NZ field trips - Jan 2012

[Hoy]

David, you make me wonder if I ever live long enough to see all this myself! That is the problem with me - the more pictures I look at from places around the world, the more I am longing for seeing it with my own eyes!

David this is one of your pics, does this fern have a name?

[Lesley Cox]

I'm no great lover of ferns especially as they appear with incredible regularity - from where? - in just about all my seed pots BUT I'm thinking that one could be one of the so-called "sun" ferns, a Ceterache species. Mmmm?

Tim, I haven't tried growing the native Dracophyllums but the Tasmanian Richea scoparia, which is closely related, is not only easy to germinate (mustard and cress) but easy to grow too. Not sure about other species.

[David Lyttle]

It is raining here this morning- It is the first decent rain we have had for about 2 months so it is very welcome.

Tim,

Dracophyllums are not cultivated very much - not entirely sure why as the larger ones (Dracophyllum traversii, Dracophyllum menziesii) are very spectacular plants. Dracophyllum longifolium is easy enough to grow provided the roots do not dry out.  They are very similar to Rhododendrons in their cultural requirements, with shallow fibrous roots they need relatively moist conditions and low pH as they tend to grow on peaty infertile soils in the wild. Dracophyllum muscoides grows on very exposed sites where it forms a tight cushion. I do not think it would be easy to maintain this form in cultivation. There are innumerable natural hybrids between some of the smaller species which show a great deal of variation. I have one such plant that I grew from a cutting but my success with striking cuttings has not been great. Hebe epacridea is easy to strike from cuttings and grows well but tends to be difficult to keep as it is a specialised scree plant. I have some in my new crevice garden and it will be interesting to see how well they survive.

Anthony,

The best strategy would be to visit a couple of skifields as they have good road access before venturing further afield. The New Zealand mountains can be very unforgiving.

Some more plants;

1, 2 Hebe pinguifolia growing on a rock outcrop just below the summit of Mt Kyeburn.

3. Hebejeebe densifolia

4. Kelleria dieffenbachii

5,6 Kelleria paludosa This species grows in bogs,

7. Kelleria villosa var villosa This is a cushionfield species growing in higher more exposed sites than Kelleria dieffenbachii.

8. Leptinella pectinata subsp villosa This specimen has slightly pink flowers.

9. Leptinella pusilla This species has a strong honey scent, an observation originally made by Dave Toole who had his nose down in the plant photographing it.

10. Leptinella pectinata subsp villosa and Leptinella pusilla

[David Lyttle]

David, you make me wonder if I ever live long enough to see all this myself! That is the problem with me - the more pictures I look at from places around the world, the more I am longing for seeing it with my own eyes!

David this is one of your pics, does this fern have a name?

Trond,

My sentiments exactly, There is enough to see in the southern South Island to occupy several life times let alone go anywhere else.

The fern in the photo is Blechnum penna marina.

[Lesley Cox]

So that's me told. Thanks David. Sorry Trond.

[David Lyttle]

More plants;

1,2 Lobelia linnaeoides showing the flowers and foliage. Another plant that is difficult to photograph.

3. Lobelia roughii Not flowering like Doug's picture posted earlier in this thread.

4,5 A curious little woodrush growing on scree. I thought it might be Luzula pumila but it is probably not this species.

6,7 Lycopodium fastigiatum with developing cones.

8. Huperzia australiana ( syn Lycopodium australianum)

9, 10 Melicytus alpinus This particular variant is a more or less prostrate form growing amongst boulders. The fist picture shows the plant in situ and the second is of a branch with flowers and fruit

[David Lyttle]

It is still raining here so I am still posting

1. Montia fontana subsp. fontana a modest bog turf species.

2. Montia sessiliflora its more showy relative a species of bare sites and disturbed ground. Flourishs on tracks.

3. Muehlenbeckia axillaris

4. Myosotis cheesemanii I was lucky to find this very rare plant flowering on Mt Kyeburn.

5. An un-named species of Myosotis from the Rock and Pillar Range. This species tends to be found at the base of overhanging rocks.

6,7 Nertera balfouriana  A common bog species. Named after Prof I. B. Balfour, keeper of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.

8. Oreobulus pectinatus This plant is known as comb sedge and it griws in stiff cushions in bogs.

9. Ourisia glandulosa

10. Pachycladon novae-zelandiae Usually found growing on rock outcrops. Quite a variable plant

[TheOnionMan]

David, an inspiring series of plants and photos here, too many fantastic plants to comment on them individually, but I continue to be astounded by the NZ mountain flora and your fine photos capturing their essence so well.  Thank you!

[David Lyttle]

Thank you Mark for your kind comments. Our New Zealand alpines lack the the bright colours of the corresponding European and North American plants but show considerable diversity none the less.

This year Celmisia argentea flowered profusely to the extent that it was like looking at patches of snow on the ground. Celmisia argentea is an eastern Otago endemic and is similar to Celmisia sessiliflora which is much more widespread.

1,2 Celmisia argentea flowering cushions (and there were lots more)

3. Crowded flowers on Celmisia argentea.

4. Celmisia argentea showing flowers and rosettes

5. Close up of Celmisia argentea flowers.

For comparision here are some pictures of Celmisia sessiliflora from two localities, Mt Kyeburn where there is no Celmisia argentea, and the Rock and Pillars where both species occur of side by side. They are easy enough to tell apart in the field but given the propensity of Celmisa sessiliflora to hybridise with anything I would be surprised if hybrids did not occur between the two species. There seems to be a lot of mis-recording of small forms of Celmisia sessiliflora as Celmisa argentea but I am not clear if hybridisation plays any part in this.

6,7,8 Celmisia sessiliflora from Mt Kyeburn

9,10 Celmisia sessiliflora from the Rock and Pillars.  The two species grow together here and there may be some introgression of Celmisia argentea genes into Celmisia sessiliflora plants pictured. I will let the forumists be the judge.

[Natalia]

David, let in Flora of New Zealand not so is a lot of colors, as in Flora of other places, but how many refinement, tenderness and charm! Thanks for such fine photo-stories!
I tried to grow up Celmisia semicordata and Celmisia sessiliflora - and they not bad wintered to steam of winters and I hoped for flowering... But alas, plants have perished in snowless winter at-36oS.(

[Anthony Darby]

I've discovered a gap in the market, so once I've made my fortune making black bin bags that actually fit black bins and pedal bin bags that actually reach to the bottom of pedal bins I'll have time for travelling.

[David Lyttle]

Hello Natalia,

I have very much enjoyed your posting on Russia North. The Kola Peninsula is much more mountainous than I would have imagined as I would have thought that most of the mountains would have been flattened by glaciation. Your Lycopodium selago is very similar to our Huperzia australiana ( = Lycopodium australianum). New Zealand alpine regions do not get very cold in winter. At 1500 metres temperatures would seldom get below -15 degrees C and a lot of plants would not even experience temperatures that low. At -36 degrees C I would not expect New Zealand plants to survive. I find Celmisias difficult to grow especially the large ones like Celmisia semicordata as they get stressed in warmer weather and succumb to fungal diseases. I think they would survive very well at temperatures between -5 to -8 but that would require some protection in Russia.

[ranunculus]

Exceptional images and interesting details as always, David.  When is your book coming out? 

Anthony - produce those bags and the world will be littered with them.

[Anthony Darby]

Anthony - produce those bags and the world will be littered with them.

I just don't understand why the bags sold are not fit for purpose? If they fitted the bins I would use fewer of them!

The pictures would grace any book. Even that picture of a moth being digested by a sundew shows the moth better than the book I used to identify it! There must be a market for a book on New Zealand alpine flora?

[David Lyttle]

Hi Cliff,
I am slowly working my way through to the buttercups though there is nothing particularly flashy in this set. I am afraid the daisys are the stars this time.

1. Celmisia prorepens

2,3 Phyllachne colensoi,  a small cushion and a close up of the flowers.

4. Pimelea oreophila In a recent revision this species has been split into several subspecies but I have not worked my way through the changes yet.

5. Pimelea aff oreophila I considered it sufficiently different at the time to photograph it. It is less hairy than the preceeding specimen.

6. Plantago lanigera a tiny alpine plantain with flowers.

7. Polystichum cystostegia the alpine shield fern. It dies back during winter unlike the other New Zealand Polysrichum species.

8, 9 The orchid Stegostyla lyallii (syn Caladenia lyallii) There were large colonies of this attractive ground orchid flowering on the Rock and Pillars.

10. Lichenomphalia alpina a lichenised basidiomycete. The green slime below the mushrooms is the algal part of the lichen thallus