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New Zealand Botany
This article relates to the flora of New Zealand, especially indigenous strains. New Zealand's geographical isolation has meant the country has developed a unique variety of native flora. However, human migration has led to the importation of many other plants (generally referred to as 'exotics' in New Zealand) as well as widespread damage to the indigenous flora, especially after the advent of European colonisation, due to the combined efforts of farmers and specialised societies dedicated to importing European plants & animals. Characteristics Indigenous New Zealand flora generally has the following characteristics: * the majority are evergreen. * few annual herbs. * few cold-tolerant trees. * majority are dispersed by birds. * very few have defences against mammalian browsers. * few nitrogen fixing plants. * few fire-adapted species. * many dioecious species. * flowers are typically small and white. * many plants have divaricating growth forms. * many plants have evol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kauri Te Matua Ngahere
''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for a number of extant Malesian ''Agathis''.de Laubenfels, David J. 1988. Coniferales. P. 337–453 in Flora Malesiana, Series I, Vol. 10. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. Description Mature kauri trees have characteristically large trunks, with little or no branching below the crown. In contrast, young trees are normally conical in shape, forming a more rounded or irregularly shaped crown as they achieve maturity.Whitmore, T.C. 1977. ''A first look at Agathis''. Tropical Forestry Papers No. 11. University of Oxford Commonwealth Forestry Institute. The bark is smooth and light grey to grey-brown, usually peeling into irregular flakes that become thicker on more mature trees. The branch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dracophyllum
''Dracophyllum'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Ericaceae, formerly Epacridaceae. There are 61 species in the genus, mostly shrubs, but also cushion plants and trees, found in New Zealand, Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia. The name ''Dracophyllum'', meaning dragon-leaf, refers to their strong outward similarity to the unrelated '' Dracaena'', sometimes known as dragon tree. Although dicotyledonous, they resemble primitive monocots with their slender leaves concentrated in clumps at the ends of the branches; they are sometimes called grass-trees. The height varies from one centimetre ('' D. minimum'') to about 12 metres ('' D. longifolium''). Species The following species are recognised by ''The Plant List'': *''Dracophyllum acerosum'' Berggr. *'' Dracophyllum adamsii'' Petrie *'' Dracophyllum alticola'' Däniker *'' Dracophyllum arboreum'' Cockayne * ''Dracophyllum'' × ''arcuatum'' W.R.B.Oliv. *'' Dracophyllum balansae'' Virot *'' Dracophyllum cosmeli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macropiper Excelsum
''Piper excelsum'' (formerly known as ''Macropiper excelsum''), of the Pepper Family (Piperaceae) commonly known as kawakawa, is a small tree to 20 feet (six meters)of which the subspecies ''P. excelsum'' subsp. ''excelsum'' is endemic to New Zealand; the subspecies ''P. e.'' subsp. ''psittacorum'' is found on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and the Kermadec Islands. Description Kawakawa is found throughout the North Island, and as far south as Okarito (43.20 °S) on the West Coast, and Banks Peninsula (43.5 °S) on the east coast of the South Island. The leaves are often covered with holes caused by the caterpillar of the kawakawa looper moth (''Cleora scriptaria''). The images depict the variety ''majus'' which has larger and more glossy leaves than ''P. excelsum''. The name ''kawakawa'' comes from the Māori language, where it refers to the bitter taste of the leaves, from ''kawa'' or bitter. Leaves Kawakawa leaves are about 5–10 cm long by 6–12 cm wide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kauri
''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for a number of extant Malesian ''Agathis''.de Laubenfels, David J. 1988. Coniferales. P. 337–453 in Flora Malesiana, Series I, Vol. 10. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. Description Mature kauri trees have characteristically large trunks, with little or no branching below the crown. In contrast, young trees are normally conical in shape, forming a more rounded or irregularly shaped crown as they achieve maturity.Whitmore, T.C. 1977. ''A first look at Agathis''. Tropical Forestry Papers No. 11. University of Oxford Commonwealth Forestry Institute. The bark is smooth and light grey to grey-brown, usually peeling into irregular flakes that become thicker on more mature trees. The branch structu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pittosporum Crassifolium
''Pittosporum crassifolium'', commonly called karo, is a small tree or shrub native to New Zealand. Karo's original distribution was generally the top half of the North Island, although now it has naturalised throughout New Zealand and overseas in Norfolk Island, Hawaii and the Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the .... ''P. crassifolium'' occurs in lowland and coastal forests. Mature trees grow to about in height. Other common names include stiffleaf cheesewood, and in Māori, ' and '. Karo has dense dark gray-green leathery leaves that are furry underneath. An early coloniser, ''P. crassifolium'' is able to withstand high winds and salt spray. Clusters of small red-purple flowers appear in spring, developing into seed pods that split to expose the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coprosma Robusta
Coprosma robusta, commonly known as karamu, is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It can survive in many climates, but is most commonly found in coastal areas, lowland forests, or shrublands. Karamu can grow to be around tall, and grow leaves up to long. Karamu is used for a variety of purposes in human culture. The fruit that karamu produces can be eaten, and the shoots of karamu are sometimes used for medical purposes. Identification Species description Karamu is a large bushy shrub that grows up to tall. Branches are stout with no hair. Domatia (small holes on the back of the leaf at the intersection of veins) and stipules are significant characteristic features of Coprosmas. Karamu stipules are black, hairless and obtuse with slightly serrated margin that are united at the base Leaves The glossy leaves of karamu range from long, with elliptic-oblong shape and acute or obtuse leaf apex and with obvious veins. Leaves are dark green ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karaka (tree)
Karaka or New Zealand laurel (''Corynocarpus laevigatus'') is an evergreen tree of the family Corynocarpaceae endemic to New Zealand. It is common throughout the North and South Islands to Banks Peninsula (43°45′S) and Okarito (43°20′S), on the Three Kings Islands, on Raoul Island in the Kermadecs, and on the Chatham Islands. It is widespread in coastal habitats, often forming a major component of coastal forest, though it rarely dominates. Most botanists consider it to be native only to the northern half of the North Island, having been planted elsewhere by Māori near former village sites, and subsequently spread by birds. The common name karaka comes from the Māori language, and is also the Māori term for the colour orange, from the colour of the fruit. In the Chatham Islands, it is called ''kōpī'', its name in the Moriori language. It is naturalised and considered invasive in Hawaii. Description Karaka is a leafy canopy tree with erect or spreading branches. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Griselinia Littoralis
''Griselinia littoralis'', commonly known as kapuka, New Zealand broadleaf or pāpāuma, is a fast-growing small to medium-sized evergreen tree that is native to New Zealand. Description ''Griselinia littoralis'' is a hardy evergreen shrub that grows up to about 10 metres tall. ''Griselinia littoralis'' is round in shape and has dense foliage. The leaves are alternate, leathery, glossy yellow-green above, paler and matte below, long, oval with a smooth margin. This tree also has flowers and berries that grow in particular seasons annually. In general, this tree can grow up to 10 m or longer to 15 m tall. It has rough and short branches which can stretch to 150 cm in diameter. The shape of apical leaf is broad-ovate to ovate-oblong or rounded with smooth margin. The yellow-green leaf is thick and its width can be 5–12 cm long by 4–5 cm wide, the leaf often be glossy and grow as alternative type, one side can be a little longer than the other side at base sometimes, this is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kunzea Ericoides
''Kunzea ericoides'', commonly known as kānuka, kanuka, white tea-tree or burgan, is a tree or shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has white or pink flowers similar to those of ''Leptospermum'' and from its first formal description in 1832 until 1983 was known as ''Leptospermum ericoides''. The flowers have five petals and up to 25 stamens which are mostly longer than the petals. Description ''Kunzea ericoides'' is a spreading shrub or tree, sometimes growing to a height of with bark which peels in long strips and young branches which tend to droop. The leaves are variable in shape from linear to narrow elliptic or lance-shaped, long and wide with a petiole up to long. The flowers are white or pale pink, crowded on side branches or in the axils of upper leaves. The floral cup is covered with soft, downy hairs and is on a pedicel long. There are five triangular sepals about long and five petals about long. There are up to 25 stamens w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaka Beak
''Clianthus'', commonly known as kakabeak (''kōwhai ngutukākā'' in Māori), is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, comprising two species of shrubs native to New Zealand. They have striking clusters of red flowers which resemble the beak of the kaka, a New Zealand parrot. The plants are also known as parrot's beak, parrot's bill and lobster claw – all references to the distinctive flowers. There is also a variety with white to creamy coloured flowers called: "Albus," and a variety with rosy pink flowers called: "Roseus." The two species are the critically endangered '' Clianthus puniceus'' which is now known in the wild only on Moturemu Island in the Kaipara Harbour, and the endangered ''Clianthus maximus''. In a 2005 survey, only 153 plants of ''C. maximus'' were found (down from over 1000 in 1996), mainly in the East Cape region. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kahikatea
''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was first described botanically by the French botanist Achille Richard in 1832 as ''Podocarpus'' ''dacrydioides'', and was given its current binomial name ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'' in 1969 by the American botanist David de Laubenfels. Analysis of DNA has confirmed its evolutionary relationship with other species in the genera ''Dacrycarpus'' and ''Dacrydium''. In traditional Māori culture, it is an important source of timber for the building of waka and making of tools, of food in the form of its berries, and of dye. When Europeans discovered it in the 18th century they found large remnant stands in both the North and South Islands, despite burning of forest by early Māori. Its use for timber and its damp fertile habitat, ideal for dairy far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudowintera
''Pseudowintera'' is a genus of woody evergreen flowering trees and shrubs, part of family Winteraceae. The species of ''Pseudowintera'' are native to New Zealand. Winteraceae are magnoliids, associated with the humid Antarctic flora of the southern hemisphere. Horopito can be chewed for a hot, peppery taste. *'' Pseudowintera axillaris'', is known as the lowland horopito. It is a shrub or small tree growing up to eight metres tall in lowland and lower montane forests from 35° to 42° South. In the South Island it grows West of the Main Divide. *''Pseudowintera colorata'', or mountain horopito, is an evergreen shrub or small tree (1–2.5 m) commonly called pepperwood because its leaves have a very hot bite. Its yellow and green leaves are blotched with red; new leaves in the spring are bright red. It is widespread throughout New Zealand, from lowland forests to higher montane forests, and from 36° 30' South as far southwards as Stewart Island/Rakiura. Because of its various use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
