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
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 ...
species.
* flowers are typically small and white.
* many plants have divaricating growth forms.
* many plants have evolved into larger forms compared with similar plant families in other countries.
Beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
Five finger Five finger is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* The genus '' Dasiphora''
* The genus ''Potentilla''
* Carambola
* ''Pseudopanax arboreus'', a shrub native to New Zealand
* ''Tabebuia
''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plan ...
Karo
Karo may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Karo people (East Africa), a group of tribes in East Africa
* Karo people (Ethiopia), an ethnic group from Ethiopia
* Karo people (Indonesia), the indigenous people of the Karo Plateau in North Sumatra
Language ...
Kumaraho Kumarahou is a Maori designation for various species of shrub. It may refer to:
*''Olearia colensoi
''Olearia colensoi'', commonly known as tūpare (from the Māori ) or leatherwood, is a sub-alpine shrub that is endemic to New Zealand. Other ...
*
Lacebark Lacebark is a common name for several plants, lacebark trees and may refer to:
* lacebark or lace-bark, a textile made from ''Lagetta lagetto'' species
* lacebark, a common name for species in the genus ''Brachychiton''
* lacebark, a common name fo ...
Mahoe Mahoe is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
*''Alectryon macrococcus'', or ʻalaʻalahua, a species of tree in the soapberry family endemic to Hawaii
*''Melicytus ramiflorus'', a tree endemic to New Zealand
*Other ''Melicytus
''Me ...
Manawa Manawa can refer to:
*Manawa, Wisconsin, a city in Wisconsin
* ''Manawa'' (crustacean): ''Manawa'' Hornibrook, 1949, a genus of ostracod
*''Manawa'' Forster, 1970 an invalid genus of spider: now '' Mesudus'' Özdikmen, 2007
*''Manawa'' Bergquist & ...
or White or Grey mangrove
*
Mānuka
''Leptospermum scoparium'', commonly called mānuka, () mānuka myrtle, New Zealand teatree, broom tea-tree, or just tea tree, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, native to New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands ...
Matagouri
''Discaria toumatou'', commonly called matagouri, tūmatakuru or wild Irishman, is a tangle-branched thorny plant endemic to New Zealand.
Matagouri is a tangle-branched, extremely thorny, divaricating shrub or small tree up to five metres t ...
Neinei
''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 Caled ...
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 d ...
Putaputaweta
''Carpodetus serratus'' is an evergreen tree with small ovate or round, mottled leaves with a toothy margin, and young twigs grow zig-zag, and fragrant white flowers in 5 cm panicles and later black chewy berries. It is an endemic of New ...
Rewarewa
''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''.
...
or New Zealand honeysuckle
*
Ribbonwood Ribbonwood is a common name for several plants. They are like the lacebarks in having an inner layer of bark made up many lace-like layers, which can be torn into ribbon-like strips, and may refer to:
* ''Adenostoma sparsifolium'', more commonly kno ...
Tanekaha
''Phyllocladus trichomanoides'', the tānekaha or celery pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand.
Description
Tānekaha is a medium-sized forest tree growing up to 25 m in height and 1 m trunk diameter. The main structural shoots ar ...
*
Taraire
''Taraire'' is a small genus of Polynesian long-jawed orb-weavers. The genus was first described by A. Álvarez-Padilla, R. J. Kallal and Gustavo Hormiga in 2020, and it has only been found in New Zealand.
They build vertical orb webs near fore ...
Toatoa Toatoa is a Māori word that is the common name for several species of plants that are endemic to New Zealand.
*'' Haloragis erecta''
*''Phyllocladus alpinus''
*'' Phyllocladus toatoa''
*''Phyllocladus trichomanoides
''Phyllocladus trichomanoid ...
Tetrapathaea 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 so ...
Whau
''Entelea arborescens'' or whau is a species of malvaceous tree endemic to New Zealand. ''E. arborescens'' is the only species in the genus ''Entelea''. A shrub or small tree to 6 m with large lime-like leaves giving a tropical appearanc ...
While most of the world's ferns grow in tropical climates, New Zealand hosts an unusual number of ferns for a temperate country. These exhibit a variety of forms, from stereotypical feather-shaped tufted ferns and tree ferns to less typical filmy, leafy and climbing ferns. Both the koru, in the shape of an unfurling fern frond, and the silver fern are widely accepted symbols of New Zealand.
New Zealand has ten species of tree ferns, but there are numerous ground, climbing and perching smaller ferns to be found throughout the countries forests, the largest of which is the king fern.
* Silver fern or ponga, ''Cyathea dealbata''
*
New Zealand tree fern
''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 fa ...
, ''Dicksonia squarrosa''
*
Black tree fern
''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 ...
Mountain tree fern
''Alsophila colensoi'', also known as the creeping tree fern, mountain tree fern and golden tree fern, is a species of Cyatheales, tree fern native to
New Zealand, from the southern part of the North Island south to Stewart Island/Rakiura, Stewar ...
, ''Cyathea colensoi''
* Gully tree fern, ''Cyathea cunninghamii''
*
Soft tree fern
''Dicksonia antarctica'', the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania.
Anatomy and biology
These ferns ...
Kidney fern
''Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum'', the kidney fern, is a filmy fern species native to New Zealand. It commonly grows on the forest floor of open native bush. Individual kidney-shaped fronds stand about 5–10 cm tall. In hot weather they shri ...
or raurenga, ''Trichomanes reniforme''
* Hen and chickens fern, ''Asplenium bulbiferum''
*
Hanging spleenwort
''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 occurrenc ...
Neptune's necklace
''Hormosira banksii'', also known as Neptune's necklace, Neptune's pearls, sea grapes, or bubbleweed) is a species of seaweed ( brown algae, Fucales) native to Australia and New Zealand. The genus ''Hormosira'' is monotypic.
Distribution
''Ho ...
Liverworts
New Zealand has a greater density of
liverworts
The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ge ...
than any other country, due to its cool, wet and temperate climate. About half the species are endemic to New Zealand.
There are 606 species known in New Zealand. While these include some thallose liverworts, with liver-shaped thalli, most are leafy liverworts which can be confused with mosses and filmy ferns. Undescribed species, and those not previously recorded in New Zealand, continue to be found in lowland forests. Ninety species and varieties are listed on the 2001
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
threatened plants list, and 157 liverwort species and varieties will be included on the next version of the list as a result of better knowledge of the group.
A three-volume work on liverworts in New Zealand is being written by
John Engel
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
and
David Glenny
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, with the first volume published in 2008. The first volume will also be placed online in June 2009 as part o Floraseries David Glenny, ''New Zealand's liverworts, no longer a forgotten group'', ''Te Taiao'', Number 6, July 2006, ISSN 1176-2454
Grasses
There are 187 species of native grasses in New Zealand: 157 endemic and 30 indigenous species.
The grasses belong to the following tribes and genera:
* Ehrharteae
** '' Microlaena'', 4 species
** ''
Zotovia
''Zotovia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native to New Zealand (including the Antipodean Islands).
The genus is named for Victor Dmitrievich Zotov (1908–1977), a botanist born in Vladivostok who migrated to New Zealand in 1924.
...
Achnatherum
''Achnatherum'' is a genus of plants which includes several species of needlegrass. Several needlegrass species have been switched between ''Achnatherum'' and genus ''Stipa''; taxonomy between the two closely related genera is still uncertain.
' ...
Poa
''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...
Agrostis
''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass.
Species
* '' Agrostis aequivalvi'' ...
'', 10 species
** ''
Amphibromus
''Amphibromus'' is a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae. Most are known as swamp wallaby grass.Thieret, J. W''Amphibromus''. Grass Manual. Flora of North America.Deschampsia'', 5 species
** '' Deyeuxia'', 5 species
** '' Dichelachne'', 4 species
** ''
Echinopogon
''Echinopogon'' is a genus of grasses native to Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, and New Zealand. They are known commonly as hedgehog grasses.
They are perennial grasses with bristly panicles.Hierochloe'', 7 species
** '' Koeleria'', 3 species
** '' Lachnagrostis'', 12 species
** ''
Trisetum
''Trisetum'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biologica ...
Australopyrum
''Australopyrum'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native to Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.
The genus ''Australopyrum'' is closely related to ''Agropyron,'' and some authors consider it part of that genus.
; Species
* '' Austr ...
Stenostachys
''Stenostachys'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, found only in New Zealand. It is sometimes included in the genus '' Elymus''.
; Species
* '' Stenostachys deceptorix'' Connor - South I
* '' Stenostachys enysii'' (Kirk) Barkworth & S. ...
Chionochloa
''Chionochloa'' is a genus of tussock grass in the family Poaceae, found primarily in New Zealand with one known species in New Guinea and another on Lord Howe Island (part of Australia). Some of the species are referred to as snowgrass.
Most of ...
Toetoe
''Austroderia'' is a genus of five species of tall grasses native to New Zealand, commonly known as toetoe.
), 5 species
** ''
Pyrrhanthera
''Rytidosperma'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. Most of the species occur in Australasia, with a few in insular Southeast Asia, southern South America ( Chile + Argentina), and certain islands of the Pacific ( Hawaii + Easter Is ...
'', 1 species
** ''
Rytidosperma
''Rytidosperma'' is a genus of plants in the grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the gr ...
Cenchrus
''Cenchrus'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Common names include buffelgrasses, sandburs, and sand spur “sti ...
'', 1 species
** ''
Oplismenus
''Oplismenus'' is a small genus of annual or perennial grasses, commonly known as basketgrass, found throughout the tropics, subtropics, and in some cases, temperate regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The systematics of the ge ...
Isachne
''Isachne'' is a widespread genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the grass family, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.Andropogoneae
** '' Imperata'', 1 species
Mosses
There are 523 known
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
species and 23 varieties in New Zealand, with 208 genera represented. 108 species and 11 genera are considered endemic. Most New Zealand mosses originated in
Gondwana
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
, so there are strong relationships with species in Tasmania, South-eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and temperate parts of South America. The endemic genera are:
* ''
Beeveria
''Beeveria'' is a genus of moss endemic to New Zealand, in the family Daltoniaceae. It is a monotypic genus with characteristics of the type species, including solely the species ''Beeveria distichophylloides''. The name honours the New Zealand ...
''
* ''
Bryobeckettia
''Bryobeckettia'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Funariaceae
The Funariaceae are a family of mosses in the order Funariales. About 303 species are included in the family, with 200 species in '' Funaria'' and another 80 classifie ...
Tetracoscinodon
''Tetracoscinodon'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Pottiaceae
The Pottiaceae are a Family (biology), family of mosses. They form the most numerous moss family known, containing nearly 1500 species or more than 10% of the 10,000 t ...
Celmisia
''Celmisia'' (New Zealand aster or New Zealand daisy) is a genus of perennial herbs or subshrubs, in the family Asteraceae. Most of the species are endemic to New Zealand; several others are endemic to Australia.
; Species and nothospecies #RED ...
(Mountain Daisy)
*
Megaherbs
Megaherbs are a group of herbaceous wildflowers growing in the New Zealand subantarctic islands and on the other subantarctic islands. They are characterised by their great size, with huge leaves and very large and often unusually coloured flowers, ...
* Nine species of
mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
, including ''
Peraxilla colensoi
''Peraxilla colensoi'', the scarlet mistletoe, is a shrubby parasitic plant composed of broad, leathery leaves that grow up to 8 cm long and have a red edge. The common name is derived from the scarlet petals of the plant that bloom every Octob ...
'', ''
Peraxilla tetrapetala
''Peraxilla tetrapetala'', or red mistletoe, is a parasitic plant in the family Loranthaceae, endemic to New Zealand and found on both the North and South Islands. The Māori names for the plant are pikirangi, pirirangi and roeroe.
It is a shru ...
'', ''
Alepis flavida
''Alepis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Loranthaceae
Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of th ...
'', and the extinct ''
Trilepidea adamsii
''Trilepidea'' is a extinct monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Loranthaceae. Its native range was New Zealand. The only species was ''Trilepidea adamsii'', or Adams mistletoe. It was first described in 1880 as ''Loranthus ...
'' (last seen in 1954).
*
Mount Cook Lily
''Ranunculus lyallii'' (Mountain buttercup, Mount Cook buttercup, or, although not a lily, Mount Cook lily), is a species of '' Ranunculus'' (buttercup), endemic to New Zealand, where it occurs in the South Island and on Stewart Island at alt ...
New Zealand spinach
''Tetragonia tetragonioides'', commonly called New Zealand spinach, Warrigal greens and other local names, is a flowering plant in the fig-marigold family (Aizoaceae). It is often cultivated as a leafy vegetable.
It is a widespread species, nat ...
(''Kokihi'')
*
Nikau Palm
''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 ...
Tecomanthe speciosa
''Tecomanthe speciosa'' (also known as the Three Kings vine or akapukaea) is a species of subtropical forest lianes. A single specimen was first discovered on Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, 55 km off the northern tip of New Zealand, dur ...
Canterbury, New Zealand
Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of
The region in its current f ...
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network * http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/plants/grass-key (a Lucid key to naturalised and indigenous grasses of New Zealand)
University of Auckland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flora Of New Zealand