New Zealand Field Trips December 2008

[Gerdk]

Gerd,
I have a picture of a violet growing at 1700 metres. Again I will post it when I have processed it. In the meantime here is tonights offering.

Dear David,
Thanks a lot for ALL your interesing pics, especially for those of the Melicytis.
Will a 'real' Viola follow?

Gerd

[David Lyttle]

Hi Gerd,

There was a little Viola growing there, Viola cunninghamii but I did not take a photo of it as I was on my way to the Ranunculus site at the time. I will try to rectify this as it is relatively common even in lowland situations

Maggi,

There are a number of small umbelliferous herbs found along with Anisotome aromatica and Anisotome flexuosa in the alpine zone These include Gingidia decipiens, Gingidia baxterae and Oreomyrrhis colensoi and can be difficult to sort out in the field unless you look at them closely. There are a number of larger Anisotome species that are larger more robust plants such as Anisotome haastii and Anisotome capillifolia that Ian might remember seeing on Mt Burns last January. I will put in a close up of the flexuosa aromatic pair so you can see the differences more clearly. There is also Anisotome imbricata which forms a cushion and would be a very nice plant to grow particularly var imbricata.

[Maggi Young]

David, Ian remembers every minute of your trips with excitement and fondness.

Thank you for the close up of those wee chaps.... very nice little plants indeed.... I know nothing of the Gingidias you mention.

[Peter Korn, Sweden]

Johan
I see you have a good time and I hope you take a lot of pictures. I´m looking foreward to see all of them.

[ian mcenery]

David looking at those boots well I agree at that price they should be ashamed. I bought a pair of Scarpas shown on the link below about five years ago. These unlike a lot of so called mountain boots are made in Italy always considered in my mountaineering days as the maker of the finest boots. Not many made there now though and certainly not in leather. These have been to the Dolomites twice, Switzerland, Crete and to the Himalayas as well as being used for hill walking once a week. Fortunately Pam insists on cleaning and polishing these so they still look like new.  

http://www.snowandrock.com/Department/Footwear/Hiking+Boots/M+New+SL+X+SCA0006.htm

[David Lyttle]

Following on from my last posting we reached a the saddle above the skifield. It is very barren with extensive screes. The most conspicuous plant on these screes is Aciphylla dobsonii shown in picture1 and 2.

There is a little island of green vegetation just below the saddle where we stopped for lunch. It is right of centre in picture 3. The Ida Range is in the distance (centre) extending northwards to the Hawkdun Range (right).

Picture 4 shows various members of the party at the lunch stop. From the left Hugh Wood , Janet Ledingham, Joy Comrie.

Pictures 5 is a view of the vegetation in the shrub island. In the foreground is Celmisia aff durietzii and Hebe pinguifolia.

Pictures 6, 7 and 8 are of Celmisia ramulosa showing its shrubby growth form. It is just on the point of flowering with a few flowers out.

Picture 9 shows the alpine moss Racomitrium pruinosum growing amongst the shrubs. Also present is the alpine lichen Thamnolia vermicularis. This latter species is also found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Picture 10 is a flowering plant of the Celmisia sps. It has a tighter growth form than Celmisia durietzii but ressemble Celmisia densiflora in other respects. Celmisia densiflora is present in the grassland at lower elevations but has a broader leaf.

[David Lyttle]

Ian, I have had the boots for quite a while- I originally bought them in the US for a trip to Baffin Island so they have crossed the Arctic Circle. On that occasion they lost a fair bit of rubber. I have used them infrequently since as they are a bit stiff for tramping. I thought as my climbing days are fairly much over there was no point not using them and it would save me having to buy a new pair of tramping boots. The outcome however is that I still need to buy a new pair of boots for the summer.

Here is the picture of Celmisia ramulosa missing from the previous post.

[hadacekf]

Thank you all for the interesting pics, I like especially the small Aciphyllas. Cotula atrata and Craspedia incana is perfect.

[Maggi Young]

Thank you all for the interesting pics, I like especially the small Aciphyllas. Cotula atrata and Craspedia incana is perfect.

I agree, Franz....and  I think the reason I so like these plants  is because they are quite happy to grow over here in our gardens!

[mark smyth]

Just found this thread. What stunning buttercups at the start. Have they been IDd? Why cant ours look like that?

[Maggi Young]

Mark, they are Ranunculus acreaus.... look back and follow the links, too, to find out more.

[David Lyttle]

In this post I am showing some pictures of the true scree specialists. Hugh took us way down the hill across a big creek and up on to a gravel mound where most of these plants were growing. It was a fairly energetic descent and ascent so only a few of us elected to go. We were well rewarded for our efforts.

Picture 1 shows the steep ground and broken screes typical of this side of the range. There is a little tarn tucked up in the fold of the hill slightly right of centre.

Picture 2 shows a little creek cascading through the boulders and screes.

Picture 3 is the black flowered daisy Leptinella atrata. This plant is quite widespread on the St Marys Range.

Picture 4 shows Haastia sinclairii in one of its several iterations. None of the plants we saw were very large; all had only a small number of rosettes.

Picture 5 is Raoulia petriensis. It was not very common here. Its  main stronghold is on the Ida Range further south but it is also found further north across the Waitaki River on the Kirkliston Range.

Picture 6 Raoulia youngii. It is generally found on the high exposed ridges and plateaus above 1600 metres.

Pictures 7 and 8 are of Lobelia roughii just beginning to emerge through the scree. It is very easy to walk right past these plants as they are difficult to spot on the scree.

Picture 9 is Myosotis traversii var cantabrica. The plant is still in growth and has yet to flower.

Picture 10 is taken back up on the saddle late in the day with the mist returning. A considerable amount of moisture is delivered to the range via these mists which enables the plants to survive on the screes better than one would expect considering their barren nature. The third ridge over is Mt Bitterness where Dave Toole and Johan had gone this particlar morning.
According to a geologist friend who has worked extensively in the area it is aptly named.

[ranunculus]

Beautiful, David ... beautiful.

[Lvandelft]

Wonderful pictures David. This last series is almost unbeatable with such beauties!
You never can show too many of them!

[David Lyttle]

Hi Cliff, Hi Luit,

I am getting towards the end of pictures from the St Marys Range but I have a few more that I hope may be of interest, My Christmas social obligations are conflicting with posting so you will have to bear with me as I post in dribs and drabs.

Cliff, we found this little creek at 1700 metres that was fringed with the little buttercup Ranunculus gracilipes- See Picture 1. There was a second smaller buttercup Ranunculus maculatus present. This was the first time I have seen it. I looked for illustrations and eventually found one in Hugh Wilson's book Wild Plants of Mt Cook National Park. I surmise that it is not collected very often, not necessarily due to rarity but because it is inconspicuous when it is not in flower. Picture 2 is Ranunculus maculatus and also shows the larger flowers of Ranunculus gracilipes.

Another plant that was common in the wet turf was this Raoulia. It is called Raoulia hectori var mollis. It exact relationship to Raoulia hectori is not entirely clear but the cushions are softer and seem to be confined to boggy sites. Raoulia hectori is common in the nearby cushion field on the drier more exposed sites. There are differences in the shape of the leaves as well. Picture 3 is of Raoulia hectori var mollis.

Pictures 4,5,6 and 7 are of Chionohebe densifolia. This species was growing in profusion on this site and was in full flower.

Picture 8 is a cushion of Kellaria villosa in full flower

Picture 9 and 10 are of Chionohebe thomsonii - I have had great difficulty getting good photos of this plant - it seems to be camera shy!