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Tangahoe River
The Tangahoe River is a river of the Taranaki Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally southwest from its origins in hill country to the east of Lake Rotorangi, reaching the Tasman Sea in the South Taranaki Bight southeast of Hawera. Name An elder, of Tangahoe and Ngati Hine descent, said the origin of the name, Tangahoe, is that it was given to the river following the loss of a steering oar (hoe) from a fishing waka (boat) at sea, trying to return to its tauranga waka (landing place). It was said that, had it had two steering oars, as on the Aotea waka, then it would have reached its landing. Pre colonial value The Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Act 2003 said the river was a major source of resources, providing shellfish and fish, including piharau, kōkopu, tuna and pātiki, birds such as kererū, pūkeko, tiwaiwaka, kāhu, kākāpō, kiwi, korimako, miromiro and pīpīwharauroa and plants, including koromiko, kohia, hinau, piripiri, mamaku, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Taranaki War
The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who either describe the conflicts as merely a series of West Coast campaigns that took place between the Taranaki War (1860–1861) and Titokowaru's War (1868–69), or an extension of the First Taranaki War. The conflict, which overlapped the wars in Waikato and Tauranga, was fuelled by a combination of factors: lingering Māori resentment over the sale of land at Waitara in 1860 and government delays in resolving the issue; a large-scale land confiscation policy launched by the government in late 1863; and the rise of the so-called Hauhau movement, an extremist part of the Pai Marire syncretic religion, which was strongly opposed to the alienation of Māori land and eager to strengthen Māori identity. The Hauhau movement became a unifying f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "fantails", but the Australian willie wagtail is a little larger, and, though still an expert hunter of insects on the wing, concentrates equally on terrestrial prey. The true wagtails are part of the genus '' Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae and are not close relatives of the fantails. Description The fantails are small bodied (11.5–21 cm long) birds with long tails; in some species the tail is longer than the body and in most the tail is longer than the wing.Boles, W.E. (2006). Family Rhipiduridae (Fantails). Pp 200-244 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds (2006) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Vol. 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. When the tail is folded it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knightia Excelsa
''Knightia excelsa'', commonly called rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand's North Island and Marlborough Sounds (41° S) and the type species for the genus ''Knightia''. Rewarewa grows to 30 m tall, with a slender crown. The leaves are alternate, leathery, narrow oblong, 10 – 15 cm long and 2.5 - 3.5 cm wide, and without stipules. The flowers are 2 - 3.5 cm long, bright red, and borne in racemes 10 cm long. Produces dry woody follicles. It was called New Zealand honeysuckle by early European settlers but the name has fallen into disuse in preference for the Māori name. Rewarewa flowers are a great source for honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ... production. The rewa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyathea Medullaris
''Sphaeropteris medullaris'', synonym ''Cyathea medullaris'', commonly known as mamaku or black tree fern, is a large tree fern up to 20 m tall. It is distributed across the south-west Pacific from Fiji to Pitcairn Island. Its other Māori names include katātā, kōrau, or pītau. Distribution ''Sphaeropteris medullaris'' is common in lowland forest throughout the North Island of New Zealand. In the South Island its distribution is more localised. It is fairly common in wetter coastal areas, but rare in the drier eastern parts and absent in Canterbury and Otago. In New Zealand it also occurs on the Three Kings Islands in the far north, on Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south and in the Chatham Islands. Its distribution also includes Fiji, the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, the Austral Islands, and Pitcairn Island. It is not present in the Kermadecs. Description The trunk is black and covered with distinctive hexagonal stipe bases. The fronds may be up to 5 m long, and arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acaena Juvenca
''Acaena juvenca'' is a species of perennial plant found in scrubland and forest margins up to an altitude of 1200 m on the eastern side of both North and South Islands, New Zealand. This plant has slender reddish brown branches, often growing prostrately, each ending in three distinctively rounded leaflets which are green, not glaucous as in many of its congeners. This species is usually found at the margins of forests of broad-leaved trees such as '' Nothofagus'' and in scrubland dominated by '' Leptospermum scoparium'' and '' Kunzea ericoides''. Flowering occurs from November to February with fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ... being produced from January onwards. References * juvenca Flora of New Zealand Plants described in 1989 {{NewZealand- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaeocarpus Dentatus
''Elaeocarpus dentatus'', commonly known as hinau ( mi, hīnau), is a native lowland forest tree of New Zealand. Other names in Māori for the tree are , , and . A member of the family Elaeocarpaceae, it is found on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, but not on Stewart Island. The leaves are dark green, with a toothed edge. On the underside of the leaf small domatia are present. Clusters of small white flowers are produced in spring, and in late summer the flowers form into a fleshy fruit. It was officially first recorded for science by botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on 5 November 1769. Description ''E. dentatus'' is a tree which reaches a height of around 18 m (59 ft.) and has a trunk of around 1 m (3.2 ft.) in diameter with greyish bark which roughens with age. The sapwood is white and the heartwood is dark brown. The latter, being heavy and strong, is used for making fence posts though is rarely milled because it is often hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passiflora Tetrandra
''Passiflora tetrandra'' is a climbing vine found in New Zealand. The Māori name for the plant is kōhia. Other common names include New Zealand passionflower and New Zealand passionfruit. Of the c.500 species of passionflower, this is the sole representative from New Zealand and endemic to New Zealand. Kōhia is a forest vine, climbing up to 10m (33 feet). Leaves are alternate, broadly lanceolate, green, shiny, and untoothed. Flowers are small, white to yellow, in groups of 1–3 in the axils of the leaves. Flowers appear between October and December. Plants are dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...: fruit may not be produced without female-flowering plants being fertilised with pollen from separate a male-flowering plants. Fruits can be found from summe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veronica Salicifolia
''Veronica salicifolia'', synonym ''Hebe salicifolia'', the koromiko, or willow-leaf hebe, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, which is found throughout the South Island of New Zealand and in Chile. It is a large, evergreen shrub, reaching 2 m in height, with light-green, spear-shaped leaves that are up to 12 cm long, and white or pale lilac flowers. Description The overall form of ''V. salicifolia'' can be described as "willow-like" due to its drooping appearance, hence the name New Zealand willow.Metcalf, L. (2006).Hebes. A guide to Species, Hybrids, and Allied Genera. Oregon: Timber Press. Unlike most Hebes that contain erect seeding structures, it has downward hanging capsules that disperse via gravity.Bayley, J.M., & Kellow, V.A. (2006). An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes. New Zealand: Te Papa Press. ''V. salicifolia'' is one of the larger hebe species, its woody structure allowing it to grow to around one to five meters tall and it can have q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shining Bronze Cuckoo
The shining bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx lucidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae, found in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It was previously also known as ''Chalcites lucidus''. It is a very small cuckoo, being only in length, and parasitises chiefly dome-shaped nests of various ''Gerygone'' species, having a range that largely corresponds with the distribution of that genus. It may also parasitise other Acanthizidae species, and is also the most southerly ranging brood parasitic bird species in the world, extending to at least 46°S in New Zealand. Taxonomy The shining bronze cuckoo was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other cuckoos in the genus ''Cuculus'' and coined the binomial name ''Cuculus lucidus''. Gmelin based his description on the ''Shinin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomtit
The tomtit (''Petroica macrocephala'') is a small passerine bird in the family Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called th ..., the Australasian robins. It is endemic (ecology), endemic to the islands of New Zealand, ranging across the main islands as well as several of the New Zealand outlying islands, outlying islands. In Māori language, Māori, the North Island Tomtit is known as miromiro and the South Island Tomtit is known as ngirungiru. This bird has several other Māori language, Māori and English language, English names as well. There are several subspecies showing considerable variation in plumage and size. The species is not threatened and has adapted to the changes made to New Zealand's Biodiversity of New Zealand, biodiversity. Etymology The term ''to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Bellbird
The New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''), also known by its Māori names korimako, makomako, and kōmako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus ''Anthornis''. The bellbird forms a significant component of the famed New Zealand dawn chorus of bird song that was much noted by early European settlers. The explorer Captain Cook wrote of its song "it seemed to be like small bells most exquisitely tuned". Its bell-like song is sometimes confused with that of the tūī. The species is common across much of New Zealand and its offshore islands as well as the Auckland Islands. Description Males are olive-green with a dark purplish sheen on their head and black outer wing and tail, while females are a duller olive-brown with a blue sheen on the head and yellowish-white curving from the base of the bill to below the eye. Both have a notably red eye. They are about 17–20 cm from the tip of their bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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