NZ Field Trips 2009

[Maggi Young]

Go safe in those mountains, T00lie... remember, if you fall over now, without those purple long johns, no-one will be able to find you! 

[Gerdk]

Ross & Dave,
Thank you both for your remarks (+pic) concerning Viola cunninghamii.
This species or Viola lyallii (don't remember exactly) survived a few years outside here (USDA zone 7 b) - but deadheading wasn't necessary 

Gerd

[David Lyttle]

Congratulations Ross, on the arrival of your new daughter

The consensus of opinion is that the Myosotis is similar to M. cheesemanii but not conspecific with it. (That is my view and someone who is very familar with Myosotis cheesemanii).

 I will post a few more pictures. Most of these plants are snowbank plants that emerge and flower immediately after the snow covering them melts.

Picture 1 is Psychrophila obtusa formerly known as Caltha obtusa. It is a classic snow bank plant. The flowers are formed during the previous summer and open immediately after the snow covering the plant has melted.

Pictures 2 and 3 are Ranunculus pachyrrhizus. This plant is a Central Otago endemic and is more or less confined to schist mountains.

Picture 4 is Gaultheria nubicola. This tiny epacrid was flowering en masse growing in extensive patches.

Picture 5 is Gaultheria nubicola and Coprosma perpusilla. There is a little Kellaria that is about ot flower and a shoot of Anaphalioides bellidioides in the picture as well

Picture 6 is Coprosma perpusilla The fruits are formed during the previous season and ripen during the present season so flowers and ripe fruits may be present at the same time.

Pictures 7 and 8 are of Ourisia glandulosa. Another species of Ourisia, Ourisia caespitosa was also present but did not seem to be flowering paticularly well. I used flash when I took the picture to freeze the movement of the flowers in the wind as Ourisia flowers tend move with the slightest breeze so it is not an entirely satisfactory picture. The whites are a bit stark.

Pictures 9 and 10 are of a relatively rare plant Parahebe trifida. Dave looked at it and said Chionohebe densifolia which it resembles closely. The flowers are very similar in size and there is a hint of colour before the bud is completely open. However the leaves are toothed. Chionohebes and Parahebes have been confounding plant taxonomists for decades and the latest paper I have read places them both in Veronica. There is a Chionohebe densifolia variant  from the North Dunstan Range that has toothed leaves. I am now of the view that they all just grow on there own mountain and do their own thing and do not read the scientific literature.  The Parahebe trifida was flourishing in late snowbanks helped along by a liberal dosing of sheep manure. The sheep seem to camp on these sites during the summer.

I have a lot more pictures but probably do not have enough time to post them as I am off again next week.  There are some really neat plants from the Remarkables leg of the field trip but these will have to wait to later.

[Maggi Young]

I have a lot more pictures but probably do not have enough time to post them as I am off again next week.  There are some really neat plants from the Remarkables leg of the field trip but these will have to wait to later.

 No worries, David, we can wait! 

[maggiepie]

The Gaultheria nubicola reminds me of the wild blueberry bushes around here.
The Ourisia glandulosa is beautiful.

[maggiepie]

Gerd
Here is another close up of the Viola taken on Sunday.
It has a wide range throughout most of NZ .

What a lovely little viola.

[Gerdk]

What an unusual white and large flowering kind of marsh marigold! According Wikipedia it is related to Caltha appendiculata and C. sagittata from South America.
Appendiculata is hardy here (USDA 7 b) but without showy flowers.

Did seed of Psychrophyla obtusa ever reach the Northern Hemisphere?

Gerd

[Maggi Young]

More wonderful photos, David.

I have been searching half the day to find a meaning or derivation for Psychrophila/ Psychrophyla.... was having no luck at all ... in the end I went with searching just for the prefix.... which found me this:
psy·chro·phil·ic
adj.
Thriving at relatively low temperatures. Used of certain bacteria.

Now then, if the prefix could find me that adjective, would you not have thought the wonders of the world wide web could have found  psychrophila for me? 

[Diane Clement]

I have been searching half the day to find a meaning or derivation for Psychrophila/ Psychrophyla.... was having no luck at all ... in the end I went with searching just for the prefix.... which found me this:
psy·chro·phil·ic    adj   Thriving at relatively low temperatures. Used of certain bacteria.
Now then, if the prefix could find me that adjective, would you not have thought the wonders of the world wide web could have found  psychrophila for me?     

Psychro (cold) phila (loving)
I just put psychrophilia   psychrophila into a search engine and found 41000 entries! - many are specific names of plants
Here's a couple of links for psychrophilic and psychrophile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychrophilic
http://myword.info/sendword.php?psychro_1-a

[Lvandelft]

David, super pictures of great plants.
For me is Coprosma perpusilla the absulute winner.
Aaah, having a creeping plant in the rockery with such berries. 

[Paddy Tobin]

David,

Many thanks for a wonderful set of plants. Really enjoyed viewing them.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Well, you see, that's the difference... I was searching for Psychrophila or  Psychrophyla, looking for the meaning for a botanical name.... it never occurred to me to search for psychrophilia....and now that I have, I tend to wish I hadn't!

I hate being so cold I can't think straight!  

Diane.... thanks for the pps message   

[Diane Clement]

it never occurred to me to search for psychrophilia....and now that I have, I tend to wish I hadn't!

nor me, it was a typo    I put in psychrophila   SORRY  I wish I hadn't either, this is getting too silly. 

I hate being so cold I can't think straight!   

I can't even type  ^st_raigh^t

[Lesley Cox]

Well sorry, but I plan to stick with Caltha for now. Caltha obtusa has a delicious perfume as an added attraction.

[David Lyttle]

Hello everyone. Thank you all for your kind comments. I see that each one of you have their own favourite  plant from my last posting.

Gerd. I do not think the Psychrophila could be grown successfully at lower altitudes because of its specialised habitat (snowbanks) and requirement for winter chilling. It might be possible to grow it in Europe where it would get sufficient winter chilling for its proper development.

As several you have figured out Psychrophila  means "cold loving" a reference to the plant being confined to snowbanks This and other morphological features are the reason Psychrophila was separated from Caltha. There is a second species Psychrophila novae-zelandiae with yellow flowers but I have not seen it as the two species tend not to occur together.

One picture tonight the South Island edelweiss Leucogenes grandiceps. This plant strikes very easily from cuttings but I have never managed to get it to flower or to keep it for any length of time.