NZ field trips - Feb 2012

[kiwi]

Went for a stroll up the Mt Cheeseman Ski Field today, followed by a family of seven Kea's.
A lot of sweat was spilt to get up to the ridge line (1840 metres)
Found a little community of these alpine fungi around the 1600 metre mark? (David - any ideas)

[kiwi]

Not a great flowering for Celmisia, Gentianella or Aciphylla up there, but Raoulia grandiflora and Haastia recurva were stunning!
The Haastia had the most powerful, delicious, honeydew aroma - unbelievably beautiful.
Firstly though a small Leptinella dendyi.

[kiwi]

Craspedia lanata.
Penwiper in seed - notothlaspi rosulatum.
Leucogenes grandiceps and Raoulia x leucogenes hybrid.
The only Gentianella sp. worth photographing.

[kiwi]

A side trip on the way home pays off!
Montigena novae-zelandiae, been watching these plants for the last three years for another good flowering / seed set.
Declining in the wild, this seed should hopefully save this community for a few more years yet.
It would be a tragedy to loose this stunning plant from our screes.

Right, enjoy! - off to work
Cheers!
Doug.

[Lesley Cox]

Wonderful pictures Doug, inspite of a less than very best flowering season. The Haastias are very fine as ids Raoulia grandiflora. If you're not careful you'll have the gentleman from the Utterly Butterly Hort Soc changing his allegiance from Ranunculus to Haastia!

[David Lyttle]

Hello Doug,

Very nice to see your post as there still seems to be plenty of plants around. Seeing seven keas was pretty good as well _ we only saw one on my last trip to Mt Burns and it was at a distance.

Your mushroom is Entoloma translucidum (syn Entoloma perzonatum). It is perhaps the most frequently encountered mushroom in the alpine zone. Here is a link with some more information. http://nzfungi.landcareresearch.co.nz/html/data_photo.asp?ID=&name=Entoloma~translucidum&NAMEPKey=3389

[Maggi Young]

Doug, the photos of the Haastia in flower are the best we have seen. So hard to catch the flowers at their peak and at close range. Superb!
So often the flowers seem insignificant and rather boring... here we see them if great condition and almost looking like live sea anemones.    

I had no idea they were fragrant! 

[Lesley Cox]

Maggi, many of our native alpines are very fragrant, a rich, wild honey scent in most cases. It adds an extra dimension to a walk among the plants and is very pleasant.

[kiwi]

Thanks everyone, when I come across that Haastia my heart skipped a beat or two!!!
It was only a couple of weeks ago Dave had me face planting Haastia pulvinaris for a smell. This one though was so strong I could enjoy it's fragrance from over a metre away. Earlier in the day I had been indulging and thinking 'Lobelia macrodon' must be our most beautiful smelling alpine, but now I'm not sure! Penwipers are also up there with the best.

David, here's a family shot!

[Maggi Young]

t00lie has been out in the hills again..... http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=374.msg15050#msg15050 

[David Lyttle]

Here are a few pictures I took on a recent visit to Mt Patriarch on the the west side of the Wairau River in Marlborough. I did not get to the top on this occasion but still found some interesting plants. Unfortunately the region is converting itself into a coniferous forest so you might feel that you are in Switzerland (or Norway) rather then New Zealand.

1 Mt Patriarch from where we left our vehicle. The road continues from this point but there was a sign suggesting that we should not drive any further. The Wairau Valley is on the left.

2 The summit of Mt Patriarch from our furthest point, The road continues along the ridgeto the trees below the first rocky peak.

3. Lake Chalice at the head of the Goulter Valley. There are various tramping trackand huts in the area.

4. Looking across the Wairau Valley to the Black Birch Range under the clouds.

5 Wairau Valley looking upstream. ( I have not been able to figure out the topographical details- I should have taken a map with me at the time)

6 Wairau Valley looking roughly south east. Note the huge areas of plantation forestry across the valley.

7. Telephoto shot looking in the same direction. I am surmising the mountain is Tapaue-o-enuku the highest point in the Inland Kaikoura Range at 2885 metres.

[David Lyttle]

Here are some plants;

1,2,3,4 Helichrysum parvifolium in flower

5 Hebe cryptomorpha

6,7,8 Gentianella tenuifolia. This species grows on forest margins and is fairly prolific.

9 Wahlenbergia albomarginata

10. An Epilobium species

[David Lyttle]

1. Mt Patriarch crevice garden with Celmisia hieraciifolia var. hieraciifolia, Hebe gibbsii, Helichrysum parvifolium, Dracophyllum longifolium, Celmisia spectabilis

2,3,4,5 Leucogenes leontopodium

6 Celmisia hieracifolia var hieracifolia

7 Celmisia spectabilis subsp spectabilis This species is very common in the north but does not come as far south as Otago

8 Celmisia allanii  This is included in Celmisia incana by some authorities

9 Schizeilema roughii Another species that is restricted to the northern part of the South Island.

[David Lyttle]

Following my trip up Mt Patriarch I went up the Black Birch Range with Stuart and Elaine, Stuart was convince it was going to be a good day and it was apart from the fact that I left my lunch behind and it was blowing just a little bit.

1 The summit of Altimarloch with telecommunications equipment (top left). Note the tussocks.

2. View to the west

3 Looking west to the Richmond Range Mt Patriarch is part of this range

4 Looking northwest across the Wairau velley to the Richmond Range.

5. On top of the Black Birch Range

6. Looking southeast to the Inland Kaikoura Range

7. Looking east across the Awatere Valley to the coast (for those who want an idyllic life in paradise there are lots of Awatere vineyards for sale at the moment - you can see some in the photograph near the river)

8. Looking across the Awatere Valley to Lake Grassmere ( where there is a big salt works on account of the dry sunny Marlbourough climate)

9 View  to the north west of the Wairau valley and Richmond Range

10 The infamous Waihopai Domes (I am taking a risk posting this picture as I might meet the same fate as Mr Assange)

[David Lyttle]

Some plants from Black Birch.

1,2,3,4 A flock of vegetable sheep (Haastia pulvinaris)

5 Close up of Haastia pulvinaris

6 Colobanthus acicularis

7 Celmisia sessiliflora

8 Celmisia spectabilis

9 Celmisia x linearis This is a hybrid between Celmisia sessiliflora and some other species

10 Coprosma cheesemanii