a plant species that holds a special place in a New Zealand cultural setting. 8 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 8 18/7/08 8:43:04 AM For genera with a large number of species (Coprosma, Hoheria, Hebe, for example), not all species are described, but rather the characteristics of the genera, using some of the species to describe the features expected. Many of the species in these genera are confined in their distribution. Likewise, with the ferns the more common species are described and others mentioned as examples of the genera. While we may value the uniqueness and special beauty of the New Zealand flora, unfortunately many species and their habitats are under stress. About 33 percent of taxa are threatened or uncommon. Five species are known to be extinct. Economic development and the associated changes from forest to rural to urban, introduced pests, timber milling, mining, and river and wetland degradation all play a part in damaging plant associations. The exploitation of plants — especially large trees — has been the story of New Zealand’s history since human arrival. In many cases, it seems the plant world is measured only according to its commercial returns. However, if one can see the intrinsic value of New Zealand’s flora as an extraordinary treasure unique to these islands, the worth of the plants and their associations and communities increases. The challenge for all New Zealanders is to balance the desirable aspects of land development with those of conservation and the sustainable use of this priceless resource. Without doubt, the plant world is an enduring taonga, a treasure, of New Zealand, as expressed in these lines from a Tainui ritual: Ka waiho ake nei te Ao-tu-roa; he ataata kau ano Te kau an ate Wao-nui-a tane Mortal life is but a passing shadow The great forest of Tane will endure… Tony Foster Totara North August 2008 Preface Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 9 9 18/7/08 8:43:05 AM 10 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 10 18/7/08 8:43:10 AM Part 1 Introduction to New Zealand’s remarkable plants New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 11 11 18/7/08 8:43:12 AM Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 12 18/7/08 8:43:13 AM 1 New Zealand plants in the landscape New Zealand possesses a most remarkable and intriguing flora, and within its boundaries embraces extreme variations in vegetation types. Plants inhabit ecosystems as diverse as coastal rocky shores and alpine meadows. The New Zealand Botanical Region The vast area known as the New Zealand Botanical Region stretches from the Kermadec Islands in the subtropical north to Macquarie Island (actually an Australian territory) in the subantarctic south. As well as the North and South islands the region comprises the Three Kings, Stewart, Chatham, Antipodes, Bounty, Snares, Auckland and Campbell islands. Lying between 29–55° south latitude and 158° east to 176° west longitude, the region’s diverse physical geography and climatic features are reflected in the distribution and composition of the plants that occupy it. A long coastline of some 11,000 km provides a diversity of habitats, but New Zealand’s physical geography is dominated by lowland and mountainous areas, with over three-quarters of the land area lying above 200 m altitude. The North Island ranges are less extensive and lower in altitude (up to 1800 m) than their South Island counterparts, where over 50 peaks rise above 2750 m. The climate in the region is controlled chiefly by the main islands’ latitude, surrounding oceans and mountainous nature. The long, narrow islands lie between the high-pressure belt of the sub-tropics and the lowpressure trough in the Southern Ocean. They are surrounded by oceans, a great distance from the nearest landmass (Australia is some 1610 km away), with the oceans providing abundant moisture-laden winds. The main ranges, roughly forming the main islands’ spine, generally lie in the path of prevailing westerly winds. As any New Zealander or visitor knows, the region is subject to rapid changes in weather, the result of a continuous series of anticyclones and troughs, with occasional depressions. Annual rainfall varies greatly according to topography but averages 750– 1500 mm, with the main ranges receiving up to 5000–7000 mm on their Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 13 18/7/08 8:43:13 AM 178° W 178° E 174° E 170° E 166° E Norfolk Island 30° S Kermadec Islands N Three Kings Islands 34° S NORTHLAND Whangarei Auckland Tasman Sea AUCKLAND Hamilton Tauranga WAIKATO GISBORNE Rotorua CENTRAL New Plymouth Gisborne NORTH TARANAKI ISLAND Napier HAWKE’S BAY Wanganui MANAWATU Palmerston North NELSON WAIRARAPA Nelson Wellington BULLER 38° S MARLBOROUGH 42° S Blenheim Hokitika WESTLAND CANTERBURY Christchurch Chatham Islands Timaru Queenstown FIORDLAND OTAGO SOUTHLAND Dunedin 46° S Invercargill Stewart Island Bounty Islands Snares Islands South Pacific Ocean Auckland Islands Antipodes Islands 0 Campbell Island 50° S 300 Scale (km) 54° S 14 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 14 18/7/08 8:43:14 AM summits. Snow lies permanently in the North Island only on Mounts Ruapehu and Taranaki/Egmont, while in the South Island the snow-line is around 2200 m altitude. The forest line descends from around 1500 m altitude in the North Island to 900 m in Stewart Island. At the limits of the New Zealand Botanical Region, the climatic variations are marked. The Kermadec Islands have a subtropical island climate with warm temperatures (mean average 19ºC) and abundant rainfall (averaging 1510 mm). Some 800 km to the west of the main islands, the Chatham Islands have a cloudy, humid climate, with the mean annual temperature 11ºC and annual rainfall averaging 850 mm. The subantarctic islands south of the New Zealand mainland are relatively inhospitable, with strong (salt-laden) winds, few periods of warm temperatures and consistent cloudiness, all of which are unfavourable for plant growth. Mean temperatures are 4–8ºC, and annual average rainfall is 1450 mm (on Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands), although Macquarie Island receives only 1020 mm. All of these islands receive either rain or snow on more than 300 days in the year. All these elements of range of latitude, relief, altitude, topography, soils, climate, and exposure to wind, sun or salt affect the diversity and distribution of New Zealand’s flora. Endemism A key feature of the New Zealand flora is the significantly high proportion of endemic plants (those found in New Zealand and nowhere else): 82 percent endemism with 2357 species of higher plants. The flowering trees and shrubs alone comprise over 1275 species with 270 distinct varieties. In the entire New Zealand flora, there are 90 families, 446 genera, 2357 species and subspecies of distinct varieties. While 82 percent of New Zealand’s plant species are endemic, only 14 percent of its genera are endemic; and we have only one endemic family, Ixerbaceae, of which tawari (Ixerba tawari) is the only member. (Some of the reasons for this high degree of endemism are discussed in the next section.) Of course, many well-known cosmopolitan plants, such as Ficus, Aster, Acacia and Rhododendron, are present in New Zealand, having been introduced by human agency. New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 15 15 18/7/08 8:43:14 AM Accounting for diversity and distribution To understand the reasons for New Zealand’s plant diversity and distribution it is important to understand something of the country’s past physical geography and how it relates to the accepted biological theories on species’ distribution and formation. The present land area of New Zealand attained its outline only within the last 6000 years; however, the islands that make up New Zealand have been isolated from any other landmass for about 80 million years. Before this time, what was to become New Zealand arose along the edge of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, before splitting off, due to tectonic forces, and being carried by the process of seafloor spreading to its present location. The current distribution of New Zealand plants (plant geography) is due to a number of interrelated factors. • Historical level: Evolutionary development, geologic uplifts or sinking and climate change have all played a part in establishing species and controlling plant associations. • Bioclimatological level: Similar climates around the world sustain similar vegetation. New Zealand’s main islands lie in the world’s temperate zone; however, the subtropical north and the subtemperate south enjoy an environment and climate in which a unique cluster of plants are able to survive. • Ecological level: Associations of organisms (flora and fauna) form communities. Some plants are reliant on other plants or vegetation types; for example, lianes and other climbers need canopy trees on which to survive; fruits and flowers may require certain birds for the successful transfer of pollen or seed. The interrelationship of living creatures, including competition with other species, may either limit the places in which a species can grow or expand its range. • Human level: Humans have altered plant distributions by destroying and altering habitats, introducing new species and moving species from their natural range. They have introduced herbivores such as sheep, goats, possums, deer and cows, that destroy plant populations or alter breeding and reproduction strategies. New Zealand’s long period of isolation has been punctuated with continual geologic change. Some land areas have been raised, others have sunken or been eroded away, volcanoes have erupted, and sands and gravels deposited. Geologic and climatic incidences such as earthquakes and periods of glaciation have produced noticeable effects on New Zealand’s physical environment. Combine these dynamic events with longer term climate change — from the warm interglacial periods (as we are experiencing now) to the periods of cooler climates of glacial periods (or ice ages), and their associated rise and fall of sea levels — and the result is a jumble of 16 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 16 18/7/08 8:43:14 AM New Zealand’s landmass from 25 million years ago Oligocene, 25–30 million years ago Late Miocene, 10 million years ago — warm, interglacial On occasions, New Zealand has emerged from the sea as a chain of islands, at other times it has appeared as a single skein of land. New Zealand’s plant populations have been subject to periods of isolation and times of mixing. This has resulted in the production of many new species and a unique flora with many remarkable features. Early Pleistocene, 2 million years ago — glacial New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 17 17 18/7/08 8:43:15 AM constantly changing land areas over the course of time. On occasions New Zealand has emerged from the sea as a chain of islands, at other times it has appeared as a single skein of land. The climate changes recurred over millions of years and in the process the changing footprint of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean has interacted with an essential biological process — that of speciation, the formation of new species. Speciation Speciation can be defined as the evolutionary development of new species, usually by one species dividing into two or more species that are genetically unique. It was Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species (1859) who first proposed the theory of evolution by the process of natural selection. Over the years Darwin’s central idea of new species evolving from existing species has been refined as fresh evidence, research and understandings reveal the mechanisms by which the variety of life and the selection of advantaged forms could have occurred. Darwin recognised isolation as the primary factor in stimulating species formation, the secondary factor being natural variation in the offspring. It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but those most suited to their environment and most responsive to change. New Zealand’s history of change, being a collection of islands and at other times one single landmass, suggests plant populations have been subject to periods of isolation and times of mixing, but not breeding, with related and competing species. Isolation and strategies the plants have employed to cope with change have resulted in the production of a unique flora with many remarkable features. Species and isolation A species may be defined as a group of like organisms that interbreed naturally and are reproductively isolated from any similar group. The two main ideas in this definition are ‘like organisms’, those that show very similar physical features, and ‘reproductively isolated’, meaning they are cut off from similar species and not able to breed with them. The simplest form of reproductive isolation is geographical. A physical barrier such as a mountain range or an ocean keeps one population separate from other similar populations and prevents interbreeding between the two. Other forms of isolation that prevent similar populations breeding include temporal (related to time) isolation and ecological isolation. Plants flower at different times of the year and even different times of the day. This excludes contact with closely related species. In Northland, Coprosma grandifolia flowers in June, whereas C. repens flowers in October and November, so the timing of flowering prevents crosspollination between these similar species. 18 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 18 18/7/08 8:43:16 AM Closely related species may occupy different habitats even when they live in the same general area. C. robusta prefers well-lit, dry and open areas while C. grandifolia prefers shady river edges. The two different habitats (ecological isolation) prevent cross-fertilisation. If two species achieve pollination followed by fertilisation and make seed that germinates, the offspring are hybrids. In the majority of cases, although not all, the hybrids are sterile; though they may appear as healthy vigorous individuals, their ability to produce flowers or viable seed is considerably reduced. And, being incapable of interbreeding, they remain as individuals and cannot be classed as species. The period of isolation in a distinctive habitat or environment results in plant adaptations best suited to that specific environment or environmental niche. If the plants do manage to occupy the same geographic area, they will show breeding behaviours that are incompatible or unique to the individual populations and so be occupying different niches. As they are incapable of breeding with each other they will have formed two species, where once there was only one. Species and isolation Coprosma species provide good examples of temporal and ecological isolation, and adaptive radiation. Coprosma repens (taupata). Its ovate, glossy leaves are adapted for a windy, salt-laden coastal environment. Flowers in October. Coprosma grandifolia (kanono). Large, blotchy, soft leaves are adapted for a shady, moist, riparian environment. Flowers in June. Coprosma robusta (karamu). Large, glossy leaves, leathery and hardy; found in scrub. Flowers in November. Coprosma lucida (karangu). Glossy leaves; found in forest margins. Flowers in September. New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 19 19 18/7/08 8:43:21 AM Adaptive radiation is the process where one species gives rise to multiple species to exploit available niches. Each species has particular adaptations suited to the particular niche in which it survives best. This concept is noticeable in many New Zealand genera. An obvious example is found in the large-leaved Coprosma. New Zealand’s forest and plant associations From the arrival of humans into these islands — Maori from around ad 1300, Europeans from around 1770 — the forests and plant associations have been greatly modified and reduced. The early colonisers brought and used fire as a means of clearing and modifying the vegetation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman noted extensive fires on the South Island’s west coast during his visit in 1642. Fire was used to prepare transport routes, flush out ground-dwelling birds such as moa, and prepare ground for cultivation. Fossil, tree remains, stumps and charcoal and pollen records indicate that forest covered approximately 75 percent of New Zealand in ad 700 and by 1800, just prior to European colonisation, was reduced to some 55 percent. A new era of forest clearing occurred with the arrival of the Europeans. The early settlers also brought many exotic plants, including potato, corn and agricultural grasses. The introduction of these plants for consumption and trade as well as the establishment of pastoral farming accelerated forest clearance. Sawmills were soon established to cut timber, but in many inaccessible or remote areas the forests were simply cut and burnt. By the early twentieth century virtually all the plains, lowlands and much of the lower hill country had been cleared of forest and converted to agricultural use. Over the last 160 years, the forest cover has been reduced to only around 23 percent of the total land area. New Zealand’s vegetation New Zealand’s vegetation types cover a wide range of plant families occupying diverse environments. Generally, the forests are classified as rainforests, divided into subtropical rainforest and subantarctic rainforest, with various intermediate types and sub-types, according to dominant species and environment. Subtropical rainforest The conifer-broadleaf forest of the warmer north and lowlands is dominated by the large-leaved evergreen flowering trees and the coniferous trees, which mainly belong to the Podocarpaceae family (and are commonly known as podocarps). This ancient plant family originated in the former 20 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 20 18/7/08 8:43:21 AM ad 700. Pre-European settlement. The decline in New Zealand’s forest cover N Key Forest Scrub Grassland Mountain Swamps 2008. New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 21 21 18/7/08 8:43:23 AM supercontinent of Gondwana. Generally tall trees, the stately podocarps form a dominant element of the forest and lend it a primeval appearance. Some of the trees develop buttresses at the foot of the trunk, a character typical of many trees of tropical origin. The subtropical rainforest has a diverse and dense understorey rich in shrubs, lianes and epiphytes as well as mosses, liverworts, ferns and tree ferns. Kauri forest Kauri forest is a distinctive type of subtropical rainforest, a feature of which is the horizontal layering of strata: from groundcovers to the shrub layer, subcanopy, canopy and emergent trees. 22 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 22 18/7/08 8:43:26 AM A number of distinct forest types occur within the subtropical rainforests, including the following. • Kauri forest: now much reduced in area, it once covered much of the northern North Island, with kauri (Agathis australis) being the dominant species. • Kahikatea forest: occurs mainly in wet ground and shallow swamps, with kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrdioides) being the dominant tree. It was common in such areas as the Waikato, the Hauraki Plains and Westland. • Tawa forest: occurs locally in the North Island and in the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island, with tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) being the dominant tree. • Northern rata forest: occurs in parts of the North Island as well as in the Nelson region and Westland, with northern rata (Metrosideros robusta) being a dominant species. • Kamahi forest: occurs in parts of Westland and Stewart Island, dominated by kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa), often occurring after partial forest clearance. These evergreen forests, with their mixed community of broad-leaved trees and conifers, extend throughout all three main islands. Subantarctic rainforest The other major forest type is subantarctic rainforest, characterised by the presence of various species of Nothofagus or southern beech. These beech forests occur in lowland as well as montane and cooler areas, extending from the southern Coromandel Peninsula to Southland (with one species, N. truncata, extending into Northland). They are very uniform in composition and, due to their dense canopy, they have a characteristically sparse and open understorey of shrubs, but often a wealth of ground ferns and mosses. Intermediate forest types In between the two main forest types are numerous intermediate forms. Mixed associations of subtropical and subantarctic rainforests occur, with the beeches often dominating the higher, less fertile ground and the podocarps and broadleaved trees inhabiting the moister gullies. Other examples include beech-montane forest and coastal forest. However, over two-thirds of New Zealand’s native forests today either are dominated by beech or have beech as a major component. Other major vegetation types Some of the other main plant associations in New Zealand include the following. New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 23 23 18/7/08 8:43:26 AM • Coastal forest and scrublands: New Zealand’s coastal environment is a demanding place for plants. Many coastal plants demonstrate adaptations that allow them to survive in the exposed windy and salty environment. Glossy leaves reflect light and are often coated with a tough, waxy polish on upper surfaces to allow salt-laden moisture to run off, while hairs and felt on undersurfaces prevent moisture evaporating. Many leaves roll up into a flute to prevent excess evaporation; a number of plants become prostrate in habit to avoid the worst of the wind, while others creep through sand and gravels with their wandering rhizomes. Pomaderris kumeraho, Coprosma acerosa, pingao (Desmoschoenus spiralis), Pimelia prostrata, and Muehlenbeckia australis are all ground-hugging plants that cling to the shifting sands and gravels. In the richer soils manuka (Leptospermum scoparium), wharangi (Melicope ternata), hebes, and many ferns and flax are commonly found under a canopy of pohutukawa, ngaio, Pseudopanax, taraire and kowhai. Scrublands are usually dominated by multi-stemmed shrubs, often in association with bracken fern (Pteridium esculentum). Scrublands often occur in lowland and hilly areas where the original forest cover has been removed or disturbed. • Lowland shrub, heath and rock vegetation: This is found throughout New Zealand and is typically dominated by manuka, kanuka (Kunzea ericoides), divaricating Coprosma, and an assortment of hardy ferns. • Grasslands and fernlands: These mainly comprise Poa (the tussocks), Carex (the grasses), bracken, and Cortaderia (toetoe). The grasslands occur mainly in the drier regions in the lee of the ranges along the eastern sides of both main islands. Low-tussock grasslands occur in lowland and hill country and comprise species of Poa and Festuca, while tall-tussock grasslands are dominated by the snow grasses (Chionochloa), which generally occur at higher altitudes but descend to sea level in the far south of the South Island. • Alpine vegetation: New Zealand has extensive alpine areas (up to approximately 2000 m altitude), especially in the South Island (with around 70 percent of alpine species), as well as on the North Island ranges and volcanoes, and on Stewart Island. There are various associations and communities of plants in these regions, including herbfields and grasslands, wetlands and bogs, and shingle screes. Common plants include snow totara (Podocarpus nivalis), Aciphylla, the tussocks Carex and Poa, Hebe, Raoulia and Celmisia, many species of which are prostrate and small in habit. New Zealand is home to some 600 alpine plant species, 93 percent of them found nowhere else. • Wetland, swamp and bog vegetation: These areas consist mainly of flax (Phormium species) and reeds such as raupo (Typha orientalis). Trees include cabbage tree (Cordyline australis), kahikatea, pukatea (Laurelia novae-zelandiae) and swamp maire (Syzygium maire). Swamps act as filters, trapping silt and mud and acting as a mop for floodwaters. However, swamps were considered wastelands by 24 Southern beech trees Beeches make up the subantarctic rainforest. This forest features open plantscapes, with fewer species than the conifer-broadleaf forests. Photo Liz van der Laarse. P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 24 18/7/08 8:43:27 AM New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 25 25 18/7/08 8:43:29 AM European settlers, who drained and ploughed them into farmland. There has been a reduction in wetland areas by about 85 percent in the last 160 years, from nearly 700,000 ha to around 100,000 ha. s Estuarine vegetation: This is where salt and fresh water interact. In the north, estuaries and harbours are the domain of mangroves (Avicennia), the saltmarsh ribbonwood (Plagianthus divaricatus) and the prostrate Samolus repens. The cooler south is dominated by rushes and sedges. Sundew drosera Sundew Drosera 0GTJYOBUJWFTVOEFXTUISFFBSF BMQJOFMJWJOHJOQPPSTPJMTBOE TVQQMFNFOUJOHUIFJSOVUSJUJPO CZDBQUVSJOHTNBMMJOTFDUTBOE EFWPVSJOHUIFNXJUIUIFJSMFBG TFDSFUJPOT Wetland scene Raupo, flax and cabbage trees 'MBYBOEDBCCBHFUSFFTBSF are typical wetland plants. New UZQJDBMXFUMBOEQMBOUT/FX Zealand’s wetlands have been ;FBMBOEµTXFUMBOETIBWFCFFO greatly reduced. HSFBUMZSFEVDFE 26 P L A N T H E R I TAG E N E W Z E A L A N D Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 26 18/7/08 8:43:31 AM New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 27 27 18/7/08 8:43:33 AM Geniostoma ligustrifolium flowers. 28 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 28 18/7/08 8:43:34 AM 2 The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora New Zealand’s assemblage of plants has its own unique history, relationships with plants in other regions of the world, and distinctive characteristics. What is a New Zealand plant? Not all plants that grow in New Zealand can be called New Zealand plants, even those that have established themselves over a long period of time. To avoid confusion there are really only three kinds of plants in New Zealand: exotic, native and endemic. Exotic plants are those which did not occur in New Zealand prior to the arrival of humans, and which have been introduced, usually by human agency. Radiata pine, kiwifruit, feijoa and tamarillo are plants bred or selected in New Zealand and while marketed as being from New Zealand and bred and horticulturally improved here, in botanical terms they are exotic. Native plants are those which were already in New Zealand at the time of human arrival, and are also termed indigenous. Some common native species are also native to Australia, such as akeake (Dodonaea viscosa) and manuka. In some cases there is debate as to whether a plant species is the same or different to another found elsewhere. Hibiscus diversifolius, for example, was once considered to be found only in northern New Zealand but now it is regarded as the same species found throughout the Pacific. There are about 200 species that are common to New Zealand and other Pacific or Asian regions. Endemic plants are those found in New Zealand and nowhere else. They make up about 80 percent of all the native species. There is one endemic family (0.9 percent of families), 65 genera (14 percent), and 1944 species, subspecies and varieties (82 percent). In the entire New Zealand vascular flora (plants with vascular ‘pipes’, xylem and phloem, that transport and dissolve sugars around the plant), the total number of families is 90, consisting of 446 genera and 2357 species, subspecies and varieties. Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 29 18/7/08 8:43:34 AM Ancestry and elements of the flora The genealogy and ancestry of New Zealand’s plants suggests that many have ties to plant families in both the northern and southern hemispheres, some of which reflect the country’s Gondwanan origins. In the Cretaceous period (135–65 million years ago) New Zealand was part of the vast continental landmass of Gondwana, attached to what would later be Australia and Antarctica (which was connected to South America). The Cretaceous saw the rise of angiosperms (flowering plants), which were able to spread easily over Gondwana. Many of them would thus appear as part of New Zealand’s later flora, including the ferns and clubmosses and the ancestors of today’s podocarps, such as rimu, kahikatea, miro, matai and totara, along with the ancestors of today’s kauri, southern beech and mangroves. Some 80 million years ago, tectonic upheaval saw New Zealand split apart from the Gondwanan landmass and be dragged, by further tectonic processes involving spreading seafloors, to its isolated position in the South Pacific Ocean. Many other plants were introduced from other regions by seed being carried by winds, ocean currents or seabirds. Our current flora, therefore, has some ancient elements, while other plants are regarded as relatively 30 Karapapa (Alseuosmia macrophylla) This pretty shrub, found in northern forests, is a member of the endemic genus Alseuosmia. P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 30 18/7/08 8:43:36 AM recent developments. An example is our alpine flora, around 90 percent of which is endemic, reflecting the rise of the Southern Alps around five million years ago to a height sufficient for these plants to develop. Over the last three million years, ice ages and the interglacial periods which separated them also played a large part in determining the plants which would make up today’s New Zealand flora. High sea levels cut off some areas, which meant some plants developed in isolation, such as the liane Tecomanthe speciosa, found on the Three Kings Islands. Warmer periods facilitated the spread of plants. Some plants that once existed in New Zealand did not survive the ice ages. Examples include the common Australian trees Eucalyptus, Casuarina and Acacia, which once flourished here but now are only found as introduced exotics. Because of the ancestry of the New Zealand flora, it has been suggested (e.g. Leonard Cockayne, 1928) that some of its constituent elements include the following. • An endemic element, comprising 80 percent of the flora and more than 40 endemic genera, for example: Alseuosmia, Corallospartium, Dactylanthus, Ixerba, Loxoma, Rhabdothamnus. It is further suggested there is an ancient New Zealand element with its roots in the Tertiary period, such as Aciphylla, Astelia, Carmichaelia, Celmisia, Coprosma, Dacrydium, Hebe, Melicytus, Phyllocladus, Phormium and Pseudopanax. • An Australian element of about 40 genera including Clianthus and Phebalium. • A subantarctic element consisting of plants common to New Zealand, eastern Australia, Tasmania and southern South America. They include Aristotelia, Dicksonia, Griselinia, Libertia, Libocedrus, Nothofagus and Podocarpus. • A tropical element including representatives of the Lauraceae family (tawa, taraire, mangeao), Meliaceae (kohekohe), Palmae (nikau), Santalaceae (Mida — maire), and Verbenaceae (puriri). • A cosmopolitan element, which describes species that have a considerable range in either temperate or warm climates, including Asplenium and Calystegia. The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 31 31 18/7/08 8:43:36 AM Wheki (Dicksonia squarrosa) The genus Dicksonia is an example of a subantarctic element in the New Zealand flora, consisting of plants common to New Zealand, eastern Australia, Tasmania and southern South America. 32 P lant H eritage N ew Z ealand Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 32 18/7/08 8:43:38 AM Characteristic features of New Zealand plants New Zealand’s long isolation from other landmasses has allowed the development of vegetation types that exhibit features and adaptations generally regarded as New Zealand characteristics. Observing the New Zealand flora as a whole, these characteristics comprise one or more of the following features: s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s AHIGHPERCENTAGEOFENDEMICPLANTS FEWANNUALHERBSANDGRASSES MANYPLANTSHAVEBERRIESORDRUPESDISPERSEDBYBIRDS VERY FEW HAVE DEFENCES AGAINST MAMMALIAN BROWSERS THOUGH THEY do have defence strategies for browsing birds such as moa and other flightless birds MANYDIOECIOUSSPECIESWITHSEPARATEMALEANDFEMALETREES MANYmOWERSARETYPICALLYSMALLANDWHITE MANYPLANTSHAVEDIVARICATINGGROWTHFORMS ASIGNIlCANTNUMBERHAVEDISTINCTIVEJUVENILEANDADULTFORMS A SIGNIlCANT NUMBER SHOW PLASTICITY WHERE SHAPE OF LEAF OR FORM of plant changes according to its environment; in some species, leaf shape and habit may change on the same branch and among the same plants growing together MANYPLANTSHAVEEVOLVEDINTOLARGERFORMSCOMPAREDTOSIMILARPLANT families in other countries and, to compound this, many plants on offshore islands also show larger forms than the mainland species HYBRIDISMISCOMMONANDINSOMEGENERATHEDELIMITINGOFSPECIESIS DIFlCULT THERE ARE REGIONAL HOTSPOTS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY MANY AREAS HAVE plants unique to that location ANCIENTREMNANTSTHATHAVEBECOMEEXTINCTINOTHERPARTSOFTHEWORLD but have survived in New Zealand THEMAJORITYAREEVERGREENANDTHEREAREFEWCOLDTOLERANTTREES THENUMBEROFSPECIESINCREASESFROMSOUTHTONORTH The following sections in this chapter expand on some of these characteristics. Divarication / Filiramulation A curious feature of New Zealand’s flora is the large number of shrubs with small, tough leaves and flexible, interlacing branches that leave the stem at obtuse angles. The new spring growth is often brown or grey, giving the appearance that thatthe theplant plantmay may dead. formemerge of growth termed bebe dead. TheThis flowers from is the stems divarication, filiramulate. as opposed to filiforme the usualor branch ends or lateral buds. This form of growth is Divarication in New Zealand plants has been referred to as an TERMEDDIVARICATIONORlLIFORME Divarication in New Zealand plants has been referred to as an The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 33 33 18/7/08 8:44:19 AM example of parallel evolution, a process in which unrelated species exhibit a similar form or shape, hypothesised to be due to environmental conditions and influencing the selection of successful form. Divarication occurs in diverse families such as podocarps, violets, and coffee plants. In New Zealand divarication is found in about 10 percent of woody trees and shrubs. Even some ferns are multi-branched and could almost be considered divaricating. The form is noticeable in some conifers and flowering trees, but mainly in shrubs. The most intriguing feature is the manner in which divarication is distributed among the genera. Sometimes, only a few species will show this form, while other members of the genera grow in a traditional habit. Melicytus is an example: the New Zealand genus has five members that show this form and six that do not. Coprosma has about 50 divaricating members and six that are not. In the conifers, matai (Prumnopitys taxifolia) shows divarication only as a juvenile, but the closely related miro (P. ferruginea) does not exhibit this feature. One suggested explanation for the prevalence of this form is that it evolved as a defensive mechanism against browsing moa. (There were no mammalian browsers in New Zealand.) Moa fed on seeds, leaves, twigs and fruit. Woody and tangled shrubs with small leaves were unpalatable to moa and offered little sustenance, so plants with this divaricating form were left alone to reproduce successfully. Another theory is that the divaricating form is advantageous in a dry, cold and windy environment, such as existed in New Zealand in previous ice ages. (However, fossils of divaricating shrubs have been found dated to more than 16 million years ago, before the ice ages.) The small leaves are a strategy to reduce evapo-transpiration in a windy environment and the closely packed leaves and branches create a selfprotecting shape. Yet another hypothesis is that this twisted, small-leaved form creates an ideal habitat for lizards and small birds that are the primary agents of fruit and seed dispersal. These small creatures are able to move through the tangle of interwoven branches, feed on the fruit and remain hidden from predators. Plants that adopt this form are very successful distributors of their seed. However, this would only advantage adult or sexually mature plants. Juvenile and adult forms Among New Zealand plants about 200 species exhibit a juvenile leaf shape which is quite different from the adult form. This characteristic occurs haphazardly throughout the flora, being present in families and genera not closely related. Even among closely related species, it is present in some, but not all. The advantage of a juvenile leaf form is that the leaves are best adapted to a ground environment. The leaf may be in the shade of other taller trees or shrubs and so assumes a small leaf size. This juvenile form may 34 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 34 18/7/08 8:44:20 AM Muehlenbeckia astonii "EJWBSJDBUJOHTISVC Coprosma rhamnoides flowers 5IFTNBMMXIJUF¿PXFSTPDDVSBMPOHUIFTUFNT The female flowers shown here each have two elongated XIJDIJTUZQJDBMPGEJWBSJDBUJOHTISVCT styles and will eventually form two seeds per berry. The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 35 35 18/7/08 8:44:24 AM Totara 5PUBSBUBLFTPOBEJWBSJDBUJOH The charachteristically furrowed GPSNXIFOKVWFOJMFDIBOHJOHUP bark of Totara. BNPSFSFHVMBSMFBGBOECSBODIJOH IBCJUBTBOBEVMU be unattractive or unpalatable to browsing flightless birds. By contrast, the adult leaf on a tall trunk may be in full sunlight, where its shape maximises photosynthetic opportunities for the daily supply of sugars ANDTHEENERGYRICHPROCESSESOFmOWERANDSEEDDEVELOPMENTNECESSARY for reproduction. 36 P l A N T H e r i TAg e N e w Z e A l A N D Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 36 18/7/08 8:44:26 AM Monoao (Dacrydium kirkii) Monoao exhibits the characteristic of both juvenile and adult forms. Here juvenile (right) and adult foliage (left) occurs on the same branch. The flowers of New Zealand plants The primary function of flowers is to attract a pollinator in order to transfer pollen to the female stigma. The pollen contains the male gamete that fertilises the female ova to produce a seed that, once dispersed from the mother plant, germinates into a new individual. Most flowers, by virtue of their shape, form and colour, are designed to appeal to the fauna most likely to be the agents of their pollination: birds, reptiles, ants, bees, flies, moths and so on. In New Zealand plants, the flowers employ a number of ways to attract pollinators. The larger, brightly coloured flowers are designed to catch the attention of birds, which come to feed on the sweet nectar. These flowers often have an architecture that specifically complements the beak shape of the pollinating bird. Tui are attracted by the yellow bells of kowhai (Sophora species) in the spring and the bright red filaments of the Metrosideros species pohutukawa and rata which blaze in summer; the year-round floral display of puriri (Vitex lucens) attracts many bird species, while the flowering wands of New Zealand flax invite all manner of native birds, particularly the tui. However, the smaller flowers, often white and radially symmetrical, are designed for non-specific opportunistic pollinators such as flies, gnats, bees, small birds and the wind. Smaller flowers are adapted to pollination by insects or the wind, with white or green flowers attracting the attention of passing insects. White petals act like tiny solar panels which create a warm microclimate that encourages small insects to visit on a chilly morning. Among alpine The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 37 37 18/7/08 8:44:27 AM Kowhai (Sophora species) and tui The yellow kowhai flowers attract tui and other nectareaters in spring. Phebalium nudum Mairehau flowers show many features of New Zealand flowers — small, white and symmetrical; ideally suited to a variety of pollinators. 38 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 38 18/7/08 8:44:30 AM Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) Pohutukawa flowers’ bright red filaments attract nectar-eating birds. New Zealand jasmine (Parsonsia capsularis) New Zealand jasmine has small white flowers that develop into seedpods full of wispy seed which the wind will disperse. plants the flowers may be larger but are usually white in colour. There is a distinct lack of blue, purple and red hues in New Zealand flowers; those that are brightly coloured are generally closely related to plants in Australia and are viewed as relatively recent arrivals. (Less than 1 percent of New Zealand’s flowering plants are clearly adapted to bird pollinators, compared to about 15 percent of Australian plants.) The smaller flowers have adaptations that encourage visits by nonspecialised pollinators. The flowers are often radially symmetrical, meaning they can be approached from any direction, and do not require the pollinator to undertake precise movements. The pollen, anthers and stigmas are usually freely exposed. In most parts of the world, bees are the most important group of insect pollinators, noted for their precision, complexity and diligence of operation. Advanced groups of bees are lacking in New Zealand, and the 40 species of native bees are short-tongued and primitive. However, beetles, moths, flies, spiders and ants are all important pollinators. The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 39 39 18/7/08 8:44:33 AM White climbing rata (Metrosideros perforata) 5IJTSBUBIBTSBEJBMMZTZNNFUSJDBM ¿PXFSTQSFTFOUFEJOCVODIFT JEFBMMZTVJUFEUPBSBOHFPGOPO TQFDJBMJTFEQPMMJOBUPST5IF QFUBMTBSFNVDISFEVDFEJOTJ[F Pittosporum cornifolium 'FNBMF¿PXFSTPG1JUUPTQPSVN DPSOJGPMJVNUIF¿PXFSPOUIF SJHIUIBTCFFOGFSUJMJTFECZ UIFNBMFµTQPMMFO5IFQFUBMT IBWFQFSGPSNFEUIFJSGVODUJPO PGBUUSBDUJOHUIFQPMMJOBUPS BOEIBWFGBMMFOBXBZ5IF PWBSZJTCFHJOOJOHUPTXFMM BOEXJMMGPSNUIFDBQTVMF DPOUBJOJOHNBOZTFFETUIBU XJMMCFSFMFBTFEUIFGPMMPXJOH ZFBS5IF¿PXFSPOUIFMFGUJT TUJMMSFDFQUJWFXJUIUIFTUJDLZ TUZMFQSPUSVEJOHBUUFNQUJOHUP DBQUVSFQPMMFO1JUUPTQPSVNJT capture pollen. EJDPUZMFEPOPVTXJUI¿PXFSQBSUT JOEFOPNJOBUJPOTPGUXPPS¾WF 40 P l A N T H e r i TAg e N e w Z e A l A N D Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 40 18/7/08 8:44:38 AM Plant gender Plants that have flowers of both sexes on the same plant are known as monoecious; that is, all individuals produce male pollen and female eggs and seed. Monoeciousness is the norm in the majority of the world’s plants. Male flowers are those whose gametes (pollen) leave the flower, while female flowers are those whose gametes (ova) remain in the flower and are receptive to the male gamete. Coprosma grandifolia, female Each of the inconspicuous flowers has two stigmas and two ova. The berry has two seeds. Coprosma grandifolia, male The anthers hang loose from the small flower. The petals are small, white or dull green. Coprosma are pollinated by the wind or small insects. The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 41 41 18/7/08 8:44:42 AM An intriguing feature of the New Zealand flora is the high proportion of plants that have separate male and female individuals. While this is the norm in animals, plants that have male and female sex organs on different individuals is unusual. These plants are known as dioecious plants. Approximately 12–13 percent of New Zealand’s flora is of this type, compared with, for example, 2–5 percent in Britain and 3.9 percent in South Australia. Dioeciousness ensures that fertilisation occurs by another individual so that no individual can breed with itself. This strategy enhances variation in the offspring and is responsible in some measure for the large number of species some genera exhibit. Dioeciousness is connected with non-specialised pollinators (such as bees, flies and other insects). It is likely that non-specialised pollinators encourage self-pollination; however, the offspring of self-pollination show little variety. Separation of the sexes (dioeciousness) is a means of countering this, as having male and female flowers on separate plants ensures cross-pollination is established. Houpara (Pseudopanax lessonii) With this small coastal shrub, the male flower shows symmetry of form with the anthers holding an abundant supply of pollen. These flowers are ideally suited to many non-specialised pollinators. They display another distinctive New Zealand feature — green petals. Petals need not be showy to attract small insects. 42 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 42 18/7/08 8:44:42 AM Dioeciousness accounts for the variability in seeding from year to year that some species exhibit, because seeding will be determined by synchronising the time at which the male and female parts are functional. Environmental conditions, such as degree of wind chill, sunlight hours and water levels in the flowers, can influence the strength and timing of flowering. If male and female members of the same species are living in different microclimates (such as dry ridge or damp gully), the male flowers may not be synchronised with the receptive females, as the environmental conditions of flowering produce a slightly different response in time of flowering. Rimu, for example, may go seven to 12 years before seed on females is produced in abundance. These years are termed ‘mast’ years. The distance between a male tree from a female tree increases the chance of unsuccessful pollination. Logging of a population and a reduction in total density of the adult trees and total gamete production will also reduce the likelihood of fertilisation. This seems to be the case in monoao, a dioecious species of conifer that grows in Northland’s kauri forests. Monoao has become relatively rare in the wild with its natural range vastly reduced to remnant populations in Coromandel, Northland and Little Barrier Island. Another factor that determines the degree of successful fertilisation is the relative numbers of males and females. An excess of one or the other may exist in the natural populations of many plants. Puawhananga (Clematis paniculata) Puawhananga, the native clematis, is dioecious. Males usually have larger and more prolific flowers. The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 43 43 18/7/08 8:44:44 AM Seed dispersal Botanists use the word ‘fruit’ to describe any structure that holds a seed. Fruits have a method or structure in their design that aids in the dispersal OFTHESEEDS)NMANYPLANTSBERRIESANDDRUPESAREFAVOUREDASANEFlCIENT way to disperse the seed. Kanono (Coprosma grandifolia) grandiflora) 'SVJUTPOBGFNBMFUSFF'PSB MBSHFOVNCFSPGQMBOUTJODMVEJOH UIJTPOFCJSETQSPWJEFUIFTFFE EJTQFSTJOHNFDIBOJTN On dioecious plants only females produce fruits. Half the genera in New Zealand that have separate sexes also have fleshy fruits. A dioecious species produces greater fruit crops (more seed, not larger fruits) than similar sized and structured monoecious species. This is because in dioecious plants nearly all seed produced is viable as it has been formed BY CROSSPOLLINATION WHEREAS IN MONOECIOUS SPECIES SUCH AS mAX AND cabbage trees) a percentage of seed produced is unviable as it is the result OFSELFPOLLINATIONANDVIABLESEEDWILLNOTBEFORMED Pittosporum cornifolium 5IFGSVJUPGUIJTFQJQIZUFPG OPSUIFSOGPSFTUTIBTBCSJHIUMZ DPMPVSFEJOOFSDBQTVMFUIBU DBUDIFTUIFCJSEµTFZFUIF TUJDLZTFFETBSFQSFTFOUFEGPS EJTQFSTBM 44 P l A N T H e r i TAg e N e w Z e A l A N D Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 44 18/7/08 8:44:46 AM The bird is attracted by the bright colours of the fruit and consumes the sweet, nutritious berry. When flying away, the bird digests the skin and pulp of the berry (which may have chemicals in it that inhibit germination), but excretes the seed — usually with a little dollop of fertiliser — hopefully some distance from the parent plant. The seed’s passage through the gut effectively cleans the seed and prepares it for germination. Some seeds are enclosed in dry capsules or pods. These seeds are often wind dispersed, but Pittosporum have a sticky glue surrounding the seeds inside the capsule. As the bird eats the seeds (as roughage or as gizzard stones, storing them in their throat where they are used in grinding and mashing food), other seeds attach themselves to the bird’s feathers. The sticky seeds eventually dislodge themselves some distance from the parent tree. Rhabdothamnus solandri "TISVCGPVOEJOTIBEZBSFBT The brightly coloured flowers JUJTUZQJDBMPGCJSEQPMMJOBUFE are ideal for attracting birds. QMBOUTXJUICSJHIUMZDPMPVSFE ¿PXFSTBUUSBDUJOHCJSET The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 45 45 18/7/08 8:44:47 AM Parapara (Pisonia brunoniana) also has sticky seeds which aid dispersal, but the sticky substance is so efficient that insects and even small birds and reptiles (geckos and skinks) are sometimes trapped in the gelatinous mass surrounding the seeds and eventually die of exhaustion. This is beneficial for the plant as the decomposing animal releases its nutrients into the soil and eventually the plant absorbs them. Parapara is a plant of coastal headlands where the soils are generally poor and shallow. Few deciduous plants Only 11 New Zealand species completely lose their leaves over winter. They include kowhai (Sophora species), lacebark and ribbonwood (Hoheria species) and native fuchsia or kotukutuku (Fuchsia excorticata). In Northland, these species are only deciduous for a week or two, but in colder districts and the high country, they may remain deciduous for four months over winter. The vast majority of New Zealand’s trees and shrubs hold on to their leaves for the entire year. 46 Lacebark (Hoheria populnea) Lacebark loses its leaves over winter. P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 46 18/7/08 8:44:48 AM Regional endemism/biological hotspots As mentioned previously, the present-day distribution of native plants is due to past climatic and geological processes, with time and isolation leading to forms and species uniquely adapted to the environment of these islands. From the mountains to the coast, the New Zealand landscape is variable and diverse, with a range of microclimates to which a number of plants have successfully adapted. Hotspots of plant biodiversity include north-west Nelson, the Three Kings Islands and the islands off Northland’s east coast. Each of these areas possesses plants endemic to their region. The smaller the area, the more the individual species are at risk due to chance events. Tecomanthe speciosa This climber, endemic to the Three Kings Islands, was reduced to a single specimen when discovered, but thanks to today’s propagation methods is now common in gardens throughout the North Island — an example of preservation through domestication. The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 47 47 18/7/08 8:44:50 AM Plants that grow on offshore islands occasionally show larger forms than those found on the mainland. Small populations and high sunshine hours tend to favour those individuals with large leaves. Macropiper excelsum subsp. peltatum This shrub from Northland’s offshore islands has larger and glossier leaves than the mainland forms. Hybridism The offspring of two genetically dissimilar individuals is called a hybrid. Hybrids, though usually sterile, are common, and in some genera it is difficult to tell species apart. To confuse matters, many species show so little uniformity in their leaf shape — on the same plant as well as others of the same species growing near by — that it is virtually impossible to know which are the result of cross-pollination and which are the result of natural variability. 48 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 48 18/7/08 8:44:52 AM Karapapa (Alseuosmia banksii) This shrub, common in northern forests, is an example of a species that shows a variety of leaf forms. These leaves are taken from individuals all within 50 m of each other. Larger forms Many plants show larger forms in New Zealand compared with similar plant families in other countries. This difference is compounded as the plants of New Zealand’s offshore islands also show larger forms than those on the mainland. Variation in leaf parts: heterophylly The variation in structural parts such as leaves is termed ‘phenotype plasticity’. ‘Heteroblasty’ is a term botanists use to describe different forms in developmental stages, such as the lancewood (Pseudopanax species) exhibiting different leaf shapes in juvenile and adult plants. ‘Heterophylly’ describes the plant exhibiting different leaf shapes or growth forms dependent upon the environment in which the plant grows. Another good example of leaf variation and growth habit is hangehange (Geniostoma ligustrifolium). In a shady river edge, the leaf The characteristics of New Zealand’s flora Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 49 49 18/7/08 8:44:54 AM is large and soft; however, in full sunlight the leaf becomes glossy and leathery. This characteristic of plasticity can make New Zealand plants difficult to identify. Hangehange (Geniostoma ligustrifolium) variation in leaf size and growth habit is dependent on the environment in which it survives. 50 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 50 18/7/08 8:44:57 AM 3 What’s in a name? Classifying plants Taxonomy The scientific naming of all plants and animals is based upon conventions devised by Carl von Linné, who was born in Sweden in 1707. He set about classifying plants and animals into a hierarchical structure based upon observable characteristics. Latin was chosen because it was then the international language of science. He even Latinised his own name to Carolus Linnaeus. All organisms, he proposed, should be classified according to their shape and structure, their physiology and their distribution. Kingdoms were divided into Classes and they, in turn, into Orders, which were further divided into Genera and Species. In the process he recognised that for plants it was their sexual parts that held most merit in placing them into similar groups or families. The science of classifying all forms of life is called taxonomy. Over the years research and new discoveries have led to the expansion of the groupings and, with modern tools such as DNA sequencing, plants’ classifications are under constant review. Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 51 18/7/08 8:44:57 AM 4HETABLEBELOWILLUSTRATESTHETAXONOMICCLASSIlCATIONOFSIXNATIVE plants. $MBTTJ¾DBUJPOPGTJYOBUJWFQMBOUT $PNNPO OBNFT 5JUJLPVLB DBCCBHFUSFF ,PXIBJ ,BVSJ 1POHB TJMWFSGFSO /JLBV OJLBVQBMN /FX;FBMBOE ¿BY ,JOHEPN 1MBOUBF %JWJTJPO .BHOPMJBQIZUB .BHOPMJPQIZUB 1JOPQIZUB 1UFSJEPQIZUB .BHOPMJPQIZUB $MBTT -JMJPQTJEB .BHOPMJPQTJEB 1JOPQTJEB Magnoliopsida -JMJPQTJEB 0SEFS "TQBSBHBMFT 'BCBMFT 1JOBMFT $ZBUIFBMFT Arecales "TQBSBHBMFT 'BNJMZ Asparagaceae -BYNBOOJBDFBF 'BCBDFBF "SBVDBSJBDFBF $ZBUIFBDFBF 1BMNBF Arecaceae )FNFSPDBMMJEBDFBF Xanthorrhoeaceae (FOVT $PSEZMJOF 4PQIPSB "HBUIJT $ZBUIFB 3IBQBMPTUZMJT 1IPSNJVN 4QFDJFT $BVTUSBMJT 4NJDSPQIZMMB 4UFUSBQUFSB "BVTUSBMJT $EFBMCBUB 3TBQJEB 1UFOBY This table shows the hierarchical structure of plant nomenclature. Cordyline is a member of the laxmanniaceae Family that is part of the Order Asparagales that belongs to the Class liliopsida of the Magnoliaphyta Division within the Plant Kingdom. By knowing the SCIENTIlCBINOMIALGENUSANDSPECIESNAMEONECANlNDWHERETHEPLANT sits in relation to its order, class and division. Similarities and differences with other plants can be ascertained. This system avoids the confusion often prevalent with common names, as there may be several plants with the same common name. 4VCTQFDJFTWBSJFUJFTBOEIZCSJET 4VCTQFDJFT5IFDMBTTJ¾DBUJPOTVCTQFDJFTJTHJWFOBGUFSUIFTQFDJFTOBNFUPTJHOJGZBQPQVMBUJPOUIBU NBZCFTMJHIUMZTJNJMBSUPUIFNBJOTQFDJFTCVUXIJDIWBSJFTJOTPNFTUSVDUVSBMXBZBOEJTSFQSPEVDUJWFMZ JTPMBUFEGSPNUIFNBJOTQFDJFT0GUFOQMBOUTGPVOEPOUIFPGGTIPSFJTMBOETIBWFTVCTQFDJFTDMBTTJ¾DBUJPO 5IFZIBWFUIFQPUFOUJBMUPCSFFEXJUIUIFNBJOMBOEQPQVMBUJPOCVUEVFUPUIFJSJTPMBUJPOBSFVOBCMFUP5IFZ BSFHJWFOUIFTBNFTQFDJFTOBNFCVUUIFJSSFQSPEVDUJWFJTPMBUJPOJTTJHOJ¾FECZCFJOHBTVCTQFDJFT 7BSJFUJFT5IFUFSNWBSJFUZJTVTFEUPEJGGFSFOUJBUFQMBOUTPGUIFTBNFTQFDJFTPSTVCTQFDJFTUIBUIBWFB EJTUJODUTUSVDUVSBMIBCJU"QMBOUNBZIBWFBSFE¿PXFSXIFOUIFVTVBM¿PXFSGPSNJTXIJUFPSNBZCF QSPTUSBUFFHTJHOJ¾FECZWBSQSPTUSBUB JOTUFBEPGUIFOPSNBMVQSJHIUGPSN.BOZIPSUJDVMUVSBMWBSJFUJFT BSFCSFEBOETFMFDUFEGPSEFTJSBCMFRVBMJUJFT5IFZBSFDBMMFEDVMUJWBSTDVMUJWBUFEWBSJFUJFT BOEEFTJHOBUFE CZIBWJOHUIFJSDVMUJWBSOBNFQMBDFEJOTJEFJOWFSUFEDPNNBTBOEVTVBMMZDBQJUBMJTFEFH´#SPO[F,JOHµ )ZCSJET5IFTFBSFDSPTTFTCFUXFFOUXPTQFDJFT5IFZNBZPDDVSXIFSFUXPTQFDJFTNFFUJOUIFJSSBOHF GPSFYBNQMFXIFSF$PSPLJBDPUPOFBTUFSBOE$CVEEMFJPJEFTDSPTTCSFFEUIFIZCSJE$WJSHBUBPDDVST )ZCSJETTFMEPNNBLFWJBCMFTFFE5IFVTVBMNFUIPEPGIPSUJDVMUVSBMSFQSPEVDUJPOJTCZDVUUJOH 52 P l A N T H e r i TAg e N e w Z e A l A N D Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 52 18/7/08 8:44:58 AM Plant names may change when botanists review the classification within a plant group. When this happens a synonym may be added; for example, mingimingi has at times been Cyathodes juniperina and Leucopogon juniperina, so its name may be presented as Cyathodes juniperina syn Leucopogon juniperina. Synonyms are sometimes denoted by the symbol = , thus Cyathodes juniperina = Leucopogon juniperina. Taxonomy, more than any other branch of natural science, is open to interpretation and opinion. As such, some of the classifications and groupings of plants by one group of botanists are regarded by others as doubtful. This is just the nature of botany, and it is often what motivates and stimulates plant scientists to keep on making observations and mounting expeditions to try to unravel the perplexities of the living world. Common names The names of plants — whether they be scientific, English, Maori or common names — have origins and meanings that reveal much about the plants’ traditional uses, people’s perceptions and local mythologies. But, in most cases, plant names reflect important features and assist in making them easier to remember. A name often describes one or more of the plant’s characteristics. Sometimes the stories behind the plant are fanciful and figuratively rich. They may be metaphorical or allegorical, relating to an important aspect of human endeavour and spirit. Plants can be seen in a beautiful or scenic context that inspires an appreciation of their majesty and the mysteries of nature. They can sometimes warn of the harsh realities of life and even predict the qualities of the coming seasons. Plants of special importance to Maori received a number of different names recognising their varieties, or important parts of the plant or growth stages. Flowers or fruits were given descriptive phrases rather than true names. As a consequence, names vary from one part of the country to the other as regional communities named plants after local uses and observations. James Beever lists 85 names for flax and its varieties or parts, and 14 names for bracken fern. Lawrie Metcalf, in his Cultivation of New Zealand Plants, lists 36 horticultural varieties of flax. Both Europeans and Maori gave names to plants based on similarities with plants found in their homelands. Many Maori names for plants echo similar species found in eastern Polynesia, and those along the earlier route of Polynesian migration eastwards across the Pacific Islands. New Zealand’s pukatea is a forest tree with spreading buttressed roots which help to support the trunk in swampy ground where it grows best. Pukeka is also a buttressed tree in the Cook Islands, where, as in New Zealand, kiekie is a climber, ngaio and rata are trees and ponga and wheki are tree ferns. Nikau is the name for the coconut palm in Mangareva of the Gambier Islands (French Polynesia), while manuka occurs as a tree name in parts New Zealand’s plants in the landscape Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 53 53 18/7/08 8:44:58 AM of Fiji. Konini is a name used to identify the native tree fuchsia, and this name also occurs in the Marquesas. Miro is also known as toromiro, and this tree name occurs at Easter Island, Tahiti and the Cook Islands. The name tawa is similar to tava in Futuna, Tonga, Samoa and Niue, and to dawa in Fiji. The intoxicating drink kava is made throughout the Pacific from the kava plant, so similar in leaf shape to the endemic and nonintoxicating (but medicinal) kawakawa, yet it is a different species. Kawakawa and kava The New Zealand kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum), left, and the Samoan kava (Piper mythisticum), right. In 1834 the missionary William Yates commented: It will scarcely be credited . . . that the New Zealanders have a distinct name for every tree and plant in their land . . . I was personally astonished, though I ought not to have been so, when a celebrated Austrian Botanist, Baron Heugal, paid us a visit and made a large collection of plants. We had a native tell us their names: he gave names to all without exception, and that with little hesitation. Some of these plants were so small that it might have been supposed that they would have escaped the notice of an individual. But it was not so; not one could be introduced, however minute or wherever the hidden situation in which it had thriven, but a name was found for it: and lest it should be thought that this man was coining the names, another native was called in the following evening, just as the plants were being placed in fresh paper; with one single exception, out of three hundred specimens, he gave the same to each as had been given the night before. European settlers searched for names for these new plants and naturally adopted many Maori names. Other names were coined to describe some obvious characteristic, especially if there was a similarity to a familiar plant from home, such as mountain daisy, pink broom, wineberry, New Zealand hydrangea, marbleleaf, New Zealand oak, and so on. 54 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 54 18/7/08 8:44:59 AM 4 Maori and the plant world Nga whakapapa o nga rakau: genealogy of the trees The forest world of the Maori In Maori tradition, the plants of Aotearoa are the children of Tanemahuta, the guardian and creator of the forests. Tane mated with various female personifications and the offspring of these couplings are the trees and shrubs, ferns and mosses, reptiles and birds. The central concept in Maori reality is that of whakapapa, genealogy or lineage. Tane is the child of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatuanuku, the earth mother. Tane was responsible for creating all the plants, animals, birds and creatures of the forest, including people. Through the chain of creation and whakapapa, humans are intimately linked to all forms of life, including plants. These connections are embodied in the traditions, thoughts, behaviour and culture of Maori as part of their mauri, life force or essence. Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 55 18/7/08 8:45:00 AM 56 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 56 18/7/08 8:45:01 AM In the traditional world, there was no demarcation between the living world of plants, animals and people and the non-living world of rocks, sea, winds and water. All facets of the universe had a mauri. This term can be applied to objects that act as a medium or a talisman. A small shrub or a blade of tussock could be employed as a temporary talisman to ascertain what fate lay in store for people. In such a case the object or plant was termed an aitua, and held a mauri or life force of its own. The concept of tapu (sacredness), and its practical manifestation of appeasing the guardian Tanemahuta, was the motivating force in the way that Maori personally interacted with elements of the world in which they lived, including plant life, bird and animal life, the earth, the mountains, and everything they could see and hear. An individual tree sits face down, feeding from the earth mother using its roots, as an infant feeds from the breast of the mother. The trunks or pillars hold up the sky father, separating the two parents. The reproductive organs are displayed at the top of the tree, pollen and seeds being abundantly spread. The manifestation is Tane the male element being upright and above the receptive female element. Tane mating with a variety of females of different personifications accounts in its simplest interpretation for the different physical characteristics of the plants, the uses to which they could be put and the customs and rituals associated with their uses, as well as explaining the position in the landscape in which they may be found. Ko te whakapapa tuatahi tenei: the first genealogy This explanation of the creation of the world and its plants is taken from a talk by Te Tawhaa Tioke of Ngai Tuhoe. Te Tawhaa was a student of the ‘whare wananga’ (house of learning), this creation story being passed on to him by his uncle. I am grateful for his permission to publish it here. Ko te whakapapa tuatahi ko te poutokomanawa kei waenganui ia Papatuanuku raua ko Ranginui e tu ana. Ko tenei poutokomanawa he rakau me nga wehewehenga. The first genealogy was the main pillar standing between Papatuanuku and Ranginui. This main pillar was a tree and all its components. Harakeke, New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) In Maori tradition, the plants of Aotearoa are the children of Tanemahuta, the guardian and creator of the forests. Tuatahi ko te Putake Tuarua ko te More Tuatoru ko te Weu Tuawha ko te Aka Tuarima ko te Rea Tuaono ko te Wao-nui Tuawhitu ko te Kune Tuawaru ko te Whe Tuaiwa ko te Kore Tekau ko te Po (original roots) (taproots) (rootlets) (climbing plant rootlets) (growth) (the forest) (shapes and forms) (sound of the trees and leaves, by the wind) (nothingness, non-existing, the unknown) (the world of night/silence) Maori and the plant world Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 57 57 18/7/08 8:45:01 AM Ko enei wehenga e pa ana ano ki a tatou ki te tangata. Ko te whakaahuatanga mai o tenei whakapapa ko Ranginui e tu iho nei — ko Papatuanuku e hora nei. These components apply to us the human race. The manifestation of this genealogy is Ranginui standing erect and Papatuanuku lying openly beneath. The first genealogy describes the formation of the world: the area between the earth (a mother image) and the sky (a father image). Life begins as small roots that grow and become taproots, vines, stems and eventually trees that form forest associations; it is a gradual growth from simple to complex. The last lines above recognise the world that surrounds us, which is all-encompassing. The atmosphere, the unknown and the silent, also fills the world but is defined as an absence of the living, but nonetheless still a component of the world. Ko te whakapapa tuarua tenei: the second genealogy Ka moe a Tane ki a Apunga ka puta ko nga rakau iti katoa o te Ngahere, me etahi o nga ngarara o te whenua, me nga manu o te ngahere, nga rakau iti katoa, ko Manono, ko Koromiko, ko Hanehane, ko Karamuramu, ko Ramarama, ko Putaweeta me etahi atu o nga rakau iti ote ngahere. Tane married Apunga and begat all the small trees, the insects and birds of the forest. Among the small trees were included the Manono, the Koromiko, the Hangehange, the Karamuramu, the Ramarama, the Putaputaweta and a number of other shrubs of the forest. Tane mated with Apunga. The offspring are many of the small trees and shrubs of the forest. Ka moe ano a Tane i a Mumuhanga kia puta ko Totara nui, ko Totara poriro, ko Totara torowhenua, ko Tawini. Tane married Mumuhanga and begat Totara nui, Totara poriro, Totara torowhenua and Tawini. Ka moe ano a Tane i a Tukapua ka puta ko Tawai, ko Kahikawaka, ko 58 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 58 18/7/08 8:45:02 AM Mangeao, me etahi atu o nga rakau nunui o te ngahere. Then Tane married Tukapua and begat Tawai [beech], Kahikawaka, Mangeao and others of the larger trees of the forest. Ka moe ano a Tane i a Hine wao riki kia puta ko Kahikatea, ko Matai, ko Rimu, Pukatea, Ko Kauri, ko Tanekaha. Then Tane married Hine wao riki and begat Kahikatea, Matai, Rimu, Pukatea, Kauri and Tanekaha. [These are the large forest trees that produce useful solid woods. All are conifers with the exception of Pukatea.] Ka moe a Tane i a Mangonui kia puta ko Hinau, ko Tawa, ko Pokere, ko Kararaka, ko Miro, ko Taraire. Then Tane married Mangonui and begat Hinau, Tawa, Pokere, Kararaka, Miro and Taraire. (These are the large broadleaf forest trees with edible berries.) Ka moe ano a Tane i a Ruru-tangi-akau kia puta ko Kahikatoa, ko Kanuka, Ko te Kahikatoa te rakau e kia nei e te korero whakatauki ‘he tao huata te karo, he na aitua, tu tonu e kore e taea te karo’. Then Tane married Ruru-tangi-akau and begat Kahikatoa [manuka] and Kanuka. It is from the Kahikatoa that comes the proverb: ‘The thrust of a spear can be parried, but that of death stands forever.’ Ka moe ano a Tane i a Rerenoa, kia puta ko Rata, ko Tataramoa, ko Kareao, ko Akaaka, ko Poananga, ko Piki-arero and Kaweaka. Tane then married Rerenoa and begat Rata, Tataramoa, Kareao, Akaaka, Poananga, Piki-arero and Kaweaka. [These are the climbing plants that scramble for life on the trunks of other plants.] Ka moe ano a Tane i a Puwhakahara kia puta ko Maire, ko Puriri. Tane then married Puwhakahara and begat Maire and Puriri. Ka moe ano a Tane i a Punga kia puta ko Kaponga, ko Mamaku, ko Punui, ko Wheki, ko Kotukutuku, ko Patate me etahi ano o nga ngarara. Tane then married Punga and begat Kaponga, Mamaku, Punui, Wheki, Kotukutuku, Patate, and more ferns (plants found in gullies and damp and dark spots) as well as insects. Ka moe ano a Tane i a Tutoro-whenua kia puta ko Raruhe (ko te aruhe tenei e kainga nei e o tatou maatua. Ko nga putake rahuruahu e kainga ana e o tatou maatua, engari ko nga mea e tupu ana i nga whenua tahoata anake.) Again, Tane married Tutoro-whenua and begat Raruhe [aruhe — bracken fern]. (These edible fern roots grew in the pumice lands and were consumed by our ancestors.) Ka moe ano a Tane i a Hine-mahanga kia puta ko Tupaatiki, ko Kakaho, Maori and the plant world Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 59 59 18/7/08 8:45:02 AM Gully fern – kiokio (Blechnum novaezelandiae) Tane mated with various female personifications and the offspring of these couplings are the trees and shrubs, ferns and mosses, reptiles and birds. 60 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 60 18/7/08 8:45:03 AM ko Toetoe, ko Wiwi, ko Raupo, ko Parapara me etahi atu o nga tamariki a Tane kei te repo e tupu ana. Then Tane married Hine-mahanga and begat Tupaatiki, Kakaho, Wiwi, Raupo, Parapara and others of Tane’s children that grew in the swamp (the rushes and sedges). Ka moe ano a Tane i a Tawake-toro kia puta ko Manuka. Then Tane married Tawake-toro and begat Manuka. Ka moe ano a Tane i a Huna kia puta ko Harakeke, ko Kouka, ko Tikapu, ko Toi. Then Tane married Huna and begat Harakeke, Kouka, Tikapu and Toi. (These are the flax and cabbage trees.) Ka moe ano a Tane i a Tawhara-nui kia puta ko Kiekie, ko Tuawhiti, ko Patanga, ko Mokomoko, ko Kiekie-papa-toro. Then Tane married Tawhara-nui and begat Kiekie, Tauwhiti, Patanga, Mokomoko and Kiekie-papa-toro (all names for kiekie). Ka moe ano a Tane i a Hine-tu-maunga kia puta ko Para-whenua-mea, ko te wai whaka-maakuukuu tenei i nga putake o nga tamariki a Tane. Then Tane married Hine-tu-maunga and begat Para-whenua-mea, which are the waters that moisten the roots of Tane’s children. Me mutu i noei nga korero kia mau ai te tapu. He kupu whakamarama, kaua e wehi ki enei whakapapa, kua oti ke te whakamaamaa kia ngawari ai, ki a tatou, me a tatou whakatupuranga. We close now, that the sacredness may be respected. As a clarification, do not be afraid of these genealogies, they have been relaxed and subdued to protect future generations and us. Similar genealogies A variation of the second genealogy above was recorded by Elsdon Best, referring to it in Maori Mythology and Religion as a fireside myth. Tane is said to have mated with many different kinds of female beings . . . Tane mated with Hine-tu-maunga, the mountain maid, and she produced Para-whenuamea (personified form of water). He then mated with Hine-waoriki, who produced kahika and matai (two trees, Podocarpus dacrydioides and P. spicatus); and with Tukupua, who produced the tawai (Fagus fusca, Beech) and with Mangonui, who produced the tawa and hinau (Beilschmiedia tawa and Elaeocarpus dentatus); and with Pu-whakahara, who produced the maire (Olea spp.); and with Rerenoa, who produced the rata (Metrosideros robusta); and with Ruru-tangi-akau, Maori and the plant world Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 61 61 18/7/08 8:45:04 AM who produced the aka (Dodonaea viscosa) and with Punga, who produced all insects and vermin, and with Tu-toro-whenua, who produced aruhe (edible rhizome of Pteris aquilina); and with Parauri; who produced the tui (bird) and with Haere-awaawa who produced weka (bird). So were trees, plants, birds and insects generated. Many other variations, names and plant genealogies exist in whakapapa. In some areas of Aotearoa the tree ferns are viewed as the offspring of Tangaroa (the guardian of the oceans). The tree ferns, such as mamaku, have large ‘scales’ on their trunks (scars left by fallen fronds), bearing witness to their descent from hapuku (groper). In the northern tribes, kauri, with its smooth grey bark and immense size, is seen as the offspring of the large sea mammal, the sperm whale. Another account of Tane The following account appeared in Te Ao Hou (No. 52, September 1965), and was attributed to ‘a member of the Ngati Hau tribe of Wanganui and is among the manuscripts collected by John White, which are in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington’. The main pillar that separates Ranginui, the sky father, from Papatuanuku, the earth mother, is a tree, the symbolic personification of Tanemahuta, the male element, the progenitor. Tane is also the ancestor of the birds, and it is he who caused the trees to grow. He has many names which refer to his various tasks: thus, he is known as Tane-tuturi (Tane with the bent knees) after the time he lay with bent knees in order to thrust apart Rangi and Papa. He is known as Tane-pepeke (Tane with his limbs drawn up) for he lay with his limbs drawn up as he made ready to stretch his legs to their full length, thereby thrusting Rangi upwards, and forcing him to live apart from Papa. He is also called Tane-ua-tika (Tane with the straight backbone) because he is so erect, standing upright and strong. It is because his backbone is straight that trees grow straight. His name Tane-te-wai-ora refers to the moon gaining new life by bathing in the lake created by Tane. Trees, plants, birds, animals, lizards and insects also gain life by drinking fresh water. The name Tanemahuta refers to the canoes that men paddle; they embark, cross the ocean, then they land (‘mahuta’); they go ashore, joyfully arriving at whatsoever place they wish, and are not wet from the water. As though they were merely crossing a wide path, they travel dry-shod across the ocean. Now this is due to Tane, because canoes come from the trees of the forest; it is for this reason 62 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 62 18/7/08 8:45:04 AM Tane ‘is also called Tane-ua-tika (Tane with the straight backbone) because he is so erect, standing upright and strong. It is because his backbone is straight that trees grow straight.’ that a canoe is known as ‘Riu o Tane’ — The Trunk of Tane. Tu-wai-rora is the origin of the straight, tall trees from which canoes are made, that is the totara and the kauri trees. Here are more sayings about canoes: ‘Ko Tu-te-nganahau, ko te kiri o te kahikatoa, hei whare e noho maru a Kahukura’ — The narrow path of Tane, and ‘Ko te ake ko te kahikatea, nga uaua o Tu mata-uenga’ — The daring of Tane. There is a proverb about the bark of trees that is used to thatch houses: ‘Tu-te-nganahau, the bark of the kahikatoa, makes a house fit to shelter Kahukura (god of the rainbow)’. Another proverb is: ‘The ake and the kahikatea are the sinews of Tu-mata-uenga’. This refers to the spear, the taiaha and the wahaika. In addition, as Tane is the ancestor of birds, the owl is his bird; this is why the owl is known as ‘the hidden bird of Tane’. The same expression is used of the kiwi. Tane is also the ancestor of the trees of the forest, for he took Mumuwhango, and by her he fathered the totara; he took Puwhakahara, and by her he had the kahikatoa (Leptospermum) and the akerautangi tree; he took Tuwairore, and by her he had the kahikatea and the rimu; and he took Atatangirea, and by her he had the maire. Tane had other wives also; whose descendants were the quick, fluttering creatures of this world, the birds. With Parauri, he had the tui, with Papa, he had the kiwi, and with Haereawaawa, he had the weka. Maori and the plant world Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 63 63 18/7/08 8:45:06 AM 64 P l ant H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l and Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 64 18/7/08 8:45:08 AM Maori and the plant world Insights into the botanical world Many of these genealogies and whakatauki (proverbs, stories), reveal a number of powerful insights into the botanical world. For example: • The importance of sexual reproduction in creating variation in the offspring. The male (Tane) brings the quality of virility and growth; the female brings the characteristic form or shape, which is related to the habitat the plant survives in. • Some plants were formed before others. The first formed plants were small shrubs. The plants last formed were those most useful to people. • The interrelationships and connectedness of the living world. Apunga was the mother of all the creatures that lived in damp, sheltered spots, such as tree ferns, pate, schefflera, ground ferns and weta (insects). • Tane was also the progenitor of humans. He links humans with the same processes as all living things. This acknowledges a common mauri or life force shared by all. • Names given for varieties and cultivars of commonly used plants. This reflects the notion of plants being closely related in a family relationship (whanaungatanga); for example, flax and cabbage trees have the same mother, Huna. • The living environment is sustained by sacred water, which also maintains a mauri. Uses and significance Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) berries Maori learnt to process karaka fruit to separate the poisonous parts from the edible flesh. As in other societies elsewhere, Maori explored their new land and, by observation and experimentation, learnt the uses and qualities of the plant world around them. Many had immediate use in providing easily obtained food; others could be cultivated for this purpose. Many others provided decorative, ornamental or medicinal resources, or were put to industrial uses as tools, implements, containers, or in clothing and house construction, weaving and dyeing. A great deal of chance discovery as well as purposeful experimentation would have enabled Maori to discern which plants were edible, palatable and efficacious in medicine and which were not. Sometimes a process was required to render unpalatable or poisonous plants fit to eat. The taking of plant material was governed by Maori law and ritual, as with every other aspect of existence. The plant world of Aotearoa thus assumed a great importance, not just for survival, but for its role in Maori identity and culture. Many of the uses and significance attached to the various plants are detailed when discussing individual species in Part 2. Maori and the plant world Plant Heritage Part 1.indd 65 65 18/7/08 8:45:08 AM 66 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 66 18/7/08 9:51:35 AM Part 2 The plants Conifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 67 67 18/7/08 9:51:38 AM Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 68 18/7/08 9:51:38 AM 5 Conifers New Zealand’s conifers are ancient plants. In the New Zealand flora they represent the eternal that can be termed ‘Gondwana’. These species, or ones similar to them, would have been a dominant feature of the Gondwanaland ecosystems 180 million years ago. At that time, flowering trees and shrubs had not yet appeared. Me te uru ngahere tera. Like a forest grove. As a grove contains many trees, this simile is used for a large gathering of people. Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 69 18/7/08 9:51:41 AM Class Gymnospermae Gymnosperms (gymno meaning ‘naked’ and sperm meaning ‘seed’) are seedbearing plants in which the seeds are exposed and seldom found inside a berry. They are regarded as the most primitive form of the seed habit. These evergreen trees reproduce by means of cones, termed strobili. Leaves are linear or small, and scale-like. The Order Pinales is the most widespread of all the groups of gymnosperms and are common at high altitudes and in the colder regions of the temperate zones of the world. They are much less common in the tropics. The conifers are of significant economic importance, used extensively for timber (as a group, their wood is termed hardwood). Their growth form is frequently pyramidal, the main trunk being the source of timber. They can attain remarkable age and size. Families of gymnosperm found in New Zealand are Podocarpaceae, Araucariaceae and Cupressaceae. Kauri Other names: kauri pine, koare (sapling) Agathis australis (australis = southern) Family: Araucariaceae In all its aspects and characteristics kauri is one of the world’s most impressive trees. It is a large tree, growing to 30 m and rarely to 60 m. The trunk is up to 3 m in diameter, occasionally to 7 m. There are many records of trees yielding logs 7 m in diameter and 24 m long. The bole is always straight, often branch-free, columnar, with little or no taper; occasionally, there may be a reverse taper from the crown to the roots. The bark is ash-grey, smooth and scales off in large flakes, revealing a brown inner bark while the scar is fresh. Large mounds of shed bark and litter collect at the base of the trunk. The leaves and branches are arranged in whorls. In mature trees the branches become massive (up to 80 cm) in diameter and are deeply impregnated with resins that produce timber of superior lustre and grain. Gnarly burrs can create wood of great character. The crown in young trees is narrowly conical, in mature trees massive, flat-topped or fan-shaped, spreading to a diameter of 30 m. The root system serves the functions of anchoring the massive structure and feeding this living body. Long lateral roots, which usually exceed the mature crown in spread, radiate outwards; from those grow strong peg roots that anchor the tree. Fine lateral roots are prominent near the surface and feed the plant by absorbing the nutrients of the decomposing litter. The leaves of young trees measure up to 10 cm by 1.2 cm, are lanceshaped and in the open may have a reddish-brown tint. The thick, leathery adult leaves are smaller, to 3.5 cm, and are blunt-tipped. 70 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 70 18/7/08 9:51:41 AM More than any other New Zealand tree, kauri imposes its awesome size over all who enter its domain. The massive trunk may be up to 7 m in diameter. Kauri produces a distinctive litter. Spent male cone with bracts from a disintegrated female cone. Conifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 71 71 18/7/08 9:51:48 AM The kauri is monoecious, with separate male and female flowers and cones on the same tree. The female flowers are small, green and spherical, and develop into ripe cones 18 months later (in March–April). In the cone a winged seed is attached to each scale, with the exception of the top and bottom scales, with 50–110 seeds per cone. The heavier seeds are generally found in the centre of the cone. The scales disintegrate, allowing seeds to be wind-dispersed. Cones are up to 8 cm in diameter, carried at the end of short branches. The kauri fruits annually after the age of about 15 years. Kauri’s natural distribution is lowland and hilly forests in the northern parts of New Zealand, no further south than latitude 38°, a line from Kawhia to Opotiki. Its present distribution in the warm north appears to be the result of previous climates. The tree is tolerant of a wide range of soils from mild swamp to shallow, stony soils of steep hill country or heavy clays. As rain falls on the decaying kauri leaf litter acids are washed into the soil. These acidic conditions stimulate leaching of soil minerals and the formation of a tough impenetrable dark pan. Soils on which kauri once grew are notoriously difficult for farming. However, these soils (known as podzol soils) have produced clays that are among the whitest in the world, still mined at Matauri Bay, near Whangaroa. Kauri has left its presence in the Northland soil in other surprising ways: in some regions peat swamps conceal kauri stumps and logs some 45,000 years old. Swamp kauri is regarded as the oldest workable timber in the world. (The timber is preserved particularly well and exhibits qualities determined by the soils it has been buried in. Although heavier and weaker, the greyish discolouration tends to enhance the grain. This Kauri seeds are wind-dispersed. The heavy embryo is attached to a wing, which also acts as a ‘wick’ to absorb water and aid in germination. ‘Like gigantic columns of wood’ ‘A little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked with me to part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. I measured one of the noble trees, and found it thirty-one foot in circumference above the roots . . . These trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical boles, which ran up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet, with a near equal diameter, and without a single branch. The crown of branches at the summit is out of all proportions small to the trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with the branches. The forest here was almost composed of the kauri; and the largest trees from the parallelism of their sides, stood up like gigantic columns of wood.’ – Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (Written from Waimate, Northland) Kauri, father of the sperm whale Northern Maori believe kauri to be the father of the sperm whale. They are both rangatira (masters) of their environments, and they have ‘skin’ of the same colour and texture. Kauri gum is similar to the ambergris formed in the intestines of the sperm whale, and found cast up on beaches. 72 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 72 18/7/08 9:51:50 AM makes it much sought-after for wood turning.) Kauri’s outstanding timber has a world reputation. The even-grained wood is suitable for all but the most specialised needs. It used to be New Zealand’s pre-eminent timber tree, with Maori using it for crafting large canoes (often from a single log). In the nineteenth century it was prized for ship spars and was greatly used in house and boat construction, joinery and furniture. Maori used the soot of old, hard kauri resin (kapia) in making tattooing ink. Clean gum was scraped to form a powder and applied with oil to burns. Kauri resin spawned a whole colonial industry in the nineteenth century as gumdiggers extracted old resin from soils, to be used chiefly in varnish manufacture. Kahikatea Other names: katea, kahikatoa, white pine (formerly), kike (informal) Dacrycarpus dacrydioides (Dacrycarpus from Greek Dacron = tears, carpus = fruit, meaning ‘tear-shaped fruit’; dacrydioides = resembling dacrydium (oides = resembling) = Podocarpus dacrydioides Family: Podocarpaceae The fleshy receptacle holds aloft the seed. Podocarp means ‘a seed with a foot’. The tallest of New Zealand’s forest trees, kahikatea reaches 25–50 m or more, with a straight trunk up to 1.5 m in diameter, often fluted or buttressed at the base, and branchless for a considerable height. The smooth, dark grey bark scales off in flakes. As is common with many New Zealand trees, the juveniles differ markedly from the adults, with semimature trees having a conical shape. Juvenile leaves are 4–6 mm, adults 2–3 mm, and both are small and scale-like, and pressed flat against the branchlets. The small fruits consist of a solitary black seed sitting on a swollen red or orangey footstalk (or receptacle; the fleshy ‘berry’), which has a high water content. Kahikatea is distributed throughout New Zealand on the three main islands in lowland and some hilly forest, and is often dominant in swamp forests. Once among the most common trees, swamp drainage, land clearance and milling have reduced its habitats, though some stands can still be seen on farmland, especially on the Hauraki Plains and in Westland. To Maori kahikatea was one of the most revered trees, valued for its long straight timber (used in canoe making), its fruit (known as koroi) and its associated birdlife. Bird snares were set for New Zealand pigeon at the tops of the trees. Although its limbless trunk made it difficult to climb, men scaled the trunk in autumn with baskets to gather fruit or shook the berries onto mats on the ground. The berries were washed and eaten raw. Resin from the bark was also chewed, and it is recorded that a decoction of kahikatea leaves was taken for urinary complaints. Conifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 73 73 18/7/08 9:51:51 AM Kahikatea form large stands on swampy lowlands. The crowns often support astelias and kiekie vines. The danger of fruit gathering The whakatauki ‘He toa piki rakau kahikatea, he kai na te pakiaka’ reminds us that the expert climber of kahikatea will eventually become food for its roots. This reflects the high risk of falling when climbing the tree to gather the fruit. Origins of the kahikatea It is said that a chief Pourangahua was once blown out to sea in his canoe and was wrecked on the island of Hawaiiki. He longed to return to his home but as his canoe was destroyed, he had no means of returning. He convinced a large bird, Tawhaitari, to fly with him to Aotearoa. On reaching his homeland, Pou pulled out from under the wings of the great bird some of the finest and downiest feathers, which he threw into the ocean. From these plumes grew a lofty tree, capable of surviving in water. From this tree, a branch was broken off by the wind and cast ashore. From this branch grew the kahikatea of New Zealand. Pou carried with him on his flight two baskets of kumara, which were unknown in New Zealand at the time. (From Ngati Porou) 74 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 74 18/7/08 9:51:53 AM Rimu Other names: red pine (formerly), huarangi (the fruits) Dacrydium cupressinum (= cypress-like) Family: Podocarpaceae Rimu is a graceful and stately tree at 18–35 m tall, rarely to 50 m, with a straight trunk up to 1.5 m or more in diameter. The bark is dark brownishgrey, falling off in thick flakes, with the wood dark red and hard. The young tree has a pyramidal form with pendulous branchlets. Juvenile leaves overlap around the branchlets, are sharply pointed, and 4–7 mm long by 0.5–1 mm wide. The juvenile form lasts for a considerable period before the tree starts to take on the adult form, when leaves become smaller (2–3 mm long), stiffer, more closely set and more flattened against the branchlets. The fruit is an ovoid nut 2 mm long, seated on a red, fleshy base or receptacle. Every three or four years a bulk setting of seed occurs (called mast years).This could be due to climatic factors such as cool temperatures a couple of years before seed fall when the seed is being set, or warm temperatures in the summer of seed fall. The reproductive efficiencies associated with synchronising male and female reproductive effort on trees some distance from each other may favour masting in this dioecious species. Seed fall is from mid-March to the end of April, and there is often a high rate of empty or undeveloped seed. The seed is adapted well to bird dispersal. The sweet-tasting fleshy receptacle is swallowed with the seed and passes through the gut, excreted some distance from the parent tree. Birds that have been observed eating rimu berries include tui, bellbird, whitehead and New Zealand pigeon, blackbirds, starlings and thrushes. Rimu is the most widely occurring of all native forest trees, prominent in many types of forest from North Cape to Stewart Island, often the main canopy tree, or it can also be scattered. Second only to kauri, rimu produces New Zealand’s finest wood, and the tree was formerly relentlessly milled for timber. Heart rimu is preferred for fine furniture manufacture. It has a dark red/brown streaky Rimu forms a stately and attractive tree. Male and female rimu show sexual dimorphism, or variation in shape and form, between male and female trees. The male’s leaves on the right are smaller and sharper, feeling rough to the touch, compared to the longer and softer female. Conifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 75 75 18/7/08 9:51:55 AM grain and is harder than timber from other parts of the tree. Knots can produce wood of rich character. Maori favoured the wood for adze hafts and occasionally in canoe manufacture. Dry branches of rimu were often lit by Maori for emergency lighting, while the resinous heart timber was used for torches. Rimu bark was reportedly infused and used to treat burns, scalds, sores, ulcers and other skin complaints. The bruised inner bark was also beaten to a pulp and applied to a burn or scald. ‘The Rimu is one of the most graceful trees of the country. The wood is tough and brittle: the grain very beautiful when polished and will be much admired by future connoisseurs in ornamental woods.’ – J. Polack, New Zealand: being a narrative of travels and adventure in that country between the years 1831 and 1837 Rimu beer Captain Cook, on his second voyage to New Zealand (1772–75), made a beer brewed from a mixture of rimu and manuka leaves. The manuka made the beer less astringent. Monoao Dacrydium kirkii (after botanist Thomas Kirk, 1828–98) = Halocarpus kirkii Family: Podocarpaceae Monoao is a handsome northern conifer, a canopy tree reaching 25 m in height with a trunk up to 1 m in diameter. From a distance it looks not unlike a kauri. The bark is greyish-brown and the wood pale brownishred. Monoao is perhaps New Zealand’s most confusing conifer as it has markedly different juvenile and adult leaf forms. Sometimes the juvenile and adult leaves can be found on a mature tree, appearing to have different leaf forms on the same plant. Leaves of the juvenile tree are 15–40 mm long, while the adult leaf is no more than 2–3 mm long. Monoao is dioecious. The seed is striated and 3–8 mm long, resting in a yellow to orange berry. The species is sparsely distributed in lowland to montane forests from Hokianga harbour to the southern Coromandel Range and on Great Barrier Island. Monoao was one of the woods used by Maori for adze hafts. The light greyish-brown bark of monoao. 76 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 76 18/7/08 9:51:57 AM Totara 1PEPDBSQVTUPUBSB 'BNJMZ1PEPDBSQBDFBF The totara is a noble tree to 30 m tall, with an often massive trunk up to 2–3 m in diameter, making it one of the largest New Zealand forest trees. A noticeable feature is the thick, stringy, vertically furrowed bark. The small, sharply pointed leaves are straight to slightly curved, and measure 20 mm long by 4 mm wide, longer in juveniles. Juvenile leaves may be a dull blue or brownish-green to darker green on adults. The tree is dioecious, with male and female flowers appearing on separate trees. The fruit is a red, swollen, succulent receptacle with a 5 mm nut-like seed. Some seed is Totara: a durable timber tree that 5PUBSBJTPGUFOGPVOEPOSJEHFT thrives in myriad situations. BOEIJMMDPVOUSZ Conifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 77 77 18/7/08 9:51:59 AM borne most years with good seed years once or twice in every 10 years. The seed has a natural dormancy period of three to four months. Totara is found from North Cape to Bluff in lowland, montane and lower subalpine forests. Totara is generally a tree of warmer climates despite its southern distribution. In southern latitudes, the totara stands are almost all ancient trees and little regeneration is apparent. These old trees are thought to be relicts from a warmer period. Traces of ancient totara forests are found in abundance in the pollen records of Central Otago, in districts now occupied by grasslands and at altitudes well above the present timberline. In the north, totara behaves as a coloniser and sometimes forms large stands. It is tolerant of dry soils and seasonal drought, but intolerant of poorly drained waterlogged soils. Totara produces a high-grade, pinkish-brown timber of outstanding durability, evenness of texture and high stability. Neither borer nor the marine teredo worm will attack it. It splits very easily. In construction, totara makes a better post than a beam due to its brittleness. It was commonly used for farm fencing, house piles, railway sleepers, bridges and telephone poles. To Maori totara was the noblest tree. It was readily available and its qualities were ideal for canoe and house building, as well as for implements such as adze hafts and bird-snaring troughs. It was prized as a carving wood. It was known as the rakau rangatira, ‘the chiefly tree’, and its felling was preceded by the appropriate karakia (prayers) and conducted with reverence. The bark was woven into food baskets and also used for making fire; layers of the bark could also be used as splints for broken limbs. Smoke from a fire of totara wood was said to efficacious in treating certain skin ailments. The stringy bark is vertically furrowed. The fruit’s succulent receptacle is palatable to birds and humans. A tree revered Many Maori sayings regarding totara are concerned with its value, mostly metaphors for the admirable spirit of people. For example: Ka hinga te totara o te wao nui a Tane. The totara of the great forest of Tane has fallen. This metaphor is frequently used at the death of an important man. Ka whati ra ia taku mahuri totara. My totara sapling has broken off. This is a bereaved mother’s expression of grief at the death of her son. (No greater tribute could be paid to a young chief than to call him a totara sapling.) Collecting totara fruit The red base of the totara fruit, ripe in autumn, was collected by Maori men with ladders, filling baskets, or breaking off branch ends from which women and children on the ground collected the berries. After being washed they were eaten raw. Eating too many berries was said to be constipating. 78 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 78 18/7/08 9:52:01 AM Miro Other names: toromiro, brown pine (formerly) 1SVNOPQJUZTGFSSVHJOFBGFSSJDSVTUDPMPVSSFGFSSJOHUPESJFETQFDJNFOT 4UBDIZQJUZT GFSSVHJOFVT1PEPDBSQVTGFSSVHJOFVT 'BNJMZ1PEPDBSQBDFBF Prumnopityaceae Miro is a tall, round-headed tree reaching 25–30 m with a trunk up to 1 m wide. The bark is greyish-brown to dark brown and falls off in thick flakes. The pretty dark green leaves are 15–25 mm long, but longer on juvenile plants. Miro produces reddish-purple fruits, 12–15 mm in diameter, consisting of a fleshy drupe-like fruit containing a hard, woody seed. The pink to red seed is ripe from early autumn to midwinter. Fair seed crops are borne most years with heavy seeding (mast years) about every five years. Miro seeds are slow and variable in their germination, up to 18 months after ripeness. The fruit is a preferred food of the New Zealand pigeon, which gorge on them in March–April. Miro is a common forest tree found throughout New Zealand, in lowland and lower montane forests, often wherever rimu occurs. Maori drank an infusion of the bark to treat stomach-ache. Oil from the berries was given to those recovering from fever. The gum, which exudes from the bark, was applied to wounds, and to stop blood flow. Since European arrival, the beautiful hard, straight-grained timber has been used for flooring and in-house building. .JSPIBTBTNPPUIFSCBSLUIBO NBUBJBMUIPVHIJUNBZIBWFTNBMM ´IBNNFSNBSLTµ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onifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 79 79 18/7/08 9:52:04 AM Matai Other names: mai, black pine (formerly) 1SVNOPQJUZTUBYJGPMJBGSPN-BUJOQSVOVNQMVNQJUZTDPOJGFSTP´QMVNGSVJUFE QJOFUBYJGPMJVTGSPN-BUJOUBYVTZFXGPMJVNMFBG´XJUIMFBWFTMJLFUIFZFXUSFFµ 1PEPDBSQVTTQJDBUVT%BDSZEJVNUBYJGPMJVN1PEPDBSQVTNBUBJ1SVNOPQJUZTTQJDBUB Prumnopityaceae 'BNJMZ1PEPDBSQBDFBF Matai is a statuesque forest tree reaching 25–30 m and with a trunk up to 1.25 m in diameter, but with a marked decrease in height from north to south in the country. it is notable for being one of the new Zealand trees that undergoes a distinct juvenile stage, which differs radically from that of the adult. Juvenile plants are divaricating in habit, with long, slender, spreading and flexuous interlacing branches and sparsely carried brown leaves. this growth habit can persist until the tree attains a height of around 6 m. there is then a gradual change to the adult form, with leaves of 1–2 cm long, blunt or shortly pointed, arranged in two flattened rows on the branchlet, dark green above and greyish-green below. Matai is dioecious, producing succulent, black drupe-like fruit with a waxy bloom, looking like a very small plum, enclosing a hard nut 10 mm across. Seed fall is in autumn, the second year after flowering, and seed years are infrequent. Matai is a common forest tree found throughout new Zealand, in lowland and lower montane forests. it commonly occurs on the pumice lands of the central volcanic plateau and elsewhere on free-draining or alluvial soils. the wood of matai is dense, even in texture, and easy to split. it is a rich dark-brown colour, once used for flooring and weatherboards. early europeans tapped matai sap with an auger for use as a drink, called ‘matai beer’. Maori used this hardwood in a similar way to totara, especially for vessels such as bowls and troughs, funnels or adze hafts. 5IFCBSLPGNBUBJIBTNBOZ EJNQMFTBTJGJUIBTCFFO BUUBDLFEXJUIBIBNNFSPS NBMMFU "EVMUNBUBJMFBWFTDBOCFEJG¾DVMU UPUFMMBQBSUGSPNUIFDMPTFMZ SFMBUFENJSP.BUBJMFBWFTBSF NPSFCVODIFEBOENPSFDVSWFE UIBOUIPTFPGNJSP 80 P l a n t H e r i tag e n e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 80 18/7/08 9:52:06 AM Taku kiri kai matai o Tapui-ropa, ka tokia e te hau. At Tapui-ropa, a fire of matai warmed my skin, but now it tingles with the cold wind. The speaker is comparing his present situation of discomfort with the happier times of plentiful firewood and shelter from the winter’s winds. Matai and miro compared Matai and miro demonstrate a fascinating element of the New Zealand flora — the markedly dissimilar form of the juvenile leaves and branching between two closely related species. Miro as a juvenile is very similar to its adult form (differing only in the juvenile’s longer leaves). However, matai adopts a strongly divaricating habit as a juvenile. Why should obviously closely related and environmentally similar plants differ so greatly, but only while young? The explanation could be based on the idea that matai and miro show different strategies to bird browsing. Matai’s small, hard, brown twiggy leaves are difficult to browse, while miro’s more fleshy and green leaves are rich in turpentine-like flavours and presumably unpalatable to birds. Or maybe the difference in juvenile form can be explained by the two species having different survival strategies during an ice age. The turpentine flavenoids of miro act as antifreeze, preventing the leaf cells from freezing in cold conditions. Matai’s strategy is reducing leaf area and adopting a self-protecting shape. As adults, the trees can be difficult to tell apart. The leaves and fruit are similarly sized (although the fruit of the miro may have a pink tinge, while the matai’s drupe is purple-black). The simplest way to separate the two species is by the pattern of the bark: miro has a scaly, flaky bark and matai is stamped with rounded scars as if hit repeatedly with a hammer. Both are dioecious. Their distribution is similar, though matai can be scarce in some areas. Matai juveniles, three years old, in the nursery. Miro juveniles, three years old, in the nursery. Conifers Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 81 81 18/7/08 9:52:13 AM Tanekaha Other names: celery pine, niko, tawaiwai, toatoa, ahotea 1IZMMPDMBEVTUSJDIPNBOPJEFTQIZMMPDMBEFMFBGMJLFCSBODIFTUSJDIPNBOFUSJDIIBJS PSNBOFSFGFSSJOHUPUIFUIJOIBJSMJLFSFDFQUBDMF 1IZMMPDMBEVTSIPNCPJEBMJT 'BNJMZ1PEPDBSQBDFBF Phyllocladaceae tanekaha is a graceful, symmetrical forest tree reaching 21–25 m high. the light grey bark is usually smooth but often lichen-covered.Young trees are pyramidal in shape, but older trees have a more spreading form. the leaf branchlets are 2.5–7.5 cm long and whorled. what appear to be the plant’s leaves are in fact flattened photosynthetic stems called phylloclades. their characteristic celery-leaf shape gives the tree its european common name. the female flowers and then fruit are found on the edge of the phylloclades, near branch tips. tanekaha is found in lowland and montane areas from north Cape to taranaki, and sparsely in north-west nelson. it prefers ridges and dry terrain. the species is sometimes a pioneer species forming pole and sapling stands. tanekaha’s branches are very supple and do not break if bent over, making the wood ideal for any function that involves bending, such as yacht masts and fishing rods. the Maori name tanekaha means ‘the strong and upright man’. the tannin-rich bark provided Maori with a reddish dye, and the supple timber was carved into musical wind instruments. 5IFMJHIUHSFZCBSLVTVBMMZ TNPPUIBOEPGUFODPWFSFEXJUI MJDIFOTPGUIFUBOFLBIB Kawaka Other names: kaikawaka, New Zealand cedar -JCPDFESVTQMVNPTBMJCPTDFOUFEDFESVTXPPEQMVNPTMJLFBQMVNFGFBUIFSPS EPXOSFGFSSJOHUPMFBGGPSN 'BNJMZ$VQSFTTBDFBF Kawaka is a tall, pyramidal-shaped tree reaching 25 m with a trunk up to 1 m or more in diameter. Stringy bark falls off in long, narrow strips. the small leaves are compressed, up to 4 mm long, and somewhat triangular. the female cones are about 12 mm long and woody when ripe. the tree sets seed inconsistently, usually one year in five. the winged seeds are carried on the wind. Kawaka shows a perplexing distribution: it is found in lowland forests from Mangonui in the Far north to Hawke’s Bay and taranaki, then is absent further south until seen again in the north-western corner of the South island. (However, it can be grown silviculturally throughout the country.) this sporadic distribution is viewed as being remnants of ancient populations. Possibly, in previous times kawaka was more common and widely distributed. Past climatic or volcanic events may have destroyed large areas of it. 82 ,BXBLBJTDIBSBDUFSJTFECZJUT ¿BLZTUSJOHZSJDICSPXOCBSL P l a n t H e r i tag e n e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 82 18/7/08 9:52:16 AM 6 Angiosperms: dicotyledons (flowering trees, shrubs and climbers) Class Angiospermae The angiosperms are plants that bear the seeds in a case. Angiosperm (angio = beauty; sperma = reproductive part) refers to the beautiful flowers of this most abundant and widely distributed class of vascular plants. They are herbaceous shrubs or trees, usually with spreading branches. The plant body can be regarded as being composed of stem, leaf and root, with the reproductive structures being flowers, of various sizes, shapes and colours, which often have evolved to directly facilitate pollination from birds, small animals or insects. The seeds are usually dispersed in pericorps — commonly termed fruits — which also show large variation including berries, drupes, dry capsules and many other forms of dispersal intricately linked with bird, animal and wind dispersal of the plants’ seeds. Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 83 18/7/08 9:52:16 AM Dicotyledons The dicotyledons are a group of flowering plants with two embryonic seed leaves (cotyledons) and broad leaves with a central midrib and veins that run from it. The group includes large woody trees as well as minute herbs. They are the most abundant plant group (almost 200,000 species worldwide) and show much diversity in growth form and structure. The trunks and branches are often curved, seldom straight; the wood is termed ‘softwood’. Taraire Other name: New Zealand oak (formerly) Beilschmiedia tarairi (after Beilschmied, Polish botanist, 1793–1848) Family: Lauraceae Taraire is a handsome broad-leaved, evergreen forest tree to 22–25 m high with a trunk to 1 m in diameter. The bark is dark brown and smooth. The glossy, leathery leaves are ovoid, with prominent depressed veins, and measure 4–15 cm long by 3–6 cm wide. They are bright dark green above and greyish-blue below. The leaf stalks are covered in a brownish-gold ‘wool’ of hairs. The small flowers, 5 mm in diameter, occur in panicles from September to December. Ovoid blue-purple drupes, 25–35 mm long, carry a single seed. The fruit is a favoured food of the New Zealand pigeon. Taraire is found from North Cape south to Raglan and East Cape in coastal and lowland forests. It occurs in greatest abundance between Kaipara and the Bay of Islands. The flesh of the kernel was eaten by Maori, after steaming the kernels in an oven for about two days. Taraire’s large drupe changes colour, from red to purple, as it ripens. 84 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 84 18/7/08 9:52:19 AM Tawa Other names: mariri (unripe fruit), pokere (cooked kernel) Beilschmiedia tawa (after Beilschmied, Polish botanist; 1793–1848) Family: Lauraceae Tawa is a tall forest tree, reaching to 24–25 m, with a trunk to 1.2 m in diameter and a smooth, even-textured, dark-greyish bark. The leaves are 5–10 cm long by 1–2 cm wide and are light green, sometimes yellowishgreen, with greyish-blue undersides, on slender stalks up to 10 mm long. The small greenish flowers, 2–3 mm wide, are carried in panicles. The fruit is a drupe around 2–3 cm long and dark purple, which ripens in late summer and early autumn. Tawa is the most abundant hardwood tree in the North Island lowland and mid-altitude forests, and also occurs around the top of the South Island. As with the taraire, Maori ate the raw flesh of the drupe, and steamed and ate the kernels, which could also be stored for periods. An infusion of the inner bark of tawa served as a refreshing drink and was also used to treat stomach-aches. The very light, straight-grained sapwood was fashioned into long (4–6 m but up to 10 m) bird spears, usually cut out of a tree in a long, laborious process. Tawa foliage is bright green above and greyish-blue below. Tawa in whakatauki He tawa para, he whati kau tana. The pulp of the tawa berry is easily crushed. The soft flesh of the tawa berry is compared to the weak spirit of a coward. Ko te ahi tawa hai whakarite. It can be compared to a noisy tawa fire. A term expressing noisiness, often said of a small child. Tawa kernels, when roasted, make a popping sound. No te mea ra ia, he rakau tawhito, e mauana te taitea i waho ra, e tu te kohiwi. In a very old tree you can be certain that the sapwood is on the outside while the heartwood is in the middle. This is indicative of a well-organised group, with the older, reliable chiefs in the centre and the young warriors providing the external defence. Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 85 85 18/7/08 9:52:21 AM Titoki Other names: titongi (fruit), topitopi (fruit), New Zealand ash Alectryon excelsus (Alectryon = a cock, from the resemblance of the scarlet arils to a rooster’s comb; excelsus = attractive) Family: Sapindaceae Titoki is an attractive tree reaching 10–15 m tall with a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter and a slightly roughened bark that is nearly black. The leaves may be 10–40 cm long, each with four to six pairs of leaflets, which may be 5–10 cm long by 2–5 cm wide. Tiny flowers are borne in panicles. The fruit is enclosed in a brown, furry capsule. When ripe in spring, the capsule splits open to reveal the hard black, lustrous seed in its red fleshy receptacle or base. Titoki is found in coastal and lowland forests, especially on alluvial soils, from North Cape to Banks Peninsula. With its large glossy leaves and attractive form, the titoki makes the perfect shade and specimen tree. There are excellent examples in most northern towns. Maori used the wood for adze hafts and ate both the cooked flesh and the kernel of the titoki; cooked and dried kernels could be stored for periods. (The flesh contains a poison, however, and should not be eaten raw.) Titoki oil pressed from the seeds and leaves was prized for mixing with flowers to make a perfumed oil, usually reserved for chiefly persons. The oil was also used externally for sores, chafed skin and wounds, aching ears and as an insect repellent. The large, handsome leaves of titoki. 86 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 86 18/7/08 9:52:23 AM Titoki: insect repellent Maori used the dry leaf of titoki, rubbed on the skin, to ward off sandflies and mosquitoes. The oil was also rubbed over the body for this purpose. Titoki in whakatauki Apa he peka titoki te tangata. Man is not like the branch of the titoki. Unlike the titoki branch that dies and decays, the human branch lives on in its descendants. Te peka titoki. Like the branch of the titoki tree. A metaphor for a tribe difficult to conquer, or anything hard to break. (Titoki branches are springy and difficult to break.) Hei te tau titoki. Put off until the titoki berries appear. The berries, from which grooming oil was obtained, did not appear in the same amounts every year. The saying refers to an indefinite postponement. He rangatira no te tau titoki. A chief of the titoki season. Titoki oil used for grooming was usually reserved for high-ranking people. When the seed was abundant, lower-ranked people could use it too. (The last two sayings refer to the variation in seed production.) Akeake Dodonaea viscosa (after Rembert Dodoens, 1518–85, Belgian physician; viscidus = viscid, sticky, a characteristic of the young branches) Family: Sapindaceae The paper-like capsule of akeake. Akeake forms a shrub or small tree to a height of 7–10 m. The conspicuous bark is red-brown and peels off in long strips. The bright green leaves are 10 cm long, 3 cm wide, thinly and leathery. The species is dioecious, although some trees are self-fertile. The small flowers (4 mm across) are produced in dense panicles. The capsules, 15 mm in diameter, have distinctive broad, compressed wings. Akeake is found in dry parts of coastal and lowland scrub and forest from North Cape to Banks Peninsula and Greymouth. (It is also widespread in subtropical regions including Australia.) The tree grows best in well-drained soils and survives salt spray well. Being so heavy and hard, the wood was used by Maori for clubs and spears and also in the making of ornamental objects because of its colour — reddish with streaks of yellow. The seed capsules are useful today for floral work. Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 87 87 18/7/08 9:52:24 AM The flowers of akeake in an ornamental situation: the red variety (var. purpurea) adds contrast to other greener shrubs. Durable timber Akeake means ‘for ever and ever’, and refers to the wood’s durability. Maori used it for various implements, including fighting clubs. Karapapa Other names: horopito, matukuroimata, northern karapapa Alseuosmia (‘perfume of the grove’ from the Greek alsos = grove of trees; eu = well; some = perfume, scent) Family: Alseuosmiaceae Alseuosmia is endemic to New Zealand, but debate exists among botanists as to the correct classification of this variable genus. Two species are generally recognised; both are straggly shrubs that grow to about 2 m. The seeds of both species are found within a red-crimson berry, with up to 10 seeds per berry. Plants prefer a shaded position, as they are intolerant of strong sunlight. The big surprise is the strength of the scent from such an inconspicuous flower, without doubt the most fragrant of any in the New Zealand flora. In many New Zealand genera, it is difficult to draw the line between one species and the next. The variable shapes of the leaves in both species, on the same plant as well as neighbouring plants, hint at hybridism being common. Some botanists classify Alseuosmia into five or more separate species. 88 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 88 18/7/08 9:52:25 AM "MTFVPTNJBNBDSPQIZMMB NBDSPQIZMMBMBSHFMFBWFE This is a glossy-leaved, much-branched shrub to 2 m. The leaves, to 4 cm wide by 10 cm long, often vary in shape on the same plant and nearby plants; they are sometimes lobed or slightly toothed on the margins. Single tubular flowers to 4 cm long are produced in winter or early spring. They are crimson, with tattered margins of petals, and very fragrant. Reddish berries ripen during February–April. The plant occurs in undergrowth of lowland and montane forests from North Cape to Marlborough. 5VCVMBS¿PXFSTPG"MTFVPTNJB NBDSPQIZMMBLBSBQBQB QSPEVDF POFPG/FX;FBMBOEµTNPTU HMPSJPVTMZGSBHSBOUTDFOUT "MTFVPTNJBCBOLTJJ Known as northern karapapa, this forms an untidy shrub up to 1 m with broad leaves to 3 cm long. Creamy-red flowers to 3 cm across are followed by crimson berries 8–12 mm long. The species occurs from North Cape to Marlborough in undergrowth of lowland and montane forests. Alseuosmia banksii (northern karapapa). The corolla tube spreads to four or five broadly triangular and fringed lobes. "MTFVPTNJBCBOLTJJOPSUIFSO LBSBQBQB ¿PXFSTBSFUVCVMBS BOEDSFBNZSFEXJUIB QVOHFOUTDFOU "MTFVPTNJBCBOLTJJBOE" NBDSPQMZMMBQSPEVDFTXFFUUBTUJOH SFEDSJNTPOCFSSJFTDPOUBJOJOHVQ UPTFFETQFSCFSSZ#PUITQFDJFT DBOIPME¿PXFSTBOETFFEBUUIF TBNFUJNF Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 89 89 18/7/08 9:52:28 AM Wineberry/Makomako Aristotelia serrata (named for Aristotle; and serrate = serrated leaf ) Family: Elaeocarpaceae Wineberry or makomako is an attractive shrub/small tree reaching 10 m, with a trunk up to 30 cm in diameter. The bark of young branchlets is reddish or pinkish, but older bark is greyish-brown. The leaves are broadly ovate, 5–12 cm long, and have a long stalk. The leaf blade is broad and rose-coloured, and leaves are soft, brittle and easily torn. The tree is partly deciduous; in southern latitudes, the period of deciduousness is longer than in the north. Wineberry’s rose-coloured flowers are produced in panicles, and the berry is 5 mm broad by 4 mm long and reddish-black, looking similar to a bunch of grapes. The seeds are angular, up to eight per berry. The berry can be eaten straight from the tree. Wineberry grows best in a sheltered situation, although it prefers light. It occurs almost everywhere in New Zealand in coastal to montane regions, and is a tree of forest margins and stream edges, especially common after forest disturbance or fire. Wineberry berries were eaten by Maori; being easily picked, they were a favourite of children. The fruit was also squeezed (which strained out the small seeds) to make a sweetish drink. The bark produced a blueblack dye. Early settlers burnt the wood for charcoal. The petals on first opening are white and change to bright red as pollination occurs. The deltoid vein patterns of white to pink leaf underside, and leaf stalks to 15 cm long, are identifying features. Healing leaves Makomako leaves were picked by Maori, boiled with water and the fluid used on burns, boils and abscesses, and for sore eyes. The leaves were also warmed on hot coals and then wrapped around burns. 90 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 90 18/7/08 9:52:30 AM Hinau Elaeocarpus dentatus (elaeo, a form of olea = olives; carpus = seed, after the drupe’s similarity to the olive; dentatus = toothed) Family: Elaeocarpaceae The bark of hinau was used by Maori to extract a dye for colouring flax garments. Hinau is a tall forest tree to 18–20 m with a trunk to 1 m in diameter, and rough, greyish bark. The long, narrow leaves, 12 cm long by 3 cm wide, have stout stalks up to 25 mm long. The leaves have characteristic domatia pits along the midrib vein on the underside of the leaf. The greenish-white flowers (looking like lily-of-the-valley) droop in racemes, up to 15 cm long. The characteristic purplish drupes, 15 mm in diameter, look similar to an olive. The fruit has a hard, dry skin without much pulp. Hinau occurs in lowland forests in both main islands from near North Cape south to the Catlins River in Otago. Hinau fruit was one of the forest foods most valuable to Maori. The fruit was collected where fallen but was not eaten raw. One method of preparation was to place the fruit in a wooden trough, cover it with water and leave to soak. The pulp was then rubbed between the hands and the skin and seed strained out and the water carefully drained away, leaving a kind of coarse meal which was made into a large cake and cooked for several hours in a hangi. The bark was used in producing a blue-black dye, and then a decoction of the bark in hot water was taken as a bath to treat skin complaints. The sapwood is white and the heartwood dark brown, heavy, tough and durable, and was used by settlers for fence posts. Pits on the leaf underside are a characteristic feature of hinau. Kia whakaoho koe i taku moe, ko te whatuturei a rua. If you arouse me from sleep, let it be for the treasure of rua. ‘Whatuturei a rua’ is usually understood to be the honorific term for the cake made from the hinau tree fruit. It appears possible this term was a humorous or metaphorical way of referring to sexual relations. Hinau bark dye ‘The hinau is a handsome tree. It is much requested by the native tribes, who make use of the bark for dyeing jet black the threads of the muka or dressed flax, of which they either wholly make, or interweave with, their superior garments. The bark, which is comminutible, is kept some time immersed in water, and this infusion forms the dye.’ J. Polack, New Zealand, being a narrative of travels and adventures in that country between the years 1831 and 1837 Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 91 91 18/7/08 9:52:33 AM Makamaka Ackama rosaefolia (ackama, derived from the Maori name; rosaefolia = rose-like foliage) = Caldcluvia rosifolia Family: Cunoniaceae Makamaka is a most attractive tree to 12 m tall with a trunk to 30–60 cm in diameter. The bark is dark greyish-brown. The leaves of juvenile plants are 7.5–25 cm long with up to 10 pairs of leaflets, while adult leaves are shorter and have four or five pairs of leaflets, which are toothed on their margins. The underside of the leaf also displays a pink tinge. Makamaka is closely related to towai (Weinmannia silvicola) and kamahi (W. racemosa), and can prove difficult to tell apart from towai, which shares a similar distribution. It can be differentiated by having finer and sharper teeth on the softer leaflets, which have domatia pits at the midrib/veins junction. The tree in flower is a stunning sight with its 30-cm long panicles of whitish-pink flowers, 3 mm long. Makamaka occurs scattered among lowland forests from Kaitaia to Whangarei, in forest margins and along stream banks. Makamaka adult foliage. Towai Other names: towhai, tawhero Weinmannia silvicola (after the German botanical artist Johann Weinmann, 1683–1741; sylvicola = an inhabitant of forests) Family: Cunoniaceae Towai forms an attractive tree to 15 m tall with a trunk to 1 m in diameter, seldom straight. The leaves of seedlings, juveniles and adults are diverse: adults have up to three leaflets, juveniles up to 10. Adults leaflets are Flowers are borne on racemes. Leaves are compound on this individual. 92 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 92 18/7/08 9:52:37 AM variable, generally 4–7 cm long by 2–3 cm wide, thick and leathery. Sometimes they are simple, not compound. They are coarsely and bluntly toothed on the margins. White to pale rose flowers, 3 mm diameter, occur in racemes up to 10 cm long. The flowers are sweet-scented and produced in profusion in November and December. Most of the capsules ripen and open by March, and by the end of April little seed remains on the tree. The seed of this genus is light, produced in profusion in late autumn. The small seeds are fitted with small tufts of hair, making them well adapted for wind dispersal. The large number of seeds produced and the ease with which they germinate ensures the species’ success in many environments. To confuse matters, however, hybrids exist where this species and Weinmannia racemosa (kamahi) meet, around Auckland’s Hunua and Waitakere ranges. As well, the juvenile leaf of towai looks a lot like makamaka (Ackama rosaefolia), though the latter has softer, more graceful foliage, domatia pits on the underside and often a red tinge to the leaves. Towai is found in lowland forest from Mangonui to Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, especially in regenerating areas. Maori once used to the bark to produce a dye. Kamahi Weinmannia racemosa (after the German botanical artist Johann Weinmann, 1683–1741; racemosa = raceme, an inflorescence) Family: Cunoniaceae Kamahi is a large and handsome forest tree to 25 m with a trunk up to 1.2 m in diameter. Juvenile leaves are simple or have three leaflets. The thick, leathery adult leaves are simple, 3–10 cm long by 2–4 cm wide, and coarsely and bluntly toothed on the margins. Flowers occur in racemes up to 12 cm long, and are white to pale red. Kamahi is a very common tree in lowland to montane forest from around Auckland southwards. In the South Island it can form almost entire communities. It is a common species to arise in regenerating forest. Adult kamahi foliage showing simple leaves with their toothed margins. Kamahi honey When in flower, almost no foliage is visible on the kamahi, and the magnificent floral display attracts bees to the abundant nectar. From this, apiarists produce a popular distinctively flavoured honey. Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 93 93 18/7/08 9:52:39 AM New Zealand leafless broom Other names: maakaka, maukoro, tawao, neinei, tarangahape, tainoko $BSNJDIBFMJBBVTUSBMJTHFOVTOBNFEBGUFS%VHBME$BSNJDIBFM4DPUUJTIBSNZPG¾DFS °XIPCPUBOJTFEJO4PVUI"GSJDBBOE*OEJB $BMJHFSBBOEBCPVUBEP[FOPUIFSTZOPOZNTJODMVEJOH$WJPMBDFBF$TPMBOESJ $TUSJDUB$SJWVMBUB$SPCVTUB$BSFBOBSJBBOEXJUINBOZWBSJFUJFT 'BNJMZ'BCBDFBF the genus Carmichaelia consists of shrubs and small trees of diverse habits, noticeable for their flattened and photosynthetic stems with an absence of leaves; however, small leaves may be present on new growth. the individual species are difficult to identify due to their natural plasticity and variability, their small (or absence of) leaves and the similarity of their flowers. the seedpods tend to be the most distinguishing feature: the sides of the pods fall away, exposing the brightly coloured seeds. new Zealand leafless broom is an erect shrub or tree to 10 m. the branches are much flattened, finely grooved, and up to 1 cm wide. leaves may appear on branches and have five to seven leaflets, up to 12 mm long. Flowers vary in colour and size. this broom is found throughout new Zealand in forest and shrubland in a variety of habitats, but is more common north of taranaki. they are among the plants that begin regeneration of burnt or disturbed areas. this is a very plastic species with many forms. Carmichaelia make excellent pot plants. they can survive the toughest conditions and with their stark, erect or spreading branchlets create a distinctive and unique display. the flowers are another beautiful quality of these endemic plants. /BLFETFFEDBQTVMFTIPMEJOHUIF TFFEPG$BSNJDIBFMJBBVTUSBMJT $BSNJDIBFMJBTFFETBSFQSFTFOUFEJOBOBLFEDBQTVMFtermed a Replum. 1IPUPTZOUIFUJDTUFNTPGUIF /FX;FBMBOEMFB¿FTTCSPPN $BSNJDIBFMJBBVTUSBMJT 94 P l a n t H e r i tag e n e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 94 18/7/08 9:52:42 AM Kaka beak Other name: kowhai ngutu-kaka $MJBOUIVTQVOJDFVTDMJBOUIVTGSPN(SFFLLMFPTTQMFOEPVSBOUIPT¿PXFSQVOJDFVT SFEEJTIDSJNTPO 'BNJMZ'BCBDFBF Named after the keel-shaped beak of the kaka, this soft-wooded shrub with spreading branches grows to 2 m high. Its compound leaves, to 15 cm long, have up to 20 pairs of leaflets. Pendulous racemes hold up to 15 scarlet, pink or white flowers, each to 8 cm long, occurring profusely from October to December. The species’ natural distribution was the islets off the east coast from the Bay of Islands to Tolaga Bay, and at various places on the adjacent mainland, also near Thames and in the vicinity of Lake Waikaremoana. However, allall but a few However, it is now now considered consideredextinct extinctin inthe thewild wildinin but onelocations. location: Fortunately, it is veryitcommon in cultivation. Kaipara. Fortunately, is very common in cultivation. The kaka beak’s continued survival is due to its very successful reproductive strategy of producing many large, brightly coloured flowers. Humans have been taken with its floral display and have maintained plant popularity by growing it as an ornamental since Maori times, particularly on the North Island’s east coast. The plant is not long lived. Slugs and snails, caterpillars and mites can attack the soft palatable leaf. 5IFQFOEVMPVTTDBSMFU¿PXFST BSFBNPOHUIFNPTUTUSJLJOHPG BOZ/FX;FBMBOE¿PXFS 'MPXFSBEPSONFOU .BPSJXPNFOXFSFGPOEPGVTJOHUIFLBLBCFBLµTCFBVUJGVM ¿PXFSTBTEFDPSBUJPOGPSIBUTXPSOBGUFS&VSPQFBODPOUBDUPS XPSOJOUIFFBS5IFQMBOUXBTPGUFOGPVOEXJUIJOUIFWJDJOJUZPG QBTJUFTBQQBSFOUMZQMBOUFECZ.BPSJGSPNTFFE Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 95 95 18/7/08 9:52:45 AM Kowhai Sophora (sophora = from the Arabic sufayra, a member of family Fabaceae) Family: Fabaceae There are 30 species of Sophora found in temperate and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. The eight New Zealand species are endemic, though debate continues as to their correct botanical classification. There are two common trees and species status has been given to a number of distinct divaricating shrubs, all confined to localised areas within New Zealand. All are deciduous to some degree. Sophora microphylla is widespread in both main islands. S. tetraptera and the other six species have a much more limited range. These species show variation in leaf size and form, best adapted to the particular soil type or environment in which they occur. Sophora microphylla (micro = small; phyla = leaves) This kowhai forms a tree to about 10 m tall, with a trunk to 60 cm in diameter and with rough, greyish-brown bark. The leaves are 7.5–15 cm long with 20–40 pairs of leaflets. The small size of these leaflets, up to 1 cm long, distinguishes this species from S. tetraptera. The flowers are slightly smaller as well, and are coloured pale to golden yellow. The species usually has a divaricating juvenile stage, which may last five to 10 years or so, and varies according to area, lasting the longest in the eastern South Island. The beautiful flowers, up to 4.5 cm long, occur in racemes of four to 10 flowers. The long seedpods, 7.5–15 cm long, are very conspicuous. S. microphylla is distributed throughout New Zealand in lowland and lower montane forests, along rivers, forest edges and open places; it is also greatly cultivated. Sophora tetraptera (tetra = four; pteron = wing, referring to the wing along the seedpod) This kowhai forms a tree up to 12 m tall with a trunk to 60 cm in diameter and rough, greyish-brown bark. The leaves can be up to 15 cm long with leaflets 8 mm long by 3.5 mm wide. The golden-yellow flowers are up to 5 cm long. Unlike S. microphylla, there is no divaricating juvenile form. Its distribution is on lowland streamsides and forest margins on the eastern side of the North Island, from East Cape south to the Ruahine Range. Other Sophora species Sophora prostrata (prostrate = to lie down) and its varieties form a prostrate or bushy shrub up to 2 m tall. Leaves may be up to 2.5 cm long, usually smaller. Leaflets are no larger than 4 mm. S. godleyi (after New Zealand botanist E.J. Godley), papa kowhai, is a tree to 20 m tall, limited to forests on siltstones, sandstones and mudstones (papa). It occurs in northern Manawatu, Taranaki and Upper Wanganui. S. longicarinata (carinata = keel of ship; long keel, referring to floral architecture), limestone kowhai, occurs among the marble and limestone 96 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 96 18/7/08 9:52:45 AM The bark and leaf of Sophora microphylla. Sophora prostrata, showing its divaricating habit. Sophora microphylla flowers. The beak of the tui is perfectly formed to slip between the kowhai’s petals. Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 97 97 18/7/08 9:52:48 AM outcrops of nelson and Marlborough. S. fulvida falvida is a coastal tree growing to 10 m high, found at Mt Karioi, raglan and further north. S. chathamica (of the Chatham islands), coastal kowhai, is a multitrunked tree to 20 m tall, found in northland, waihi, and Porirua and Wellington harbours, and Chatham Islands. Itsits disjunct wellington andon onthe the Chatham islands. wide distribution by Maori. Maori. may be due to its seeds being dispersed by S. molloyi (after new Zealand botanist B.P.J. Molloy), is a divaricating shrub to 3 m high, found in exposed places around Cook Strait. ,PXIBJNBLFFYDFMMFOUQMBOU TUVEJFTGPSTUVEFOUTPGBMMBHFT Kowhai loses its leaves over winter and, in august and September, the flowers emerge from bare branches. all new Zealanders welcome the kowhai flowers as they signal the arrival of spring. like all legumes, kowhai have bacterial nodules on their roots that transfer gaseous nitrogen into soil-soluble nitrates, an excellent fertiliser. (the seedpod is very similar in appearance to that of other legumes: peas and beans.) the seed is adapted for dispersal by floating, which accounts for its abundance on streamsides, where floods carry the seeds downstream. native birds such as new Zealand pigeons feed on the seedpods, utilising the tough seeds as gizzard stones or roughage to masticate their food. Pigeons have been observed eating the leaves as well. Maori made use of various parts of the tree, particularly the bark, for medicinal use, including applying it to bruises and to treat skin ailments. ´8IFOUIFLPXIBJJTJO¿PXFSUIF¾TIBSFVQUIF8BJUBOHJµ °"TBZJOHJOUIF#BZPG*TMBOET ´-POHQFOEVMBUFEQPETµ ´5IFLPXBJ<TJD>JTNFUXJUIQSJODJQBMMZPOUIFCBOLTPGSJWFST*OUIFTFBTPOPGTQSJOHUIJTUSFFNBLFTB CFBVUJGVMBQQFBSBODFCFJOHFOUJSFMZDPWFSFEXJUICSJHIUDISPNFPSHPMEFODPMPVSFE¿PXFSTXIJDIIBOH DPSZNCSJBUFEBOETVDDFFEFECZMPOHQFOEVMBUFEQPETUIFFTQFDJBMGPPEPGUIFUVJBOEPUIFSCJSET*UTCFBVUZ JTOPUEJNNFECZUIFSF¿FDUJPOJOUIFBEKBDFOUTUSFBNµ °+1PMBDL/FX;FBMBOECFJOHBOBSSBUJWFPGUSBWFMTBOEBEWFOUVSFJOUIBUDPVOUSZCFUXFFOUIFZFBST BOE "DDPVOUJOHGPSLPXIBJµT¿PXFSJOH "O"SBXBXIBLBUBVLJSFMBUFTIPXBZPVOHUPIVOHBQSJFTU BTLFEBHJSMUPNBSSZIJNBTUIFZTBUCFOFBUIUIF CBSFCSBODIFTPGBLPXIBJJOTQSJOH4IFTBJETIFXPVMEPOMZNBSSZIJNJGIFXPVMEQFSGPSNTPNFCSJMMJBOU BDU)FTBJE´*XJMMTIPXZPVXIBU*DBOEPµBOEIFDBVTFEUIFUSFFUPTQSJOHJOTUBOUMZJOUP¿PXFS&WFSTJODF LPXIBJIBT¿PXFSFEJOBTVEEFO¿VTIPOMFB¿FTTCSBODIFT 98 P l a n t H e r i tag e n e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 98 18/7/08 9:53:40 AM Putaputaweta Other names: kai-weta (food of the weta), marble leaf $BSQPEFUVTTFSSBUVTDBSQPEFUVTTFFETCPVOEUPHFUIFS 'BNJMZ3PVTTFBDBF Putaputaweta forms a small, spreading tree to 10 m tall, with a trunk to 20–30 cm in diameter, and rough, greyish bark. The distinctive juvenile phase has zigzagging, almost divaricated branches, with leaves 3 cm long by 2 cm wide on stalks to 1 cm long. The adult leaves, 2.5–6 cm long by 1.5– 3 cm wide, are often mottled light and dark green on the upper surfaces, and have finely serrated margins. Flowers, 5 mm wide, with white petals, occur in broad panicles. The small, shiny purple-black fruits are around 6 mm in diameter. Putaputaweta is found throughout coastal to montane forests in all three main islands, particularly on streamsides. The name derives from the fact that holes occur in the trunk where weta often live. 1VUBQVUBXFUBJTBMTPLOPXOBT NBSCMFMFBGEVFUPUIFWFOBUJPO BOEDPMPVSBUJPOPGJUTMFBG Clematis/Puawhananga Other names: puawananga, bush clematis $MFNBUJTQBOJDVMBUBGSPNUIF(SFFLLMFNBBWJOFPSCSBODIQBOJDVMBUBGSPN-BUJO QBOJDVMBUBUVGUPSUISFBE 'BNJMZ3BOVODVMBDFBF All the theNew NewZealand Zealand species of clematis are dioecious and endemic. species of clematis are dioecious and endemic. These These climbing with opposite separated into three climbing lianes lianes with opposite leaves,leaves, usuallyusually divided into three leaflets, leaflets, someZealand’s of New Zealand’s most stunning spring flowers. produce produce some of New most stunning spring flowers. Clematis paniculata is the most handsome member of this genus and is found throughout New Zealand. It is common on the margins of lowland and lower montane forests, where the strong, woody liane climbs to the tree tops. Angiosperms: dicotyledons Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 99 99 18/7/08 9:53:42 AM germination to start to grow from a seed or spore. gymnosperms a major group of plants including pines and podocarps. The word means ‘naked seeds’. gynodieocious having female flowers on one plant and male and female flowers on another plant. habitat the place in which a plant grows. hair a thin and delicate outgrowth consisting of one cell, or a single row of cells; it may be branched. hermaphrodite having male and female parts within a single flower. heteroblasty describes plants that have dramatic changes in leaf size, shape and growth habit between juvenile and adult stages. heterophylly having dissimilar leaves on the same plant. hybrid a plant whose parents are different species. Usually reproductively sterile. indusium an outgrowth of tissue more or less covering the sorus in some ferns. inflorescence a collection, bunch or grouping of the flowers. lamina the flattened part of a leaf or frond. liane woody-stemmed, climbing vine. linear very narrow with parallel margins. midrib the main central vein of a frond or main division of a leaf. monoecious having separate male and female flowers on the same plant. node the place on the stem where one or more leaves are attached. opposite a pair of leaves that arise at the same level on opposite sides of a stem. panicle a branched flower arrangement where the flowers are on small stalks. pappus feathery hairs or bristles on the seed capsule, particularly in Compositae. pedicel the stalk supporting a single flower in a compound inflorescence. perfect a flower having both male and female elements present, both of which are functional. petiole the stem of a leaf. photosynthesis process by which green plants capture energy from sunlight and convert it into stored chemical energy. phylloclade a usually flattened stem that performs the function of a leaf, particularly on members of the genus Phyllocladus. pinna a division of a divided leaf or frond; plural pinnae. pinnate having the blade of a leaf or frond divided as far as the midrib so that there are separate lobes or divisions. plasticity influenced in shape by the environment. podocarp a member of the Podocarpaceae family. podzol an infertile soil of leached clay. pollen the male gamete of flowering plants and conifers. 196 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 196 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM pollination the transfer of pollen from the male to the female part of the flower or cone. prostrate lie prone or horizontal. raceme an elongated flower arrangement as in most Hebe. receptacle the stalk which holds the flower or flower head. rhizome a horizontal underground stem. senescence death or old age; leaf fall. sepal green and leaf-like blades at the base of the flower. serrate describes a leaf margin with teeth like a saw. simple of leaves, in one piece and not divided into leaflets like those of a compound leaf. sorus a cluster of two or more sporangia on the margin or underside of a lamina or frond blade; plural sori. species a group of like organisms that are interbreeding naturally and that is reproductively isolated from any similar group. The basic unit of plant classification. sporangium a sac or capsule that contains spores; plural sporangia. stamen the pollen-bearing organ of a flower comprising the anther and its supporting stalk or filament. stigma the part of the flower receptive to pollen. stipe the stalk from which the frond blade is produced. stipules scale or leaf-like bract at the base of a leaf petiole, particularly in Coprosma. style that part of the female flower above the ovary that holds upright the stigma. subalpine the lower parts of the alpine zone, above the tree line but below the zone containing herbfields, fellfields etc. subspecies a level just below that of specific rank (species) and above that of a variety. tendril a slender twining part of climbing plant with the ability to coil around objects. tomentum densely matted, woolly soft hairs. umbel umbrella-shaped or radiating from the centre flower arrangement. whorl an arrangement of leaves where three or more arise from the same node. xerophyte drought-tolerant plant. Glossary Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 197 197 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM References Books Allan, H.H., Flora of New Zealand, vol. 1, Government Printer, Wellington, 1982. Beever, J., A Dictionary of Maori Plant Names, Auckland Botanical Society, 1991. Best, E., Notes on the Art of War, Government Printer, Wellington, 1902. ———Forest Lore of the Maori, Government Printer, Wellington, 1908, 1977. ——— The Maori School of Learning, R.E. Owen, Government Printer, Wellington, 1959. Brougham, A.E and Reed, A.W., Maori Proverbs, Reed, 1975. Buck, R., The Coming of the Maori, Whitcombe and Tombs, 1949. Clarke, Alan, The Great Sacred Forest of Tane, Reed, 2007. Cloher, Dorothy Urlich, The Tribes of Muriwhenua: their origins & stories, Auckland University Press, 2002. Cockayne, L., New Zealand Plants and Their Story, 4th edition, R.E. Owen, Government Printer, Wellington, 1967. Cockayne, L., and Phillips Turner E., The Trees of New Zealand, Government Printer, Wellington, 1947. Cowan, James, The Caltex Book of Maori Lore, A.H. and A.W. Reed, 1959. ——— Tales of the Maori Bush, Reed, 1982. De Lange, P.T., Sawyer, J.W.D. and Rolfe, J.R., New Zealand Indigenous Vascular Plant Checklist, New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, July 2006. Dieffenback, Ernest, Travels in New Zealand, vol. 11, John Murray, 1843. Eagle, A., Complete Shrubs and Trees of New Zealand, vols 1 and 2, Te Papa Press, 2006. Entrican, A.R., Hinds, H.V. and Reid, J.S., Forest Trees and Timbers of New Zealand, NZFS, Bulletin no. 12, Government Printer, Wellington, 1957. Grey, G., Proverbial and Popular Sayings, Trubner, London, 1857. Gudgeon, T.D., The History and Doings of the Maoris, Brett, 1885. Hopa, N., The Art of Piupiu Making, A.H. and A.W. Reed, 1971. Houston, J., Maori Life in Old Taranaki, A.H. and A.W. Reed, 1965. Johnson, P.N. and Brooke, P.A., Wetland Plants in New Zealand, DSIR Publishing, Wellington, 1989. Kelly, L.G., Tainui, The Polynesian Society, Wellington, 1949. King, M., Moriori — A People Rediscovered, Penguin, 2000. ——— The Penguin History of New Zealand, Penguin/Viking, 2003. Kohere, Rewiti, T., The Story of a Maori Chief (Mokena Kohere), Wellington, Reed, 1949. 198 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 198 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Laing, R.M. and Blackwell, E.W., Plants of New Zealand, Whitcombe & Tombs, 1940, 1964. Martin, W., The Flora of New Zealand, Whitcombe and Tombs, 1961. Mead, H.M., and Grove, N., Nga Pepeha a nga Tipuna, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2004. Papakura, Makareti/Maggie, Makareti: The Old-time Maori, New Women’s Press Ltd, 1987. Metcalf, L.J., The Cultivation of New Zealand Trees and Shrubs, Reed, 1991. ——— The Cultivation of New Zealand Plants, Godwit, 1993. ——— The Cultivation of New Zealand Native Grasses, Godwit, 1998. Orbell, M. Traditional Maori Stories, Reed, 1997. Polack, J., New Zealand, Being a Narrative of Travels and Adventures during a residence in that country between the years 1831 and 1837, Richard Bentley, London, 1853. Poole, A.L. and Adams N.M., Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand, Government Printer, Wellington, 1964, 1967. Power, Tyrone W., Sketches in New Zealand, Longman, Brown, Green and Longman, 1849. Prendergast, M., Maori Baskets for Beginners, Wellington, Reed, 1975. Salmon, J.T., The Native Trees of New Zealand, Reed, 1980, 1992. ——— New Zealand Flowers and Plants in Colour, Murrell Books, Reed Methuen, 1986. ——— Native New Zealand Flowering Plants, Reed, 1991. Smith-Dodsworth J.C., New Zealand Native Shrubs and Climbers, David Bateman, 1991. Taylor, M., Meanings and Origins of Botanical Names of New Zealand Plants, Auckland Botanical Society Bulletin 26, 2002. Travers, W.T.L., and Stack, Rev. J.W., Stirring Times of Te Rauparaha, Whitcombe and Tombs, 1906 (facsimile edition printed by Wilson and Horton, Auckland). ——— The Sacking of Kaiapohia, Whitcombe and Tombs, 1906 (facsimile edition printed by Wilson and Horton, Auckland). Twain, Mark, Following the Equator, Harper and Brothers, 1897. Wakefield, E.J., Adventure in New Zealand from 1839 to 1844, vol. 11, John Murray, London, 1845 (facsimile edition printed by Wilson and Horton, Auckland). Williams, H.W., He Whakatauki, he Titotito, he Pepeha, Gisborne, Te Rau Kahikatea, 1908. ——— A Dictionary of the Maori Language, 7th edition, Government Printer, Wellington, 1985. Wilson, H. and Galloway, T., Small Leaved Shrubs of New Zealand, Manuka Press, Christchurch, 1993. References Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 199 199 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Articles and manuscripts Anderson, A., ‘The Maori as a Plant Hunter’, School Journal, part 4, Autumn 1954. ——— ‘A Plant Hunter’s Christmas’, School Journal, vol. 48, no. 3, Spring 1954. ——— ‘The Pioneer Plant Hunters’, School Journal, vol. 48, no. 2, Winter 1954. Bannister, P., ‘Seed germination in Gaultheria antipoda, G. depressa and Pernettya macrostigma’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 28, no. 3, 1990. Bannister, P. and Bridgeman, J., ‘Responses of seeds of three species of Pseudopanax to low temperature stratification, removal of the fruit flesh, and application of gibberellic acid’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 29, 1991, pp. 213–16. Beaver , R.E., ‘Self incompatibility in Cordyline pumilio’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 21, 1983, pp. 93–95. Beckett, P., 1963, ‘Some Notes on the Western Wellington Cook Strait Coast 1888–1913’, New Zealand Archaeological Association Newsletter, vol. 6, pp. 135–39. Best, E., ‘The Art of the Whare Pora. Clothing of the Ancient Maori’, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, vol. 31, 1898, p. 633. ——— ‘Maori Agriculture’, Dominion Museum Bulletin, No. 9, 1925. Burrows, C.J., ‘Patterns of delayed germination in seeds, NZ Natural Sciences, vol. 16, 1989. Clout, M.N. and Tilley, J.A.V. ‘Germination of miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) seeds after consumption by New Zealand pigeons (Hemiphaga novaeseelandia)’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 30, 1992, pp. 25–28. Colenso, William, ‘Contributions Towards a Better Knowledge of the Maori Race’, Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, 1879. ——— ‘Early Crossings of Lake Waikaremoana’, Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, 1894. Colenso, William, Contributions Towards a Better Knowledge of the Maori Race, T.N. 2I, 1879. Conner, A. J. and L.N., ‘Germination and dormancy of Arthropodium cirrhatum seeds’, NZ Natural Sciences, vol. 15, 1988. Conner, L.N., ‘Seed germination of five sub-alpine Acaena species, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 25, 1987, pp. 1–4. Conner, L.N. and A.J., ‘Seed Biology of Chordospartium stevensonii’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 26, 1988, pp. 473–75. Court, A.J. and Mitchell, N.D., ‘The germination ecology of Dysoxylum spectabile’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 26, 1889, pp. 1–6. Craig, J.L. and Stewart, A.M., ‘Reproductive biology of Phormium tenax: a honey eater-pollinated species’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 26, 1988, pp. 453–63. ‘Don’t keep off the grasses’, Commercial Horticulture, November 1989. 200 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 200 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Enright, N.J. and Cameron, E.K., ‘The soil seed bank of a kauri forest remnant, near Auckland’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 26, no. 2, 1988, pp. 223–36. ‘Flower biology in New Zealand’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 17, 1979, pp. 441–66. Fountain, D.W. and Couchman, K., ‘Volatiles from ripe fruits of karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus)’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 22, 1984, pp. 341–43. Fountain, D.W. and Outred, H.A., ‘Germination requirements of New Zealand plants: a review’ NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 29, 1991, pp. 311–16. Fountain, D.W., Holdsworth, J.M. and Outred, H.A., ‘The dispersal unit of Dacrycarpus dacrydioides and the significance of the fleshy receptacle’, Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society, vol. 99, 1989, pp. 197–207. Godley, E.J., ‘Flower Biology in New Zealand’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 17, 1979, pp. 441–66. ——— ‘Paths to maturity’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 23, 1979, pp. 687–706. ——— ‘The fruit of Vitex lucens (Verbenaceae), NZ Journal of Botany, December 1971. Godley, E.J. and Smith, D.H., ‘Breeding systems in New Zealand plants, 5. Pseudowintera colorata’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 19, 1981, pp. 151–56. Hawkins, B.J. and Sweet, G.B., ‘Genetic variation in rimu — an investigation using isozyme analysis’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 27, 1989, pp. 83–90. Mark, A.F., ‘Narrow-leaved snow tussock, NZ Journal of Botany, September 1965. McFadgen, B.G., ‘Maori Occupation of the Pencarrow Survey District as recorded on early survey records’, New Zealand Archaeological Association Newsletter, vol. 6, 1963, pp. 118–25. Mohan, E., Mitchell, N. and Lovell, P., ‘Environmental factors controlling germination of Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka)’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 22, 1984, pp. 95–101. Norton, D.A., Herbert, J.W. and Beveridge, A.E., ‘The ecology of Dacrydium cupressinum: a review’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 26, 1987, pp. 37–62. Partridge, T.R. ‘Soil seed banks of secondary vegetation on the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, and their role in succession, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 27, 1989, pp. 421–36. Partridge, T.R. and Wilson, M.D., ‘A germination inhibitor in the seeds of Mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus)’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 28, 1990, pp. 475–78. Philipson, W.R., ‘Seedling and shoot morphology of the New Zealand species of Nothofagus’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 26, 1988, pp. 401–07. References Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 201 201 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Phillipps, W.J. ‘Making Fire and Cooking Food’, Te Ao Hou, no. 15, July 1956. Powlesland, Mary H., ‘Reproductive biology of three species of Melicytus in New Zealand, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 22, 1984, pp. 81–94. Powlesland, M.H., Philipp, M. and Lloyd, D.G., ‘Flowering and fruiting patterns of three species of Melicytus in New Zealand’, NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 23, 1985, pp. 581–96. Sando, C.T. ‘Notes on Agathis australis’, NZ Journal of Forestry, vol. 4, no. 1, 1936. Simpson, M.J.A. ‘Seeds, seed ripening, germination and viability in some species of Hebe, Proceedings of the New Zealand Ecological Society, vol. 23, 1976. ——— ‘Lack of dormancy in seeds of New Zealand plants’, Journal of the Canterbury Botanical Society. vol. 13, 1979. Smith, S.P., ‘The Aoka Canoe — the Migration of Turi to Aotea-Roa, Journal of Polynesian Society, vol. 22, 1912, pp. 211–33. Stowell, M.S., Papers 62: 39, Vol. 2, Alexander Turnbull Library. ‘The Boy who Went to Find his Father’, Te Ao Hou, no. 54, March 1968. Whitaker, A.H., ‘The role of lizards in New Zealand plant reproductive strategies’ NZ Journal of Botany, vol. 25, 1987, pp. 315–28. White, J. ‘Ancient History of the Maori’, Alexander Turnbull Library, MS paper 75, vol. viii (Maori), pp. 87–92. 202 P l a n t H e r i tag e N e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 202 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Index of plants Aciphylla 24 26 Ackama rosaefolia 92 92 Agathis australis 70 70 akeake 87 162, 173 Agavaceae akepiro 149 akeake 87 Alectryon excelsus 86 akepiro 149 Alseuosmiaexcelsus 86 Alectryon banksii 89 Alseuosmia macrophylla 89 banksii 89 Alseuosmiaceae 88 macrophylla 89 Araliaceae 138, 139 Alseuosmiaceae 88 Araucariaceae Araliaceae 14070 Arecaceae 167 70 Araucariaceae Aristotelia serrata 90 90 aruhe 181 184 Asparagaceae 161 Aspleniaceae 186 Aspleniaceae 186 Asplenium Asplenium bulbiferum 186 bulbiferum 185 oblongfolium 185 oblongfolium 184 Asteraceae 149 Asteraceae 148 Avicennia 27 Avicennia 27 beech black 145 beechhard 146 black 145145 mountain hard 146 New Zealand 145 145 redmountain 145 New147 Zealand 145 silver red 145 Beilschmiedia silver84 147 tarairi Beilschmiedia tawa 85 tarairi 187 84 Blechnaceae tawa 85 Blechnum Blechnaceae discolor 187 188 Blechnum fluviatile 188 discolor 186 188 novae-zelandiae fluviatile 187 Brachyglottis novae-zelandiae 188 kirkii 151 Brachyglottis repanda 151 brackenkirkii 184 151 150 broom repanda 94 bracken 181 bulrush 178 broom 94 bulrush 178 cabbage tree 162 162 dwarf 165 dwarf 166 forest 164 forest 164 mountain166 166 mountain Campanulaceae 156 Carmichaelia australis 94 Carmichaelia australis 94 Carpodetus serratus 99 Carpodetus Chionochloaserratus 171 99 Chionochloa 170 Clematis paniculata 99 Clematis Clianthuspaniculata puniceus 99 95 Clianthus puniceus 95 157 Colensoa physaloides Colensoa Coprosmaphysaloides 156 Coprosma arborea 104 arborea 104 grandifolia 101 grandifolia lucida 104 101 lucida 104 neglecta 107 neglecta 105 107 parviflora parviflora repens 102 105 repens 102105 rhamnoides rhamnoides robusta 103 105 robusta 104 spathulata 107 spathulata 107 Cordyline Cordyline australis 164 australis banksii 165162 banksii167 164 indivisa indivisa 166 obtecta 167 obtecta 167 pumilio 166 Coriariapumilio arborea165 108 Coriaria arborea Coriariaceae 108108 Coriariaceae 108 Cortaderia 171 Cortaderia 170 Corynocarpaceae 109 Corynocarpaceae 109 Corynocarpus laevigatus 109 Corynocarpus 109 Cunoniaceae laevigatus 92 Cunoniaceae Cupressaceae9282 Cupressaceae 82 Cyathea Cyathea dealbata 180 dealbata 178 medullaris 180 medullaris Cyatheaceae 79 179 Cyatheaceae Cyperaceae 179 178 Dacrycarpus dacrydioides 73 73 Dacrydium cupressinum7575 cupressinum kirkii7676 kirkii Dennstaeditiaceae 181 Index of plants Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 203 203 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Desmoschoenus spiralis dennstaeditiaceae 184 176 Dicksonia squarrosa 180 178 Desmoschoenus spiralis Dicksoniaceae 180 Dicksonia squarrosa 181 Discaria toumatou 114 dicksoniaceae 181 Dodonaea viscosa 88114 Discaria toumatou Doodia australis Dodonaea viscosa18988 Dracophyllum latifolium 112 Doodia australis 189 Drosera 26 Dracophyllum latifolium 112 Dysoxylum Drosera 26spectabile 117 Dysoxylum spectabile 117 Elaeocarpaceae 90 elaeocarpaceae 90 Elaeocarpus dentatus 91 91 Epacridaceae 112 epacridaceae 112 Fabaceae 94 Fabaceae 94 fern Fagaceae 145 creek 188 fern crown creek 188188 filmy188 190 crown hen and filmy 190 chickens 186 henrasp and189 chickens 186 silver rasp 189tree 179 Ficinia spiralis silver tree 176 179 five finger 140 140 flax 173 173 coastal175 175 coastal mountain173 173 mountain Fuchsia excorticate excorticata 117 118 Geniostoma ligustrifolium 118 119 Gleichenia microphylla 193 193 grass tree 112 113 haekaro 153 153 hangehange 118 119 harakeke 171 171 Hebe stricta 119 121 Hedycarya arborea 122 124 heketara 149 149 hinau 91 91 Hoheria glabrata125 124 glabrata populnea125 124 populnea horopito 88, 157 88, 157 houhere 124 124 hound’s tongue 193 193 houpara 140 140 204 Hymenophyllaceae 189 189 Hymenophyllum flexuosum193 190 flexuosum nephrophyllum 189 nephrophyllum 192 Icacinaceae icacinaceae 147 148 Ixerba brexioides 121 122 Ixerbaceae 121 ixerbaceae 122 kahikatea 73 73 kahikatoa 128 130 kaikawaka 82 82 kaikomako 147 147 kai-weta 99 99 kaka beak 95 95 kakaramu 103 103 kamahi 93 93 kanono 101 101 kanuka 127 128 karaka 109 109 karamu 104 104 karapapa 88 88 kareao 169 169 karo 153 153 kauri 70 70 kawaka 82 82 kawakawa 135 135 kidney fern 190 192 kiokio 188 189 Kirk’s kohuhu 154 154 Knightia excelsa 125 127 koare 70 70 kohekohe 115 115 kohuhu 152 152 kohurangi 151 151 konini 117 konehu 191 kopia konini109 117 korimiko 119 kopia 111 koru 156 121 korimiko kotukutuku koru 157 117 kowaowao kotukutuku193 117 kowhai 96 194 kowaowao kowhai ngutu-kaka 95 96 kumarahou 114 kowhai ngutu-kaka 95 Kunzea ericoides kumarahou 115 127 Kunzea ericoides 128 lacebark 124 P l a n t H e r i tag e n e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 204 18/7/08 10:00:39 AM Lamiaceae124 158 lacebark lancewood 140 141 Lauraceae 84 84 Laurelia novae-zelandiae 123 124 lemonwood 152 153 Leptecophylla juniperina subsp. juniperina 113juniperina 113 Leptospermum scoparium 128 130 Leucopogon fasciculatus 111 111 Libocedrus plumosa 82 82 Loganiaceae 118 Lobeliaceae 157 Lophomyrtus 118 Loganiaceae bullata 131 Lophomyrtus obcordata bullata 131 133 Lygodium articulatum obcordata 133 193 Lygodium articulatum 193 maakaka 94 Macropiper94 maakaka excelsum 135 Macropiper excelsum subsp. excelsum 135 psittacorum 135 excelsum subsp. mahoePsittacorum 137 135 makamaka mahoe 13792,193 makomako 90 makamaka 92, 193 Malvaceae 124 makomako 90 mamaku 179125 Malvaceae mamangi 104 mamaku 180 mangemange mamangi 104193 manuka 128 193 mangemange mapou 142 manuka 128 marble leaf mapou 14399 matagouri marble leaf114 99 matai 80 matagouri 114 matipo 80 142 matai Meliaceae 115 matipo 143 Melicope Meliaceae 117 simplex 137 Melicope ternata137 136 simplex Melicytus ternata 137 macrophyllus 138 Melicytus ramiflorus 137 macrophyllus 138 Meryta sinclairii 138 138 ramiflorus Metrosideros Meryta sinclairii 140 excelsa Metrosideros 131 fulgens134 134 excelsa perforata fulgens 135 134 robusta 133 perforata 134 Microsorum 193 robusta pustulatum 134 mikimiki 105pustulatum 193 Microsorum mingimingi 111, 113 mikimiki 105 prickly mingimingi 114 mingimingi 111, 113 miro prickly 79 mingimingi 114 mirror plant 102 miro 79 Monimiaceae mirror plant 122 102 monoao 76 Monimiaceae 123 mouku monoao187 76 Muehlenbeckia astonii 35 mouku 187 Myrsinaceae 142astonii 35 Muehlenbeckia Myrsine Myrsinaceae 143 Myrsineaustralis 142 salicina143 143 australis Myrtaceae 128143 salicina Myrtaceae 128 neinei 112 New neineiZealand 112 ash 86 New Zealand ashcedar 86 82 honeysuckle 125 cedar 82 leafless broom honeysuckle 12694 myrtle 130 94 leafless broom oak 84 myrtle 130 oakprivet 84 118 teak 119 158 privet nikauteak 167 162 Nothofagaceae 145 nikau 167 Nothofagus fusca145 145 fusca menziesii147 147 menziesii solandri var. solandri var. cliffortioides145 145 cliffortioides solandri solandri145 145 solandri var.var. solandri truncata145 145 truncata Nyctaginaceae 151 152 Olearia furfuracea furfuracea 150 149 rani rani 149 149 Onagraceae 117 118 Palmae 169 Paracryphiaceae 157 158 parapara 151 151 pate 142 142 patete 142 143 Pennantia corymbosa 148 148 Index of plants Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 205 205 18/7/08 10:00:40 AM Phebalium nudum 38 38 Phormium cookianum175 173 cookianum tenax 171 tenax 173 Phylloclaceae 82 Phyllocladus trichomanoides 82 Phyllocladus 82 pigeonwood trichomanoides 122 pigeonwood 122 pine pine black 80 black79 80 brown brown celery 8279 redcelery 75 82 red pingao 17875 pingao 176 136 Piperaceae Piperaceae 135 Pisonia brunoniana 152 Pisonia brunoniana Pittosporaceae 152 151 Pittosporaceae Pittosporum 152 Pittosporum cornifolium 154 cornifolium153 154 crassifolium crassifolium eugenoides 152153 eugenoides 152 kirkii 154 kirkii 154 154 pimelioides pimelioides 154 tenuifolium subsp. tenuifolium subsp. tenuifolium 152 tenuifolium 152 umbellatum 153 umbellatum 153 27 Plagianthus divaricatus Plagianthus divaricatus 26 Plantaginaceae 121 Plantaginaceae Poaceae 171 119 Poaceae 170 137 poataniwha poataniwha 137 73 Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae 73 Podocarpus Podocarpus nivalis 26 nivalis totara 7724 totara 133 77 pohutukawa pohutukawa 131 Pomaderris kumeraho 115 Pomaderris ponga 179 kumeraho 114 ponga 178 180 black black 181 179 scruffy scruffy 123 180 porokaiwhiri porokaiwhiri 122 156 Pouteria costata Pouteria costata Proteaceae 126 154 Proteaceae 125 Prumnopitys Prumnopityaceae 79 ferruginea 79 Prumnopitys taxifolia 80 ferruginea 79 Pseudopanax taxifolia 80 anomalum 142 arboreus 140 crassifolius 140 206 Pseudopanax ferox 141 anomalum laetum 142 141 arboreus lessonii 140140 crassifolius 140 157 Pseudowintera colorata ferox 140 Pteridium esculentum 185 laetum 141 puawhananga 99 lessonii 140 puka 138 Pseudowintera pukatea 124 colorata 157 Pteridium 185 pukupuku esculentum 189 puawhananga 99 puriri 158 puka 138 putaputaweta 99 pukatea 123 Quintinia serrata 158 pukupuku ramarama 188 130 puriri 158 150 rangiora putaputaweta ranunculaceae9999 rata 134 Quintinia serrata 157 small-leaved white 135 raupo 176 ramarama 130 raurekau 101 rangiora 150 rewarewa 125 Ranunculaceae Rhabdothamnus99 solandri 45 rata 133 rhamnaceae 114 small-leaved Rhopalostylis sapida white 169 134 raupo 175 rimu 75 raurekau 101 Ripogonum scandens 170 rewarewa 125 rohutu 131 Rhabdothamnus rousseacae 99 solandri 45 Rhamnaceae 114 rubiaceae 101 Rhopalostylis rutaceae 137sapida 167 rimu 75 repens. 27 Samolus Ripogonum 169 Sapindaceaescandens 86 Riponaceae 169 Sapotaceae 154 rohutu 130digitata 143 Schefflera Rousseacae Smilacaceae99170 Rubiaceae Sophora 101 Rutaceae 137 chathamica 98 falvida 98 Samolus repens. godleyi 96 26 Sapindaceae 86 longicarinata 96 Sapotaceae 154 microphylla 96 Schefflera digitata molloyi 98 142 prostrata 96 tetraptera 96 sundew 26 supplejack 169 Syzygium maire 26 tanekaha 82 P l a n t H e r i tag e n e w Z e a l a n d Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 206 18/7/08 10:00:40 AM Sophora tanguru 150 98 taraire chathamica 84 98 tarata fulvida 153 taupatagodleyi 102 96 longicarinata 96 tawa 85 96 tawapoumicrophylla 156 98 tawari molloyi 122 prostrata 96 tawhairaunui 146 96 tawherotetraptera 92 Strasburgiaceae 121 tawherowhero 157 sundew 26 154 tawhirikaro supplejack 169 tea-tree 130 Syzygium maire 24 ti kouka 164 ti ngahere 165 tanekaha 82 ti para 165 tanguru 149 ti-rauriki 165 taraire 84 titoki 86 tarata toatoa 152 82 taupata 102 toetoe 170 tawa 85 toi 167 tawapou toro 143154 tawari Toronia121 toru 127 tawhairaunui 146 toru 127 tawhero 92 totara 77 tawherowhero 157 tawhirikaro 153 tea-tree 129 ti kouka 162 ti ngahere 164 ti para 165 ti rauriki 165 titoki 86 toatoa 82 toetoe towai 170 92 toi tree166 daisies 149 toro 143 tree fuchsia 117 Toronia toru 127 tupakihi 109 toru tutu 126 108 totara Typha 77 orientalis 176 towai 92 Typhaceae 176 tree daisies 148 Verbenaceae 158 tree fuchsia138 117 Violaceae tupakihi 108 161 Vitex lucens tutu 108 waewaekaka 192 Typha orientalis 175 Weinmannia Typhaceae 175 93 racemosa silvicola 92 Violaceae wharangi 137 137, 151 Vitex lucens 158 wharariki 175 wheki 181 waewaekaka 192 white pine 73 Weinmannia whiteywood 138 racemosa 93 wild Irishman 114 silvicola wineberry 90 92 wharangi 136,150rata 135 winter flowering wharariki 173157 Winteraceae wheki 180 white pine 73 whiteywood 137 wild Irishman 114 wineberry 90 winter flowering rata 134 Winteraceae 157 Xanthorrhoeaceae 171 Index of plants Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 207 207 18/7/08 10:00:40 AM Plant Heritage Part 2.indd 208 18/7/08 10:00:42 AM