New Zealand Field Trips December 2008

[kiwi]

Finally got up the back today, too late for the buttercups, but here are some other shots.
Ill go find my alpine bible to give the correct spelling of names.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Some great shots there Doug ! Thanks for getting "up the back" for us - better late than never ! 

[t00lie]

Doug
nice shots of some of the flora on Mt Hutt.
The Ranunculus haastii in seed particularly looks yummy.



[quote from Ian Y link=topic=2785.msg66402#msg66402 date=1230305099]
"Here is the picture of our plant now deceased of Stellaria roughii , grown from seed collected in the Cragieburn Range and sown in August 1989."
[/quote]

Scottie ---As already mentioned a wonderful sized specimen of Stellaria roughii ----certainly as i wandered the screes up country yesterday there was nothing matching it.
Saw quite a few with buds but nothing in bloom.

Not so for Celmisia philocremna --i counted 5 medium sized plants each with more than 20 stalks at various stages of flowering so it's going to be one of the better seasons .

Just a couple of pics from yesterdays excursion.

Cheers dave.

[kiwi]

Couple more shots of Mt Hutt yesterday,
An 'alpine hopper'
Raoulia eximea
Ranunculus crithmifolius?
Not sure, please could someone name this for me?

I know the last picture is totally off the subject but I spent an hour and a half haulling this giant ray in this morning and got this great shot after I cut it free. I know someone out there will appreciate its beauty.

[David Lyttle]

Hi Doug,

Names of the plants in your first post are;
1 Ranunculus haastii
2 Celmisia angustifolia ( as far as I can tell but I may be wrong on this one)
3 Helichrysum intermedium
4 Aciphylla scott-thomsonii
5 Bulbinella angustifolia
6 and 7 Celmisia spectabilis var magnifica

It is interesting that Celmisia angustifolia and Celmisia spectabilis have turned up following the discussion about the unidentified Celmisia from the St Marys Range on my earlier posting.

On your second posting the Ranunculus is indeed crithmifolius - it is a very cryptic plant and you can be standing on top of it before you see it.
The unidentified plant is Anaphalioides bellidioides formerly known as Helichrysum bellidioides. You will find it under this name in most of the botanical reference books. It is a very common plant and is quite variable.
Hope this helps

[kiwi]

Cheers David, I'm finding it hard get names, especially from a description in my limited reference books. Could you suggest a good book or two I should track down with photographs/pictures to help with identification?

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, to R. crithmifolius. Well unless David says differently of course!

[David Lyttle]

Hi Doug,

The best book that is currently available is " Wild Plants of Mount Cook National Park " by Hugh Wilson. It is good for most of Canturbury.
 
If you can find a second hand copy " New Zealand Alpine Plants" by Alan Mark and Nancy Adams is well worth having.  It is no longer in print and there are no plans to reprint it. The 4th edition published in 1995 is the most recent.  A lot of the names are no longer current but you can probably find someone who will emend them for you.