Flora of New Zealand
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Biota of New Zealand |
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This article relates to the flora of New Zealand, especially
Characteristics
Indigenous New Zealand flora generally has the following characteristics:[1]
- 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 dioeciousspecies.
- 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.
List of plants
Trees and shrubs
- Akeake
- Bartlett's rātā or Cape Reinga white rātā
- Beech (Nothofagus)
- Bog pine
- Broom
- Cabbage treeor Tī rākau / Tī kōuka
- Coprosma
- Daisy bush
- Dracophyllum
- Five finger
- Fuchsia or Kōtukutuku
- Hebes
- Horopito
- Kahikateaor White Pine
- Kaka Beak
- Kanuka
- Kapuka or Broadleaf
- Karaka
- Karamū
- Karo
- Kauri
- Kawakawa
- Kohekohe
- Kohuhu
- Kōwhai
- Kumaraho
- Lacebark
- Lancewood or Horoeka
- Lemonwood or Tarata
- Mahoe or Whiteywood
- Maire
- Manawa or White or Grey mangrove
- Mānuka or Tea Tree
- Māpou or Red Matipo
- Matagouri
- Mataī or Black Pine
- Mingimingi
- Miro
- Manoao or Silver pine
- Mountain tōtara
- Neinei
- Ngaio
- Nīkau
- Northern rātā
- Olearia
- Ongaonga or Tree nettle
- Patē or Seven Finger
- Other Pittosporums
- Pōhutukawa
- Poroporo or Bullibulli
- Puka
- Putaputāwētāor marbleleaf
- Rangiora or Bushman's friend
- Rewarewa or New Zealand honeysuckle
- Ribbonwood or Manatu
- Rimu or Red Pine
- Southern rātā
- Tanekaha
- Taraire
- Tawa
- tītoki
- Toatoa
- Toru
- Tōtara
- Tetrapathaea tetrandra
- Tutu
- Yellow pine
- Whau
- Wineberry or Makomako
Ferns
While most of the world's
New Zealand has ten species of tree ferns,[2] 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.[3]
- Silver fern or ponga, Cyathea dealbata
- New Zealand tree fern, Dicksonia squarrosa
- Black tree fernor mamaku, Cyathea medullaris
- Tuokura, Dicksonia lanata
- Kuripaka, Dicksonia fibrosa
- Mountain tree fern, Cyathea colensoi
- Gully tree fern, Cyathea cunninghamii
- Soft tree fern, Cyathea smithii
- King fern, Ptisana salicina
- Prince of Wales fern, Leptopteris superba
- Hound's tongue fern, Microsorum pustulatum
- Kidney fernor raurenga, Trichomanes reniforme
- Hen and chickens fern, Asplenium bulbiferum
- Hanging spleenwort, Asplenium flaccidum
- Mangemange, Lygodium articulatum
Seaweeds
- Neptune's necklace
Liverworts
New Zealand has a greater density of
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
A three-volume work on liverworts in New Zealand is being written by John Engel and David Glenny, with the first volume published in 2008.[4] The first volume will also be placed online in June 2009 as part of Floraseries.[5]
Grasses
There are 187 species of native grasses in New Zealand: 157 endemic and 30 indigenous species.[6]
The grasses belong to the following tribes and genera:
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Mosses
There are 523 known moss 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, so there are strong relationships with species in Tasmania, South-eastern Australia, and temperate parts of South America.[7] The endemic genera are:
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Sphagnum moss is also of economic importance.
Other
- Bush lawyer
- Celmisia (Mountain Daisy)
- Megaherbs
- Nine species of Trilepidea adamsii(last seen in 1954).
- Mount Cook Lily
- New Zealand flax
- New Zealand spinach(Kokihi)
- Nīkau Palm
- Pingao
- Raupō or bulrush
- Supplejack
- Tecomanthe speciosa
- Wood rose
See also
- Environment of New Zealand
- Biodiversity of New Zealand
- List of trees native to New Zealand
- Hebe Society
References
- ^ "NZ Native Plants - Bushmansfriend".
- ^ "Number of Tree Ferns Reference".
- ^ "King Fern largest ground fern. p. 19" (PDF).
- ^ Engel, J. J. and Glenny, D. 2008 A flora of the liverworts and hornworts of New Zealand. Monographs in systematic botany volume 110, Missouri Botanic Gardens Press, Missouri.
- ^ David Glenny, New Zealand's liverworts, no longer a forgotten group, Te Taiao, Number 6, July 2006, ISSN 1176-2454
- ^ H. E. Connor and E. Edgar. "History of the taxonomy of the New Zealand native grass flora". Retrieved 20 August 2006.
- Landcare Research. "Characteristics of the Indigenous Moss Flora". Retrieved 20 August 2006.
External links
- Ford, K. A. (2014). "Centrolepidaceae. In: Breitwieser, I.; Brownsey, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Wilton, A.D. Flora of New Zealand – Seed Plants. Fascicle 2". Flora of New Zealand. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - http://www.nzflora.info/index.html - Flora of New Zealand
- "Recovery plan for threatened grassy plants of dry fertile sites, 2003–2013. C. Jones (Threatened Species Recovery Plan 52)" (PDF). [Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 2004. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
- Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. Canterbury, New Zealand.
- New Zealand Plant Names Database
- Bushmansfriend:NZ native plant information
- New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
- Native New Zealand Plants, University of Auckland
External links for Identification tools for plants
- http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/plants/grass-key Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine (a Lucid multi-access key to naturalised and indigenous grasses of New Zealand)
- Multi-access key to the flowering plant genera of New Zealand
- Identification tools for New Zealand plants