alpine and subalpine Plants from New Zealand

[David Nicholson]

Roughly what sort of height would you have been at there David? The land does bear a passing resemblance to the higher parts of Dartmoor but it's a long time since we had very much snow.

[ruweiss]

David, thank you so much for showing us these impressive
pictures.

[David Lyttle]

Hello All,

I am just back from a field trip of  a weeks duration in the Eyre Mountains and Fiordland  with a Botanical team from Te Papa (NZ National Museum). I was not expecting to go to Fiordland but the trip got rearranged because of the weather and collecting priorities. I have a large number of images to download and catalogue. Awesome botany, awesome scenery and awesome people!

Gabriela; Its much the same situation as it would be in the northern hemisphere, the snow was lingering into summer a bit later then usual. Mostly by this time it would all be gone.

David;  The pictures I showed you were at between our camp site (1600 m) and the top of the Old Woman Range at (1700 m) possibly a bit higher than Dartmoor! In winter it would be mostly covered by snow and very exposed.

[David Lyttle]

Some plants from the Old Woman Range

Celmisia sessiliflora Here it forms large cushions



and close up



 Veronica densifolia (=Hebejeebie densifolia) was everywhere and flowering profusely



Raoulia grandiflora very common but I have never succeeded in growing it.



and for a change of colour Ranunculus pachyrrhizus This is a snowbank species the flowers as it emerges from the snow.

[Gabriela]

Looking forward to pictures from the newly explored mountains!

A most impressive Celmisia!

[Hoy]

The glacial landscape looks very familiar. But the flora is quite different from what I am used to up here in Norway.

[David Lyttle]

Hello Trond,
I am not surprised some of the landscapes are similar though the Central Otago landscapes are much more gentle than the Fiordland mountains further west which I will post later. Here are some more plants,

Acaena saccaticupla the large alpine bidi-bid



Aciphylla simplex a cushion speargrass that is generally restricted to rock outcrops.



A small alpine daisy Brachyscome montana



and a second Brachyscome species, Brachyscome sinclairii



Caltha obtusa very similar to the N. Hemisphere Calthas. It is a snow bank plant that emerges and flowers as the snow melts.

[David Lyttle]

Next some Celmisias, Celmisia brevifolia



and Celmisia ramulosa var tuberculata. This flowered last season and has no flowers this year



Chionohebe thomsonii typically grows as a hard cushion on very exposed open sites



Dracophyllum muscoides probably the most common plant in the cushion field. Here is one with some nice flowers.



Euphrasia petriei These are root parasites and the different species are not always easy to identify. We have the N. Hemisphere E. nemorosa growing as a weed in scattered locations but it does not seem to get up to the high alpine

[David Lyttle]

Two species of Epilobium,It is very difficult to identify the different species even for a professional botanist.
Epilobium komoravianum. This species grows on the coast as well as the high alpine. It is possible the two are not the same.



Epilobium tasmanicum A common alpine species in Central Otago. Don't ask me for seed, you already have E. brunnescens growing rampant over the British Iles.



A little Gaultheria. This I think is a hybrid between Gaultheria nubicola and G. depressa var novae-zelandiae



A second Gaultheria, Gaultheria parvula This is a species of alpine bogs and wetlands.



And a white gentian, Gentianella divisa This is a monocarpic species with multiple flowering shoots. Not easy to cultivate or flower.

[ranunculus]

Superb images, David ... and always such an interesting topic.  The problem is that it always makes me want to return as soon as possible.

[Hoy]

David,

Beautiful plants!

Hello Trond,
I am not surprised some of the landscapes are similar though the Central Otago landscapes are much more gentle than the Fiordland mountains further west which I will post later. ......

David, more similarities! It is more rugged in the west here also!

Caltha obtusa very similar to the N. Hemisphere Calthas. It is a snow bank plant that emerges and flowers as the snow melts.

I think the Caltha is more similar to species I have seen in South America than the one I am familiar with here!

[Maggi Young]

Aren't  the  Euphrasia enchanting?  Does  anyone  manage to grow them in captivity?

[Hoy]

Aren't  the  Euphrasia enchanting?  Does  anyone  manage to grow them in captivity?

Agree! The Euphrasia is an enchanting species. I have never tried to grow any though. But that is an idea! Being short-lived annuals or biennials (at least the native once here) I think you have to sow them close to a host and hope for the best.

This is a native one, Euphrasia stricta. The flowers are nice but the plant is a giant compared to the NZ relative.

[David Lyttle]

Aren't  the  Euphrasia enchanting?  Does  anyone  manage to grow them in captivity?

Hi Maggi,

In answer to your query there was a student at Otago who tried to grow Euphrasia (with mixed success it seems) See https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/3981 Trond's suggestion of sowing them close to the host might work.

Hi Cliff, I have not been looking a many Ranunculi lately. There was some R.scrithalis and R. piliferus in the Eyre mountains but nothing in flower. There was also a bit of R. lyallii and R. buchananii in Fiordland but the flowering was past. One of the party found some R. sericophyllus in flower high up on a scree under some bluffs but I did not get to see it.
To nights offering

Anaphalioides bellidioides very easy to grow in the alpine garden



Chionohebe thomsonii



Craspedia lanata or at least that is what I am calling it. There are a whole lot of undescribed species in this genus in New Zealand. So I will call it this until someone tells me otherwise.



The little fern Cystopteris tasmanica very similar to Cystopteris fragilis from the Northern Hemisphere. There was a mass of this under a big overhanging rock.



Drosera arcturi, the alpine bog sundew also very common.



 I am off to Invercargill for the weekend to visit Mr Toole and participate in some botanical field trips.

[Maggi Young]

Hi Maggi,

In answer to your query there was a student at Otago who tried to grow Euphrasia (with mixed success it seems) See https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/3981 Trond's suggestion of sowing them close to the host might work.

 I am off to Invercargill for the weekend to visit Mr Toole and participate in some botanical field trips.

Thanks, David.
  and ...Have  a  good  trip !