HOME
*



picture info

Truman Track
The Truman Track is a short, easy walking track located north of Punakaiki, in the coastal Paparoa National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. Although only long, it has been described as "one of the most delightful and interesting short walks on the West Coast". The track passes through lowland coastal forest of podocarps, rātā trees and nīkau palms, with dense understorey vegetation. It finishes at the coastline, where there is a viewing platform providing views along the coast, with surrounding cliffs, rock overhangs, and a waterfall that cascades directly onto the beach. Toponymy The track is named after Jim Truman, of Truman's Department Store in Greymouth. He had a holiday cottage adjacent to the track. Geography The Truman Track begins at Te Miko, north of the Department of Conservation visitor centre in Punakaiki and 45 km north of Greymouth. The track entrance is on State Highway 6, with a small car park on the other side of the highway. The easy, level ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Punakaiki
Punakaiki is a small village on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located between Westport and Greymouth on , the only through-road on the West Coast. Punakaiki is immediately adjacent to Paparoa National Park, and is also the access point for a popular visitor attraction, the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Location Punakaiki is located on State Highway 6, and is north of Greymouth and south of Westport. Because State Highway 6 is the only through-road on the West Coast, a large number of visitors pass through the town. The village is on the southern border of Buller District, where it meets Grey District, and lies on the edge of Paparoa National Park. To the north is the sheer bluff Perpendicular Point, known as Te Miko. The settlement sits to the south, by the Pororari Lagoon at the mouth of the Porarari River. To the south of the village is Dolomite Point, site of the Pancake Rocks, and Razorback Point at the mouth of the Punakaiki River. A f ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Weinmannia Racemosa
''Weinmannia racemosa'', commonly called kāmahi, is an evergreen small shrub to medium-sized tree of the family Cunoniaceae. It is the most abundant forest tree in New Zealand, occurring in lowland, montane, and subalpine forests and shrubland from the central North Island south to Stewart Island. Description Kāmahi bears racemes of small, pink or white flowers from July to January. Fruits are small capsules, long, ripening from October to May. Kāmahi generally occurs with other broadleaf trees, at times acting as a pioneer species which is eventually succeeded by the southern beeches (''Nothofagus'' spp.) or podocarps. It reaches or more in the Catlins of the south-eastern South Island. In forests to the west of the Southern Alps it codominates with southern rātā (''Metrosideros umbellata'') and black beech (''N. solandri''). A closely related tree, tōwai or tawhero ('' W. sylvicola''), replaces kāmahi in the North Island north of latitude 38°S. Uses The bark is ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Northern Rātā
''Metrosideros robusta'', the northern rātā, is a forest tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to or taller, and usually begins its life as a hemiepiphyte high in the branches of a mature forest tree; over centuries the young tree sends descending and girdling roots down and around the trunk of its host, eventually forming a massive, frequently hollow pseudotrunk composed of fused roots. In disturbed ground, or where there are gaps in the forest cover, northern rātā will grow on the ground with a normal but short trunk. Distribution Northern rātā is found in the North Island from Te Paki in the north to Wellington in the south. Formerly widespread, it is now uncommon over large parts of its former range, and is apparently absent from all but the south-east of Hawkes Bay. In the South Island, northern rātā is common from Nelson to Greymouth and Hokitika. It reaches its southern limit near Lake Mahinapua at 42°4′ South latitude. The natural habitat is forest alo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Asplenium Flaccidum
''Asplenium flaccidum'' is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae. The plant common name is drooping spleenwort or weeping spleenwort, and the species name ''flaccidum'' derives from the Latin root meaning ''drooping''. An example occurrence of ''A. flaccidum'' is within a Nothofagus-Podocarp forest at Hamilton Ecological District on New Zealand's North Island in association with other fern species understory plants, crown fern, ''Blechnum discolor ''Lomaria discolor'', synonym ''Blechnum discolor'', commonly called crown fern (Māori: piupiu), is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemic to New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country ...'' being an example.C. Michael Hogan. 2009 Taxonomy A global phylogeny of ''Asplenium'' published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. ''A. flaccidum'' belongs to the "''Neottopteris'' clade", memb ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Nīkau
''Rhopalostylis sapida'', commonly known as nīkau ( mi, nīkau), is a palm tree endemic to New Zealand, and the only palm native to mainland New Zealand. Etymology is a Māori word; in the closely related Eastern Polynesian languages of the tropical Pacific, it refers to the fronds or the midrib of the coconut palm. Distribution The nīkau palm is the only palm species endemic to mainland New Zealand. Its natural range is coastal and lowland forest on the North Island, and on the South Island as far south as Okarito (43°20′S) in the west and Banks Peninsula (43°5′S) in the east. It also occurs on Chatham Island and Pitt Island/Rangiauria to the south-east of New Zealand, where it is the world's southernmost palm at 44° 18'S latitude.Esler, A. E. 'The Nikau Palm', ''New Zealand's Nature Heritage'', Vol.2 Part 19 p.532, 1974 Nīkau grow up to 15 m tall, with a stout, green trunk which bears grey-green leaf scars. The trunk is topped by a smooth, bulging crownsha ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Miro (tree)
''Prumnopitys ferruginea'', commonly called miro, is an evergreen coniferous tree which is endemic to New Zealand. Before the genus '' Prumnopitys'' was distinguished, it was treated in the related genus ''Podocarpus'' as ''Podocarpus ferrugineus''. It grows up to 25 m high, with a trunk up to 1.3 m diameter. The leaves are linear to sickle-shaped, 15–25 mm long and 2–3 mm broad, with downcurved margins. The plants are dioecious with pollen cones being solitary while those of female plants hang from a curved, scaly stalk. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 2–3 cm long bearing 1-3 scales, each scale maturing berry-like, oval, about 20 mm long and 10–15 mm broad, red to purple-red with a soft edible pulp covering the single seed. The seeds are dispersed by the New Zealand pigeon, which eats the very conspicuous 'berries' and passes the seeds in its droppings. It is found growing on both lowland terrain and on hill slop ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Harakeke
''Phormium tenax'' (called flax in New Zealand English; in Māori; New Zealand flax outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island that is an important fibre plant and a popular ornamental plant.Roger Holmes and Lance Walheim. 2005. ''California Home Landscaping'', Creative Homeowner Press The plant grows as a clump of long, straplike leaves, up to two metres long, from which arises a much taller flowering shoot, with dramatic yellow or red flowers. The fibre has been widely used since the arrival of Māori to New Zealand, originally in Māori traditional textiles and also in rope and sail making after the arrival of Europeans until at least WWII. It is an invasive species in some of the Pacific Islands and in Australia. The blades of the plant contain cucurbitacins, which are poisonous to some animals, and some of them are among the bitterest tastes to humans. Etymology The ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Metrosideros Robusta
''Metrosideros robusta'', the northern rātā, is a forest tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to or taller, and usually begins its life as a hemiepiphyte high in the branches of a mature forest tree; over centuries the young tree sends descending and girdling roots down and around the trunk of its host, eventually forming a massive, frequently hollow pseudotrunk composed of fused roots. In disturbed ground, or where there are gaps in the forest cover, northern rātā will grow on the ground with a normal but short trunk. Distribution Northern rātā is found in the North Island from Te Paki in the north to Wellington in the south. Formerly widespread, it is now uncommon over large parts of its former range, and is apparently absent from all but the south-east of Hawkes Bay. In the South Island, northern rātā is common from Nelson to Greymouth and Hokitika. It reaches its southern limit near Lake Mahinapua at 42°4′ South latitude. The natural habitat is forest along ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Prumnopitys Taxifolia
''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī ( mi, mataī) or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there. It grows up to 40 m high, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are linear to sickle-shaped, 10–15 mm long and 1.5–2 mm broad. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 3–4 cm long bearing 1-6 scales, each scale maturing berry-like, 10–15 mm long, violet-purple with a soft edible pulp covering the single seed. The seeds are dispersed by the New Zealand pigeon (kererū), which eats the 'berries' and passes the seeds in its droppings. Classification The scientific name ''taxifolia'' derives from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the yew (''Taxus''). In the past the species, like the other species of ''Prumnopitys'', was often included in ''Podocarpus''; in this species under the name ''Podo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sphaeropteris 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]  


picture info

Dicksonia Squarrosa
''Dicksonia squarrosa'', the New Zealand tree fern, whekī or rough tree fern, is a common tree fern endemic to New Zealand. It has a slender black trunk that is usually surrounded by many dead brown fronds. Description This species has a fast growth rate of up to a year, growing to about tall. It produces few fronds, all of which sprout in almost horizontal fashion. The fronds reach in length, much smaller than ''Cyathea'' varieties, and are quite crisp to touch. They form a small "umbrella" on top of the trunk. They are sometimes found sprouting from apparently dead pieces of trunk. The trunks are often used for fencing or edging and fronds will sometimes sprout from the side if the top is dead. A feature of the whekī is the spreading underground rhizomes which can create dense groves, making it one of the most common tree ferns in New Zealand forests. The Latin specific epithet ''squarrosa'' means "with curving ends" (referring to the fronds). Human use The whekī is ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Hedycarya Arborea
''Hedycarya arborea'', commonly known as pigeonwood, porokaiwhiri, and poporokaiwhiri is an endemic tree of New Zealand. Found on both the North and South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ... islands of the country, the tree grows to a height of 15 metres. The leaves are oval shaped with shallow serrations. Ripe fruits turn red and the plant received its common name back when it was assumed that the New Zealand wood pigeon particularly favoured them, based on observations of the birds eating the fruit. It has since been discovered that the New Zealand wood pigeon does not prefer these berries, and tends to eat them as a 'famine food' when better fare is not available. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q15295926 Monimiaceae Trees of New Zealand ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]