New Zealand Alpine Flora

[cohan]

How far/long to travel is it to get to those islands from main population centres in NZ?

[Toole]

How far/long to travel is it to get to those islands from main population centres in NZ?

Sorry for the delay in replying Cohan .....Xmas rush and all that,as well as sorting out my gear for the next couple of days botanising in the 'hills'.

The subantartic Islands are well spread out --the middle land mass which are the Auckland Islands are about 460 Ks south from here, so i understand over a days travel by boat .  

Cheers Dave.

[cohan]

How far/long to travel is it to get to those islands from main population centres in NZ?

Sorry for the delay in replying Cohan .....Xmas rush and all that,as well as sorting out my gear for the next couple of days botanising in the 'hills'.

The subantartic Islands are well spread out --the middle land mass which are the Auckland Islands are about 460 Ks south from here, so i understand over a days travel by boat .  

Cheers Dave.

Oh, that's a long time in a boat! for a landlubber like me at least

[Jandals]

Hope you have all had a good time with family and friends over the Christmas break .

Managed to get away for a few days before Christmas with Doug Logan and his son Jack (12) . Our main mission was to get to the top of Hoary Head , a limestone mountain near the top of the south island . It's a little hard to get to so we thought we would cheat and go in a helicopter . Unfortunately this requires the mountain to be free of cloud and although it was a nice day in the lowlands the clouds remained about the hills . So at 2pm it was called off for the day and we set off for some sightseeing after a refreshing swim in the outdoor pool at the camping ground .

On Takaka Hill we found Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) and Manuka ( Leptospermum scoparium) both flowering in the same area . It was a good chance for Doug to show off skills and teach me how to tell them apart properly . It's easy when someone shows you and much better than my method of telling them apart "They are spelt slightly differently"
So Manuka on the top and the smaller flowers of Kanuka underneath



After visiting a couple of gardens it was off to Pupu springs , the largest cold water springs in the southern hemisphere . 14000 litres/sec . The water is very clear after its slow journey through the marble mountains and horizontal visibility is 63 metres . We saw some nice fish but the water was so clear I ended up taking pictures of a fish's shadow thinking it was a fish . I have tried to show both below





A drive to Collingwood followed and at the beach there were plants of Spinifex sericeus and Desmoschoenus spiralis , 2 native species of sand binders .
The one below is Desmoschoenus spiralis



The day finished with tea in Takaka and a call from the wife . The former was  very enjoyable but there technical problems with the latter when she found out we were having a good time and I wasn't getting any work done . Fortunately Doug and I came up with a very cunning plan to calm my most illustrious leader down but it required an itinerary change later

The next day dawned beautifully clear and at 7am we headed off to the helipad and were soon on our way up the hill . Jack had a great view from the front seat . Hoary Head is all limestone and is the only home of the world's smallest clematis , C.marmoraria . We found lots of plants in flower





There was also Pimelea nitens



and Poranthera alpina



I headed off down the hill to visit a large sinkhole where I used to camp when I walked to Hoary Head in years gone by . Older and wiser(?) now . Saw a lovely white Astelia nervosa . Unfortunately with some leaf damage due to browsing goats



White pellicles on the leaf

[Jandals]

There were also plants of Astelia graminea



Craspedia lanata



Anisotome aromatica (?)



Notothlaspi australe



Anaphalioides bellidioides



and a Brachyscome sp



A highlight of the day was Myosotis arnoldii and its unusual flower colours . Sometimes the flowers are almost black . Doug and Jack found a yellow one









The city of Nelson is on the other side of the bay

[Jandals]

The last part of our journey involved Doug driving a road he swore he was never going to drive again , but it was going to keep my most illustrious leader off my back . His sacrifice was greatly appreciated . Soooo , instead of going up the Cobb Valley we went to Mt.Stokes in the Marlborough Sounds . We also left our flash camping ground behind for a night under the stars . Well it would have been if the clouds had gone away . So we were a little damp in the morning which reminded us of a previous trip where we had left a perfectly good camping ground behind for a night under the rain clouds (see NZAGS journal) .

However , on the bright side , the big snails ( Powelliphanta spp ) were out in the rain on the Mt.Stokes track . These guys/gals (apparently they can choose) live for 20 years and their shells can reach 90mm in diameter . They hatch from eggs and there is one below







The weather was awful on top of Mt.Stokes and Jack and Doug sheltered underneath the solar panels to stay dry



It was a tantalising glimpse of what was on offer and I would love to go back on a nice day . I don't get to see many new species of Celmisia these days so it was nice to see Celmisia rutlandii for the first time



Bulbinella hookeri I have seen before



...and we saw a lot of the mountain cabbage tree - Cordyline indivisa . And this was what I was supposed to be looking for , to see if there were any flowers . Which , sadly , there were none . However I could tell the wife I tried



It was nice to change into dry clothes back at the car then it was 6 hours driving to Doug's house ( part of that on the sweary sweary road ) and then another 6 hours drive to my place . Arrived home early Christmas morning and waved at Santa whenever I saw him

[McDonough]

Jandals, fascinating trip and equally fascinating plants, thanks for posting these.  I've never seen the likes of Myosotis arnoldii, what unusual colors.  As a long time fan of New Zealand flora, I was curious about Proanthera alpina, couldn't find it at first, then with the magic of google where it suggests likely matches it came up with Poranthera alpina; I think that's it... the "r" and "o" position was transposed    Aparently it was once named Oreoporanthera, and can be found under that name too when doing a search.
http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/c/flora/factsheets/NZPCN_Species_610.pdf

The plant labeled as Euphrasia species looks like Notothlaspi rosulatum to me, what do you think?

[Jandals]

Thanks Mark . I should have picked up on the Notothlaspi australe when I saw it and also when I processed the picture . Well spotted . The Poranthera alpina was a new find for me ( with help from Rebecca Bowater) and a genus I was unfamiliar with . As luck would have it there is a new book out on NZ Alpines (Above the Treeline) and it's in there

[Hoy]

Although the weather has been reasonable today I have spent most of the time indoors looking through old documents and pictures to decide what to take care of and what to throw away. Not the most exciting way to spend a day though!

Jandals, had to take a look at this site for cheering up myself a little   Wouldn't mind taking a walk among plants and mountains
How much cold does the mountain cabbage tree take?

[Tim Ingram]

The mulled wine and Christmas pudding is only just wearing off! Fantastic plant of Astelia nervosa, the equal of any of the whitest celmisias like 'David Shackleton'. And the habitat shot of the Myosotis is really fine. Nice to see these plants as the rain keeps pouring down outside.

[RickR]

Really interesting stuff, Steve.  I thought you must have been kidding about the snail egg, but I was wrong!

Even more interesting, as I was reading, is that Powelliphanta spp. are carnivorous snails.
(And Trond, apparently they can eat slugs, too.)

[Hoy]

Really interesting stuff, Steve.  I thought you must have been kidding about the snail egg, but I was wrong!

Even more interesting, as I was reading, is that Powelliphanta spp. are carnivorous snails.
(And Trond, apparently they can eat slugs, too.)

Rick, I do consider it However it isn't easy to smuggle neither snails nor eggs - they are too big!

[Jandals]

How much cold does the mountain cabbage tree take?

Not a lot Trond . They are a plant that likes to live halfway up the hill . Too cold on the tops and too cold on the valley floor . They also like a lot of moisture . There are some in cultivation here in the south but I don't know about further north .
I'm sure the slugs have nightmares about Powelliphanta snails as apparently they take a long time to munch them

The mulled wine and Christmas pudding is only just wearing off!

Sounds like you had a good time Tim . I had my first alcohol free Christmas . Mainly because I fell asleep under a cherry tree after lunch

Really interesting stuff, Steve.  I thought you must have been kidding about the snail egg, but I was wrong!

Pleased about that Rick . Doug must have been telling the truth . He's a regular font of knowledge

[Booker]

Superb stuff (as always), Steve ... are helicopter lifts very expensive?

[Jandals]

That one was cheaper than normal Cliff only $85 . Rebecca Bowater knew somebody and the pilot was happy to stay up there with us (which really helps with the price) . Next December we will be going someone further away from base and it will cost between $300 and $400 each and we are going to make sure Mr.Toole is there as well . There is also a helicopter base near Mt.Cook should you wish to try this most excellent way of ascending a hill