Garden dictionary - Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden

Wellington Botanic Garden
GARDEN
A to Z
A subject dictionary for guiding
With illustrations
Please note:
Information has been obtained from many sources.
While it is believed the information is accurate, errors and
mistakes may occur
and it is the users responsibility to verify the data.
I would, however, appreciate being informed of any significant
errors.
The material is in note form only, with only light editing.
This merged version has been updated, but the separate
listings have not at this stage.
Prepared by:
Philip C. Tomlinson
14 Putnam Street
Northland
Wellington 6012
VOLUNTEER GUIDE
29 July 2014
Index alphabetical
on
Name Click to access
Shown as Click to access
GARDEN A to Z
P.C. Tomlinson
Version 29 July 2014
A compilation from many sources, including WBG guiding
notes, books, internet, etc. My thanks to all sources whose
contributions are fully acknowledged although in many cases
cannot now be identified. In particular Jenny Hickman’s
various notes have been invaluable.
Abies - the firs
Known as the true firs, there are some 50 species. It is a very uniform genus.
Natives of North and Central America, Europe Asia, in temperate and boreal regions of the
Northern Hemisphere, chiefly in mountainous regions. Species tend to grow where there is
ample moisture in deep soils where they grow quickly and to not attain great ages.
North American firs are cut for pulpwood and timber, largely from plantations, and for
Christmas trees. They are also grown as ornamentals.
Their foliage frequently has a pleasant odour, and has been used as stuffing for pillows.
Most commercial products with ‘pine odours’ are scented with essential oils distilled from
Abies foliage by Russian farmers.
Abies alba
Known as the European or Common Silver Fir, it grows up to 45-55 m. tall with
a long clear bole surmounted by a pyramidal crown that becomes flat-topped with age. Native
of France; Italy; Switzerland; Germany; Austria; Bulgaria; Ukraine, it grows at 300-1950 m.
Ages of 400 years have been identified.
It is used for the production of essential oils in Czechoslovakia. It has been planted as
a timber tree in northern and western Europe. It is also commonly used as a 'Christmas tree'
A resin is obtained from blister-like swellings in the bark, called 'Strasburg
Turpentine' is harvested in the summer and used fresh, dried or distilled for oil. Used in
perfumery, medicine and for caulking ships. It is a common ingredient in many bath products,
giving them their familiar pine scent.
Oil of turpentine is an important solvent in the paint industry. The residue, known as
'rosin oil', is used in making varnishes, lacquers and carbon black (for pigments and ink).
Resin used for the distillation of oil is tapped from trees about 60 - 80 years old in the spring.
Wood - light, soft, durable, and elastic. The timber is especially sought after for its
lightness, used for construction, furniture, boxes, pulp etc
The bark is a source of tannin.
Inner bark - cooked. It is dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in
soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread
Abies pinsapo
Known as the Spanish Fir or Spanish Silver Spruce, it grows up to 25-30 m
high and up to 1 m in diameter. It is native of S Spain, at 1000-1800 m on cool wet
mountainsides.
This fir can attain an age of over 300 years.
Abies cephalonica
Knows as the Grecian fir It is a broadly pyramidal tree to 30 m, and is native of S.
Greece to Yugoslavia and Albania, growing at 760-2000 m ASL, and in Turkey.
Wood - light, soft, durable. Used for construction, pulp, etc
Abies nordmanniana
Commonly known as Caucasian Fir there is some dispute regarding the varieties
listed by some authorities.
The typical subspecies occurs in W Caucasia (Abkhazia and Georgia) and in the
mountains of NE Turkey and N Turkey. Introgression with ssp. equi-trojani forms in the western
part of its range.
It grows in mountains around the E Black Sea at 900-2100 m. The climate is continental
and wet, with annual precipitation of 1000-3000 mm. It occurs in pure stands or mixed with
Picea orientalis, Pinus sylvestris, and others.
Ssp. equi-trojani grows in pure stands as isolated relict populations on N slopes of high
mountains in W Turkey. It prefers calcareous soils Prefers growing on a north-facing slope and
in areas with cool wet summers
Intolerant of atmospheric pollution
A very ornamental tree, it can hold its leaves for up to 26 years
Cultivated for timber in C. Europe. It is also sometimes grown as a 'Christmas tree'.
Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilised seed usually grows poorly. They hybridise
freely with other members of this genus
Wood - light, soft, not very durable, poor quality. Used for construction, pulp etc
Acacia
The genus Acacia belongs to the family Mimosaceae. There are some 1500 species of
Acacia found throughout Africa, Madagascar, the Asia - Pacific region and Americas and close to
1000 in Australia
Commonly known as Wattle, Acacia is the largest genus of vascular plants in
Australia. Australia's national floral emblem is Acacia pycnantha, the Golden Wattle. Wattle
Day is celebrated on the 1st of September each year.
The genus was named from an Egyptian species in 1754.
The name ‘wattle’ originates from the process of ‘wattling’. Many pioneers lived in huts
consisting of ‘wattled’ walls and bark roofs. Small rods or branches were woven together to
form a lattice that was then daubed with clay or mud. Some plants from which the branches
were taken for wattling were given the name ‘wattles.’ Many Australian wattles were taken to
South Africa to grow for the tannin in their bark, but they are now so prolific that they are
competing with the native plants.
The first leaves of all wattle seedlings are a pair of compound, pinnate, feathery leaves.
In some species these persist on the adult plant, but in the majority of the Australian species,
the adult foliage consists of modified leaf stalks, or petioles, which are called phyllodes. Acacia
phyllodes have a small gland near the stalk. Almost all the species with phyllode-type foliage
are Australian. The flowers are very small, with tiny petals and numerous stamens. They occur
in clusters in balls or cylindrical spikes. Acacia fruits are pods, usually long and flat, and vary
considerably from thin and papery to leathery or woody. The pods split when dry to release the
seeds. The seeds have very hard seed coats, to protect the seed from desiccation,
decomposition, and some insect attack. This enables the seed to remain viable until conditions
favourable for germination occur. Heat from a fire can cause the seed coat to crack, allowing
water penetration, so that germination can then occur.
Acacia occupies vast areas within Australia in a wide range of differing habitats
from coastal to sub-alpine regions and from high rainfall to arid inland areas. They are
particularly prevalent in the arid and semi-arid and the dry sub-tropical regions. They are
leguminous trees and shrubs, with nitrogen fixing root nodules. They typically have spines
on the stems, finely divided pinnate leaves and flowers arranged in pompoms or catkins. They
drop their leaves in periods of drought.
All parts of various Acacia species have been or are used by people for one purpose or
another.
The seeds from some species provide a valuable food source. Mostly ground into flour
and cooked like damper although some are eaten raw or made into porridge. The gum from
some species is also edible.
Various extracts from the bark and the leaves or phyllodes have been used by
Australian Aborigines for a wide variety of medicinal purposes such as relieving toothache or
colds or applying to wounds and burns. Green leafy branches of some species may be used to
'smoke' someone who is suffering from a general sickness.
The wood of various species has been used to make clubs, spears, boomerangs and
shields. Some species, such as Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood), are used to make fine
furniture.
Many species of wattle were used by the Aborigines. In many areas wattle gum
was an important food. It was also used as cement. Wattle seed is high in protein and
carbohydrate and was eaten both green and dry in the arid areas. In Tasmania, the green seed
and pods of coast wattle (Acacia sophorae) and varnish wattle (A. verniciflua) were eaten. They
hung wattle blossom in their huts to promote sleep. The seeds of some wattles were used to
make a type of flour, using grinding stones. However, not all species are safe to eat.
Tannin has been extracted from the bark of a number of species for use in tanning
including Acacia dealbata (Silver Wattle), A. mearnsii (Black Wattle) and A. pycnantha (Golden
Wattle). All the gum-yielding Acacias exhibit the same habit and general appearance, differing
only in technical characters. They are spiny shrubs or small trees, preferring sandy or sterile
regions, with the climate dry during the greater part of the year.
The gum harvest in Africa from the various species lasts about five weeks. About the
middle our early autumn, after the rainy season, it exudes spontaneously from the trunk and
principal branches, but the flow is generally stimulated by incisions in the bark, a thin strip, 2 to
3 feet in length and 1 to 3 inches wide being torn off. In about fifteen days it thickens in the
furrow down which it runs, hardening on exposure to the air. Usually in the form of round or
oval tears, about the size of a pigeon's egg, sometimes in vermicular forms, white or red,
according to whether the species is a white or red gum tree.
About the middle winter the Moors commence harvesting. The masses of gum are
collected, either while adhering to the bark, or after it falls to the ground, packed in baskets and
very large sacks of tanned leather and brought on camels and bullocks to the centres of
accumulation and then to the points of export, chiefly Suakin, Alexandria, or - in Senegambia St. Louis. It is then known as 'Acacia sorts,' the term being equivalent to 'unassorted Acacia.'
The unsorted gums show the widest variation as to size of fragments, whiteness, clearness, and
freedom from adhering matter, etc. It is next sorted or 'picked' in accordance with these
differences.
There are many kinds of Acacia Gum in commerce:
KORDOFAN GUM, collected in Upper Egypt and the Sudan, in Kordofan, Dafur and
Arabia, and exported from Alexandria, is considered the best and is the kind generally used in
pharmacy. It consists of small, irregular pieces, commonly whitish, or slightly tinged with
yellow, and is freer from impurities than most other commercial varieties. But those known in
commerce as 'Turkey sorts' and 'Trieste picked,' which are brought from the Sudan by way of
Suakin, are equally suitable for medicinal use.
SENEGAL GUM, of two varieties, produced by two different trees, one yielding a white,
the other a red gum, is usually in roundish or oval unbroken pieces of various sizes, larger than
those of Turkey Gum, less brittle and pulverisable, less fissured and often occurs in long,
cylindrical or curved pieces.
The term 'Gum Senegal' is not, strictly speaking, synonymous with Gum Acacia, though
it is commonly so used. Gum Acacia is the name originally pertaining to Sudan, Kordofan or
Egyptian (hashabi) Gum, which possesses properties rendering it superior and always preferred
to any other known to commerce. During the political and military disturbances in Egypt
between 1880 and 1890, this gum became so nearly unobtainable that occasional packages
only were seen in the market. Among the many substitutes then offered, the best was Gum
Senegal, which was adopted as the official equivalent of Gum Acacia. In this way, it came about
that the names were regarded as synonymous. In 1890, the original Acacia again came into the
market and eventually became as abundant as ever, but it is no longer possible to entirely
separate the two names. Most of the characteristically distinct grades of Acacia Gum are now
referred to particular species of the genus Acacia. Most works state that both the Kordofan and
Senegal Gums are products of A. Senegal (Willd.), the range of which is thus given as
Senegambia in West Africa, the Upper Nile region in Eastern Africa, with more or less of the
intervening central region.
A. glaucophylla (Staud.) and A. abyssinica (Hochst.) are said to yield an equally good
gum, but little of it is believed to reach the market.
Mogadore Gum, from A. gummifera (Willd), a tall tree found in Morocco and in the Isle
of Bourbon, occurs in rather large pieces, closely resembling Kordofan Gum in appearance.
Indian Gum, the product of A. arabica, the Gum Arabic tree of India. The gum of this and
other Indian species of Acacia is there used as a substitute for the official Gum Acacia, to which
it is, however, inferior. Indian Gum is sweeter in taste than that of the other varieties, and
usually contains portions of a different kind of gum.
Cape Gum is also imported. It is of a pale yellow colour and is considered of inferior
quality.
AUSTRALIAN GUM, produced in South Australia, is in elongated or globular pieces,
rough and even wrinkled on the surface and of a violet tint, which distinguishes it from other
varieties. It is not entirely soluble in water, to which it imparts less viscidity than ordinary Gum
Acacia. It frequently contains tannin.
Gum Acacia for medicinal purposes should be in roundish 'tears' of various sizes,
colourless or pale yellow, or broken into angular fragments with a glass-like, sometimes
iridescent fracture, often opaque from numerous fissures, but transparent and nearly colourless
in thin pieces; taste insipid, mucilaginous; nearly inodorous. It should be almost entirely soluble
in water, forming a viscid neutral solution, or mucilage, which, when evaporated, yields the gum
unchanged. It is insoluble in alcohol and ether, but soluble in diluted alcohol in proportion to the
amount of water present. It should be slowly but completely soluble in two parts of water: this
solution shows an acid reaction with litmus paper. The powdered gum is not coloured blue
(indicating absence of starch) or red (indicating absence of dextrin) by the iodine test solution.
It should not yield more than 4 per cent of ash.
Acacia baileyana
The Cootamundra Wattle has leaves, not phyllodes. The adult leaves are greygreen-silver blue, and bipinnate. It has yellow globular heads of flowers in the winter and
spring, followed by purple-brown-black pods. It grows in Mallee communities, on acid soils, in
cool hilly locations in southeastern Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and South Australia.
Acacia melanoxylon
Tasmanian Blackwood Distribution: Qld., NSW, ACT, Vic., Tas., and SA.
. Good timber tree. Has become a weed in South Africa. Suitable hedge or screen plant.
It is planted for timber in southwest Europe.
This species produces both phyllodes (basically a flattened stem that looks and
acts like a leaf) and true leaves. The roots are very vigorous and extensive - they can
damage the foundations of buildings. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil
bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this
nitrogen is utilised by the growing plant but other plants growing nearby can also use some
A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers. A green dye is obtained from the seed
pods. The extensive root system of this plant helps to prevent soil erosion. The bark is rich in
tannin.
Wood - hard, dark, close grained, high quality, takes a high polish. Used for
furniture, fittings etc
Flowers - eaten cooked. Rich in pollen, they are often used in fritters. The flowers have
a penetrating scent
Acacia pravissima
Ovens Wattle Tall is a shrub to 6 m with pendulous branches. Has triangularshaped, dull green phyllodes and yellow flowers in spring.
Distribution: NSW, ACT, and Vic.
Generally adaptable in cultivation, responds to sunny reasonably well drained positions
in most soils. Hardy plant with an attractive form. Frost hardy (will tolerate frosts to -7 oC).
Recommended for its foliage.
Acer
A genus of over 150 species of deciduous trees although a few are evergreen, with
distinctive foliage.
The characteristic seeds have a bony seed vessel or nut with a thin membranous
extension or wing that assists seed dispersal.
Many produce rich bright and varied autumnal foliage.
Acer rubrum
The Red Maple is also known as Scarlet Maple, or Swamp Maple. Native of
Western N. America – in Rocky Mountains.
It is considered by many foresters to be inferior and undesirable because it is often
poorly formed and defective, especially on poor sites. On good sites it may grow fast with good
form and quality for saw logs.
Red maple is one of the most abundant and widespread trees in eastern North America
Known in the lumber industry as soft maple. The wood is close grained and resembles
sugar maple but is softer in texture, not as heavy, lacks the figure, and has somewhat poorer
machining qualities. Red Maple in the better grades is substituted for hard maple, particularly
for furniture.
Brilliant fall colouring is one of the outstanding features of Red Maple. In the northern
forest, its bright red foliage is a striking contrast against the dark green conifers and the white
bark and yellow foliage of the paper birches.
Widely used as a landscape tree.
Acer saccharum
Sugar Maple sometimes called Hard Maple or Rock Maple is one of the largest and
more important of the hardwoods. It comprises approximately 6 percent of the hardwood saw
timber forests in the United States. Restricted to regions with cool, moist climates. Mature trees
of Sugar Maple reach 300 to 400 years of age, 27 to 37 m in height
The Sugar Maple tree is the principal source of maple sugar. The trees are tapped early
in the spring for the first flow of sap, which usually has the highest sugar content. The sap is
collected and boiled or evaporated to syrup. The flow is best on a warm sunny day after a frost
Further concentration by evaporation produces the maple sugar. This species is commercially
exploited in America for its sap. Along with A. saccharum and the sub-species A. s. nigrum it is
the major source of maple syrup. There are some named varieties. The sap can be tapped
within 10 - 15 years from seed but it does not flow so well in areas with mild winters
Sugar maple sap averages about 2.5 percent sugar; about 129 litres (34 gal) of sap
are required to make 3.8 litres (1 gal) of syrup or 3.6 kg (8 lb) of sugar. 35 litres sap = 1
litre syrup OR 1 kg of sugar. Yields of 40 - 100 litres sap per tree can be obtained
The pounded bark was also widely used as a food source in eastern and central areas of
North America
Slow growing when young. Plants produce prodigious root growth but little top growth in
first year from seed.
A very ornamental tree but a bad companion plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby
plants.
The leaves are packed around apples, root crops etc to help preserve them.
Wood - close grained, tough, hard, and heavy. Used for furniture, ship building, etc. It
is a good fuel.
Seed - boiled then roasted. The seed is about 6 mm long and is produced in small
clusters.
Inner bark eaten cooked. It is dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening
in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread
Acmena smithii
The Lilly Pilly is a native to Queensland, Australia. Usually found in subtropical
rainforest areas, or in dry rainforest areas near streams. Lilly Pilly belongs to the Myrtaceae
family, a family that dominates the Australian vegetation, with about 1700 species, and includes
Eucalyptus, Malaleuca, Callistemon, Leptospermum, and Kunzea.
Acmena is a small genus related to guavas, it used to be included in the genus
Eugenia. Its species come from Australia and Malaysia. The name Acmena comes from the
Greek for 'plentiful'.
Small (1 cm) pink-white berry with a very mild, watery taste. The fruit is occasionally
made into jams, jellies, or drinks, but the tree is usually planted for ornamental purposes, or to
attract birds
The Lilly Pilly is one of the most popular plants in Australia today, particularly for
hedging and topiary.
Evergreen rainforest plants with glossy green leaves. Many varieties have flushes of
colourful new growth, ranging from brilliant pink to a red-brown. In spring to early summer
most Lilly Pillies have fluffy white or greenish flowers followed by long lasting red, purple or
whitish berries. There are many, many species and cultivars on the market. Of these, a few are
misnamed, while some perform better than others in gardens.
"Yet what could be more beautiful and more satisfactory than the Lilly
Pilly?
Who in the world ever gave it such a name!
The light of recognition so often comes into the eyes of those
who greet the botanic name Eugenia with a blank expression,
that one reluctantly adopts this appellative."
"Letters to Garden Lovers", Australian Home Beautiful, April 1938.
Aciphylla
Speargrass / Spaniard
There are some 40 species of Aciphylla, most of which occur in alpine regions. They
range from quite small species no more than a few centimetres tall to those up to 2 metres or
taller at flowering.
Some have thought the spiny nature of speargrasses to have been a protection against
the browsing activities of the now extinct moa, but in view of the ease with which introduced
animals such as sheep, rabbits and hares browse on them the spines are unlikely to have
afforded much protection against browsing moa. A more likely explanation is that the spiny
nature of the plant is a response to habitat, particularly as a means of moderating the effects of
desiccating winds.
Root - cooked. Aromatic. The plant yields a resin that is used as a chewing gum
The flowers are dioecious.
Insects are responsible for pollinating.
Aciphylla colensoi
A large herb arising from a strong taproot and
forming single or multiple rosettes of very sharp,
spine-tipped leaves. The clumps may be up to 90 cm
in diameter and 40-50 cm high.
Leaves: Rigid, divided into long and narrow
segments, all pointing forwards and outwards in all
directions. Usually leaves are green or greyish-green
with prominent orange or reddish midribs.
Flowers: Small, yellowish flowers are
produced in dense clusters along strong stems up to
a metre or so tall. Long, narrow spines project out
from amongst the flowers to give the appearance of quite a formidable protection.
Distribution & Habitat
North and South Islands from Mount Hikurangi to mid Canterbury. Widespread in
subalpine to low-alpine areas. 900-1500 metres.
Often prominent in subalpine scrub, mixed snow tussock-scrub, herbfields and in
grasslands. Usually in moister situations.
Identification: This fierce-looking plant is particularly conspicuous at flowering time when
the bright orange flowering stems stand out from afar. With all species of speargrass the male
and female flowers are on separate plants with the male usually being the showier.
Aciphylla squarrosa
Found from sea level to montane areas in North and South. Mature Height: 2.5 Mature
Width: 1.5 Perennial
The plant yields a semi-transparent resinous gum that is edible and also used in
perfumery. Root - cooked. Aromatic. A very good taste. The resin is used as a chewing gum.
Shoots and young stems also edible.
See notes above Cable Car entrance..
Agapanthus orientalis
A member of the Liliaceae family, Agapanthus orientalis (A. praecox ssp. orientalis) is
commonly known overseas as the African Blue Lily, also known as `Blue Lily of the
Nile.' They are herbaceous plants with fleshy, tuberous roots. The name Agapanthus comes
from the Greek and means ``love flower.”
They were as introduced into the USA from South Africa in the seventeenth century. Tall
spikes bear flowers in blue or white growing as terminal cluster with 6 petal-like parts. The
leaves are long and slender. Agapanthus is not native to the Nile River basin of northeastern
Africa. Actually, they are natives of southern Africa.
Unlike some newly introduced plants that created an initial stir of interest and a shortlived fashion, Agapanthus instantly captured the imagination. There was much interest in their
cultivation. Until the 1940s, there were very few species available, but Agapanthus seed from a
South African botanic garden was obtained and sown by a Hampshire gardener. This produced a
new range of cultivars known as the Headbourne hybrids – some of which are still available
today. Since the development of these hybrids, many more have been raised, and there is now
Agapanthus to suit every garden with over two hundred to choose.
Agathis – the genus
The genus contains some 21 species. It is found from Peninsular Malaysia to New
Zealand, including the Philippines, New Guinea, Melanesia and Australia. Each species
has limited distribution within the total range. All species except australis are found in the
tropics. Most species form the largest trees in their respective forests.
All species are highly sought after as a source of attractive, straight grained easily
worked timber. Due to its relative scarcity and premium value it has now been largely logged
out and current production is almost wholly derived from plantations. Amber, the preserved
(fossilised) gum of trees, has been found from various species of Agathis.
The inner bark exudes a translucent or white resin called Manila Copal. This resin was
formerly required for the production of many varnishes and of linoleum. The market has now
been replaced by synthetic substitutes.
Most species are now listed as vulnerable or endangered and in decline.
Agathis australis
Kauri is probably the most famous of our native trees and one of the largest in the
world. Tane Mahuta, the famous tree in Waipoua Forest, is over 50 m (160 feet) high and has
been calculated to be over 2,100 years old. Even larger trees, over 60 m (180 feet) high and 7
m (22 feet) in diameter are known. Today only about 142 hectares (355 acres) of kauri
forest remain, and the trees average about 30 m (100 feet) in height
Kauri timber is light and very durable, straight grained and free of knots, and easily
worked. It has had many building uses in the past but today is a scarce resource.
Maori used kauri for the construction of war canoes.
Kauri trees also produced gum, known internationally as Manila copal. This material
was a valuable constituent of varnishes and when mixed with linseed, was used widely in the
manufacture of linoleum. It is still used for specialised uses such as varnishes for labels on food
cans, for colour prints, and as an ingredient in the paint used to paint lines on roads.
Production of gum reached a peak in 1905 and ceased in 1950. Subfossil fragments of gum are
sometimes gathered and polished with lovely results.
Ake-ake
Dodonaea viscosa the Wedge-leaf Hop Bush belongs to the Sapindaceae
family, the same family as Alectryon excelsus (titoki). There is about 60 species of Dodonaea,
most of which are found in Australia
In Australia, the papery red seed capsules were used by the European settlers as ‘hops’
in beer making. The Wurundjeri people chewed the leaves to relieve toothache and bound them
on their skin to treat stingray wounds.
In New Zealand, although the Maori used the leaves and the lemon-eucalyptus smelling
seeds to make a kind of perfume, they do not seem to have used the tree medicinally, probably
because kawakawa and other trees provided them with the medicines they needed. This same
tree is used medicinally in Indonesia, Reunion Island, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Panama, and Peru,
as well as Australia, for a variety of ailments, but most commonly for reducing fevers.
Ake-ake has very hard timber, so hard that an axe can bounce off it. It was very useful
to the Maori for making clubs and weapons. Early settlers used the timber to make tools and
machine bearings when brass was in short supply.
Cabinetmakers value the wood for inlaid work, and picture frames. Sculpturers claim it
is equal to the traditional boxwood for making tools. In NZ it grows to 6m, and is found in the
NI and the top third of the SI.
Dodonaea viscosa
(Wedge-leaf hop bush, Ake-ake)
D. viscosa is widespread in warmer areas of the world.
Some Aboriginal people chewed the leaves to relieve toothache and bound them to
their skin to treat stingray wounds. Ake-ake is used medicinally in Indonesia, Reunion Island,
New Caledonia, Tahiti, Panama, and Peru, as well as Australia, for a variety of ailments, but
mostly for reducing fever.
Maori used the leaves and seeds to make a kind of perfume with a lemon-eucalyptus
smell.
Ake-ake has very hard timber, suitable for clubs and weapons. Early settlers used the
timber to make tools and machine bearings when brass was in short supply.
Alectryon excelsus
On Titoki the new growth and the helmet-shaped seed capsules are covered in brown
fur. The seed capsules split to reveal the shiny black seed sitting in juicy red pulp. It belongs to
the same family as the lychee. Wood pigeons and other birds eat the fruit.
A liqueur is made from the pulp. The oil from the seed was highly prized by the Maori
and used for hair oil and body lotion, and as a soothing and healing lotion for the skin. Later
watchmakers used the oil.
Titoki is used for street planting in San Francesco, where it is referred to as NZ oak.
Alnus – the Alders
These quick-growing trees are natives of Europe, North America and Asia.
Alders grow well in moist soil near ponds and other wet ground. Alders are often
seen with many trunks; however, they can be trained when young to have only one.
Alders produce catkins of yellowish-green flowers. Male and female flowers are produced
on the same tree in the spring. The male catkins are 2 to 6 inches in length. In the summer, the
female catkins become brown, cone-like fruit that persists on the branches most of the year.
They can be used in dried floral arrangements.
Alders have unusual flowers and fruiting structures. Male and female flowers are
separate but both are present on the tree making the species monoecious. Yellowish-green,
clustered and individually 2-3 inches long, the drooping male flowers (catkins) appear late
August to September and persist lending ornamental appeal to the tree when observed at close
range. Additionally, the female fruit expands into a miniature pinecone like structure (strobile)
and likewise often persists even into winter. These strobilus mature to more than 1 inch long
and about half as wide, are often profusely arranged on older trees and significantly add to the
ornamental appeal of the species. The reproductive parts of alder species are fascinating,
attractive and are often overlooked as adding ornamental value.
Alnus cordata
Italian Alder remain an under appreciated and underused tree despite their potential
uses in the landscape. Native of Italy and Corsica. A. cordata is an attractive tree that
grows from 30 to 50 feet high. Its glossy green leaves grow 2 to 4 inches across
An excellent windbreak for maritime areas, it grows quite quickly and establishes well
even in very windy sites
In spring, heart-shaped, glossy-green leaves unfurl to 3-4 inches long. The foliage
remains exceedingly pest - and disease-free throughout the growing season. Italian alder can
have yellow fall colour but the event is rarely striking and thus can only be considered a
secondary and unreliable characteristic.
Alnus glutinosa
European Alder also called Black Alder or European Black Alder was
introduced to eastern North America in colonial times. This tree ranges in size from a large
shrub to a large tree. It has escaped cultivation and grows naturally on low lying lands. Its rapid
growth, tolerance for acid soils, and nitrogen-fixing role make European alder desirable for
shelterbelts, reclamation areas, landscapes, and biomass production. It is valuable to wildlife for
providing good cover and a source of seeds. The seeds contain a margin of air-filled tissue and
are capable of floating in water for 30 days before becoming waterlogged. This enables
distribution of the seed by water.
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil microorganisms; these form
nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is
utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. Alders
are an important food plant for the caterpillars of many butterfly and moth species and also for
small birds in winter. There are 90 insect species associated with this tree
The powdered bark has been used as an ingredient of toothpastes. Sticks of the bark
have been chewed as tooth cleaners.
An ink is obtained from the bark
A tawny-red dye is obtained from the bark. A green dye is obtained from the catkins.
A pinkish-fawn dye is obtained from the fresh greenwood. A yellow dye is obtained from the
bark and young shoots. A cinnamon dye is obtained from the shoots if they are harvested in
March (our September?). If they are dried and powdered then the colour will be a tawny shade.
The bark and the fruits contain up to 20% tannin, but they also contain so much
dyestuff (imparting a dark red shade) that this limits their usefulness. The leaves are also a
good source of tannin. The leaves are clammy and, if spread in a room, are said to catch
fleas and flies on their glutinous surface.
Wood - very durable in water, soft, light, easily worked, easily split. It is often used for
situations where it has to remain underwater and is also used for furniture, pencils, bowls,
woodcuts, clogs etc. It is much valued by cabinet makers. The wood also makes a good
charcoal. Elastic and soft, it is fairly light and easily worked, and is used for cigar boxes, pumps,
and wooden carvings, shoes and slippers. The bark, used for tanning, imparts a hard red
appearance to leather. The wood is also used in making the moulds for glass manufacture.
European alder has a broad natural range that includes most of Europe and
extends into North Africa, Asia Minor, and western Siberia. Densest distribution is in the
lowlands of northern Germany, northern Poland, White Russia, and the northwestern Ukraine.
The species is locally naturalized throughout the northeastern United States and maritime
Canada
Alders have been recommended for afforestation of disturbed areas throughout
much of the temperate world. Their tolerance of low pH and their rapid growth, abundant leaf
litter production, and ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen combine to make European alder
especially desirable for planting on spoil banks, which typically contain little organic matter and
available nitrogen.
The tree provides habitat and food for wildlife, watershed protection, and is used in
environmental forestry. With little ornamental value, it is recommended only for wet sites.
Alnus rugosa /Alnus incana Speckled Alder
Alnus, from the Latin, "alder" incana, from the Latin, "grey" Speckled, a reference to the
white lenticels (spongy openings for gas exchange), which cover the bark. Other common
names include: Gray Alder, Hazel Alder, Hoary Alder, European Speckled Alder, Mountain Alder,
Tag Alder, Rough Alder, plus local names.
Alnus rugosa (Betulaceae) was formerly included in the Eurasian species Alnus incana
until taxonomists showed it to be a distinct species.
A fast-growing but short-lived tree. The tree is too small to be of importance for lumber
or fuel
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil microorganisms; these form
nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is
utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. The
tree has an extensive root system and can be planted to control banks from erosion. A dark dye
is obtained from the bark. Browns, through red to orange colours can be obtained from the
bark. The wood is soft.
Most common surrounding the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence, including east-cental
Canada, the Maritimes, and the Northeast and Lake States. Because of its coarse, shrubby
growth-habit the wood of speckled alder has no commercial value. It is used locally for
fuel. Resistant to urban pollution, it is often used for road planting.
Amanita muscaria
Often seen under the pines in autumn is the red toadstool Amanita muscaria is a
poisonous mycorhizal partner growing on pine roots.
This has worldwide distribution, and is the toadstool of fairy tale fame in European
literature. It is small but a giant to ‘the little people’.
Anigozanthos
Kangaroo Paw is native to southwestern Australia. The red and green kangaroo
paw (A. manglesii) is the floral emblem of Western Australia.
The name Anigozanthos comes from two Greek words “anisos” meaning “unequal,” and
“anthos” meaning flower (modified for euphony).
Anigozanthos is an evergreen perennial, with unique bird-attracting tubular flowers, the
outsides coated with dense, shaggy hairs, and opening at the apex into six ‘claws,’ the whole
resembling the foot of a kangaroo.
They are important in the cut flower and potted plant industries in Australia.
Anthuriums
(Tailflower or Flamingo flower)
A large group of evergreen perennials found in rain forest of tropical America. Out of
some 550 species and several garden hybrids, a number are grown for their decorative foliage
and flowers, and make good reliable house plants. The small perfect flowers are found on the
finger or tail-like projection called the spadix, at the base of which is the large, often brightly
coloured, bract-like spathe. Anthuriums are useful plants for the home or conservatory. They
thrive under moist conditions in semi-shade and a minimum temperature of 15 - 18 C (60 - 80
F). Plants grown under ideal conditions may produce successive flowers throughout the year,
each flower remaining in good condition for at least two months.
Aquatic plants
Numerous plants grow naturally in fresh and salt water, either entirely submerged
(except for the flowers) or partially submerged. Their presence provides food for various aquatic
animals, plus oxygenating the water Most aquatic plants are herbaceous, but woody specimens
are not uncommon - for example mangroves and swamp cypress. The majority of plants grown
artificially are non-woody and usually suited to still water.
In season, the giant water lily (Victoria amazonica) may be seen growing in the centre
of the pool. leaves of this species can reach two metres in diameter, and their great buoyancy is
capable of supporting a small child if the weight is distributed evenly across the whole leaf.
In nature, V. amazonica grows as a giant, prickly perennial in tropical South America.
Under artificial conditions, it is usually raised from seed and treated as an annual.
Araucaria genus
see also Wollemi nobilis
A genus of some 19 species, native of South America (Chile, Argentina and Brazil) and
Australasia. The name Araucaria is derived from “Araucanos”, the name of a tribe in Chile that
inhabited the region where the first Araucaria was discovered. The family includes the Norfolk
Island Pine, the Monkey Puzzle or Chile Pine, the Hoop Pine, the Wollemi pine (Wollemia
nobilis), the Kauri, and the Bunya Bunya Pine.
Some species grow to 1,000 years old. Because of their large size, many are important
sources of timber, and the fruit of A. bidwillii is an important food source of aboriginal peoples
and are now an Australian delicacy.
Many of the tropical species, which are difficult to locate in the wild, are
threatened with extinction especially with the rapid disappearance of their habitats.
A British expert on the Araucariaceae family recently proposed that the Monkey Puzzles
remind us of dinosaurs for a good reason—they evolved to look like them as a means of scaring
away herbivores. Dead Araucariaceae look like the skeletons of herbivorous dinosaurs—giving
any hopeful browsers a serious pang of doubt before they enter such a 'graveyard' for a feast.
These dead trees were described as 'palaeo-pseudoscarecrows’. Some trunks in Monkey Puzzle
forests resemble large reptilian feet, which might give herbivores the impression that carnivores
were lurking in the forest. 'Dinosaurs may be extinct, but has anyone told the Araucarians?’.
Araucariaceae appear in the fossil record in the northern hemisphere during the Triassic
period—around 245 million years ago. As the Jurassic era dawned, more than 200 million years
ago, the Araucariaceae family began to appear not just north of the equator but also in the
Australian fossil record. This was a time when the continent was sitting at latitudes between 35
and 65 degrees south. The Antarctic coastline today sits at a latitude of 60 degrees south.
Australia is now a nation of gum trees and wattles but back then eucalypts were not even a
distant prospect on evolutions agenda. Instead the landscape of the continent was cloaked in
unending forests of monkey-puzzles and other primitive conifers; there were no flowers and no
grasses.
By the end of the Cretaceous, the epoch that came to a dramatic close 65 million years
ago with the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Araucariaceae in Australia seemed to have hit their
straps. An act of cosmic violence, however, was again to strike the planet. The fossil record
suggests that the same impact that wiped out the dinosaurs also vaporised the Araucariaceae
forests in the northern hemisphere. Since then the family has remained almost exclusively a
southern hemisphere resident, with just a few minor northern populations in South-East Asia.
Scientists hypothesise that the bolide, or massive meteorite, which destroyed the dinosaurs had
little impact on the southern conifers because it struck in June—the northern summer. The
southern hemisphere Araucariaceae were not only further away from the impact zone but also,
because it was their winter, were probably dormant anyway.
Araucaria araucana
The Monkey Puzzle is native of Chile and Argentina. It grows 30-40 metres tall.
It is able to survive fire with a thick bark and the ability to re-sprout from the trunk producing
multiple shoots. It is long lived, possibly living over 1000 years.
Its seeds are valued as a staple food by native people in Chile. The cooked nuts are
‘rich and delicious’. Spiritually the tree held a centrepiece of the altar of the harvest and fertility
ceremonies of some tribes in Chile.
Historically the tall straight trunks of the trees were used as the masts for sailing ships.
It is now protected in the world, and is now widely grown as an ornamental throughout the
world.
Very tolerant of maritime exposure, trees can be grown as part of a shelterbelt,
though they are very slow growing and have an open canopy and so do not give a lot of shelter.
A resin is obtained from incisions in the trunk. This is used mainly for medicinal
purposes.
Wood - pale yellowish, good quality, takes a beautiful polish. Used for joinery and
carpentry
Seed - eaten raw or cooked. Rich in starch. The seed is soft like a cashew nut and has a
slight flavour of pine nuts. This is a delicious seed and it makes very pleasant eating. It can
easily be eaten in quantity and used as a staple food. The seeds are about the size of an
almond and can be 3cm long x 1cm wide. They are harvested in the autumn and, when kept in
cool, dry conditions will store for at least 9 months
Araucaria bidwillii
The Bunya Bunya Pine comes from Queensland, and grows slowly to about 38 m
(120 feet), developing a domed crown as it matures.
It produces huge pineapple-like cones, which weigh up to 8 kg. (18 lbs). Bunya
bunya are not allowed to be grown in parks in Australia because a falling cone could kill
someone. The cones contain large edible seeds, much prized as food by aborigines, who hold
corroborees at harvest time. Soft young nuts are eaten raw. Mature nuts are roasted, the
kernels pounded into a meal and roasted into a kind of cake that would keep for several weeks.
In Australia, each Aboriginal family would own a group of trees and these would be
passed down from generation to generation. This is said to be the only case of hereditary
personal property owned by the Aborigines
From the 1860’s its timber was harvested, its cream coloured soft, easily worked, high
quality wood used for veneers, flooring, cabinet making, plywood and boxes. It is grown in
many places as an ornamental.
Seed – eaten raw, cooked or ground into a powder. Starchy and delicious, it has the
texture of a waxy boiled potato with the flavour of chestnuts. Large, it is an important food
source for the Australian Aborigines. Cones can be up to 4.5 kilos in weight and contain up to
150 seeds. The germinating seed produces an underground 'earth nut' which has a coconut-like
flavour
It belongs to the ancient family of Southern Hemisphere conifers, the Araucariaceae,
which includes the Norfolk Island Pine, the Monkey Puzzle or Chile Pine, the Hoop Pine, and the
Kauri. The Bunya Bunya pine grows slowly to 38 m (120 feet), developing a domed crown as it
matures, and produces huge pineapple-like cones. Inside each scale of the cone is a hardshelled nut, about 5 cm long.
In Queensland, the annual harvest of bunya nuts, during the months of January to
March, drew large gatherings of Aborigines to the Bunya Mountains in South West Queensland
and to the Blackall Range. When the sugar and white gums shed their bark the bunya season
was approaching, invitations were sent out by messengers to come and feast when the bunya
nuts were ripe. Local and specific groups were invited rather than tribes en masse. Participants
would come from as far as 200 km to the north and from 250 km to the south. When they
arrived they camped near running water in sheltered valleys, not in the rain forest itself. The
bunya trees were climbed (by the women), by means of a vine and notches cut into the bark of
the tree. The cones were knocked down and immediately collected. A tree with four to six cones
would yield 3.3 kg of nuts, enough food for a family of five for a day.
The young seeds are soft and juicy and could be eaten without preparation. As they
aged they became dry and could be roasted. Each seed had first to be struck with a stone to
open the nut. It was then placed in a fire for a few minutes and cooked until it cracked. The
nuts, apparently, are not unlike chestnuts, when roasted. The kernels were also pounded and
roasted into a kind of meal. As a food the nuts are mostly starchy. Other foods were collected or
hunted to supply protein, vitamins, and fat. Some of the nuts were stored by burying them in
dilly bags in a damp place near a spring. They could be stored for up to a month. Some of the
guests set off for home carrying a large supply of nuts. The feasts were occasions for a sort of
Aboriginal Olympics, with contests in wrestling, throwing sticks and boomerangs, and ball
games. These games were taken seriously and teams were picked and trained. Storytellers
would tell of events from their areas. During the 1840s plans of attacks on settlers were laid.
Goods were traded. In the Blackall Range the feast ended with a ceremonial fight between hosts
and guests. The bunya harvest was a time for getting-together for cultural exchange and social
interaction on a large scale and between tribes over a comparatively large area.
Araucaria columnaris
The New Caledonia Pine, Cook Pine or Coral Reef Araucaria is native of
New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. It is a narrowly conical tree growing up to 60 metres
tall.
Araucaria cunninghamii
The Hoop or Morton Bay Pine is native of coastal tropical and subtropical
rainforest, in Australia from northern Queensland to Coffs Harbour in NSW. Growing up to 60
metres tall .its bark is heavily impregnated with resin, and is therefore much more resistant to
decay than the wood of the other Araucarias It grows on the drier sites in rain forests, in places
that are rocky or have soils with relatively low fertility. It is not very frost-hardy. It is
moderately drought resistant once it is established, but prefers a good summer rainfall. It grows
very slowly and lives for up to 450 years. It can take over 200 years to produce cones. The
male and female cones are usually found on the same tree. The seeds are dispersed by the
wind. The juvenile leaves are different from the adult leaves. The tiny, pointed scale leaves
point inwards on the branchlets, but are longer and very prickly on juvenile foliage. As the bark
ages, it splits horizontally at regular intervals giving the common name, hoop pine
It is widely distributed in Australia both as an ornamental and in timber plantations.
Its timber is a first class softwood of white to cream or light brown colour. It is a plain
timber without prominent grain or growth rings. It peels easily and the Australian plywood
industry was founded on this pine. It is virtually odourless. Durable in the dry and easy to
work it readily accepts a wide range of stains and finishes. Used in plywood, cabinet work,
furniture, flooring, mouldings and linings and boat building. At one time was used for butter
boxes and fruit boxes.
The species name cunninghamii is in honour of Alan Cunningham, 1791-1839, the
botanist and explorer.
Araucaria heterophylla
The Norfolk Island Pine, endemic to Norfolk Island, is widely grown in coastal
areas of Australia and NZ because it is both salt-spray and wind tolerant, and able to grow in
sandy soil. It is also drought tolerant, and grows rapidly to 30 m (100 feet).
Captain Cook thought this tree would provide masts for the largest ships, but it
was found later to be unsuitable for this purpose. Its timber is used for other purposes. It is the
Araucaria most used as an ornamental.
This tree is said to have been common in NZ during the Jurassic period some 150-200
million years ago.
Arbutus unedo
Strawberry Tree Habitat: Woodland, scrub and rocky hillsides, often on limestone
and sandstone.
Natural range: S. Europe and S.W. Ireland.
The fruit takes 12 months to ripen and so the tree carries both mature fruit and flowers
at the same time and is incredibly beautiful at this time. The flowers have a soft honey scent
Tannin is obtained from the leaves, bark and fruit. The bark contains 45% tannin.
Wood - used for turning, Greek flutes etc. It makes a good charcoal
Provides a number of medicinal products.
Fruit – eaten raw or cooked, sweet but insipid.
The Latin name 'unedo' means 'I eat one (only)' and suggests that the fruit is not very
palatable, though another report says that the fruit is so delicious that a person only needs to
eat one. It does have a somewhat gritty skin, but the fruit itself has the texture of a lush
tropical fruit and has a delicate pleasant flavour. For those people with sensitive taste buds, this
is a fruit that can be enjoyed when eaten in moderate quantities. The fruit contains about 20%
sugars and can be used to make delicious and nourishing jams and preserves. When fully ripe it
falls from the tree and so it is advisable to grow in short grass in order to cushion the fall of the
fruit
Armillaria root rot
Identified in pinetum
Armillaria is a soil borne fungus that causes root rot of a wide variety of plants
including many native and introduced ornamental plants. It is naturally widely distributed in
this country in native forest etc. The fungus is native to Australia and causes losses in
natural ecosystems, in forest plantations and in fruit crops and ornamental plants. The host
range of the fungus is very large and poorly defined (at least 50 families and over 200 species)
with little information on the presence of resistant or tolerant species
Symptoms of the disease. Early symptoms of the disease can often be difficult to
detect but may include dieback of the limbs and branches, yellowing of foliage, splits in the
trunk of the infected tree, poor vigour, exudates from the trunk (kino production), scars may
form on the trunk and darkening of the larger roots. Removal of the bark may reveal the
presence of mycelial fans - these are large sheets of fungal growth, usually white in colour,
which will have a characteristic mushroom odour. The surface of the affected timber is often
pitted in appearance. The fungus produces mushrooms in May-June. These are olive brown to
yellow in colour, can be up to 12cm in diameter with a stipe (stalk) of up to 15 cm high,
although usually less. The stipe has an annulus (the ring of tissue around the stipe).
Disease cycle. Infection occurs via the roots usually as a result of infected roots
coming into contact with uninfected roots and the fungus growing across. The fungus does not
appear to readily produce rhizomorphs (specialised fungal threads that can grow through the
soil) it is less likely that the fungus can spread through the soil by its own devices. The fungus
is able to infect new areas by several means. Very rarely the spores of the fungus can fly
through the air and land on dead wood surfaces and initiate infection. More commonly the
fungus will be introduced into an area by the transportation of infected material such as the
transplantation of infected plants, contaminated roots, or contaminated mulches. Hygiene is
obviously important in minimising the spread of this fungus.
Soil conditions that favour the development of the disease are poorly defined. It is
thought that the fungus prefers lighter soils or clays with reasonable drainage but this is not
always the case. It is claimed that the disease is more severe on nutrient poor soils or with
some characteristic that is not optimal for plant growth. There is however very little clear
evidence for this, particularly in Australia. Drought is often associated with severe Armillaria
infection and symptoms. It appears that the stress involved predisposes the tree to infection
and also allows the fungus to more rapidly colonise the root system of the plant. Similarly
stresses resulting from flooding can also predispose trees to severe infection. It is fair to say
that any factor that stresses trees is likely to result in a weakened defence system and an
increased likelihood of the disease developing. The fungus can survive in soil for extremely long
periods of time and there are estimates of up to survival for 50 years, although 20 years would
be more likely.
Control At present there is no one simple method for controlling Armillaria. A
combination of sanitation measures, good horticultural management and the addition of organic
matter to soils can retard the activity of Armillaria.
Hygiene is essential for ensuring the disease is not spread from infested to uninfected
sites.
Removal of inoculum: removal of infected material from infested sites is likely to reduce
the impact of the disease in subsequent plantings. It is difficult to ensure that all sources of
inoculum are removed from the site and this may be difficult as the fungus can survive in
relatively small pieces of root. However it does assist where other programmes, such as
biological control are to be used, as it is easier for biological control organisms to be effective on
smaller levels of inoculum.
Isolation of infected areas by trenching can be very effective in some situations where
the area of infection is well known and defined. Trenching needs to be at least 1.1 m deep.
Clearing, aerating and drying the root collar can be very useful on high value trees that
are infected. This involves excavating around trees so that infected areas are exposed to the
air. This halts the activity of the fungus because the surface wood and bark dries out. This
technique has been used in a variety of situations with a number of species of Armillaria with
quite good results.
Chemical control: there are no effective chemicals to control the disease in trees.
Chemicals have been used to eradicate the fungus from infested areas but these chemicals are
highly toxic and dangerous to use.
Decay organisms: one method of reducing the inoculum of the fungus is by introducing a
decay organism (eg. Phanerochaete filamentosa) into infested dead material in the soil, eg.
stumps. This is a long term control method as it will take some time for the decay organism to
be effective and displace the Armillaria from the stump.
Biological Control: there are a number of promising developments in biological control of
Armillaria being developed. Many centre on the use of the soil fungus Trichoderma. This fungus
is a ubiquitous soil inhabitant that is active on the root. Trichoderma is reported to be effective
by two methods; the first by producing antifungal compounds that inhibit the activity of the
pathogen and the second by being an active competitor of the pathogen by colonising the site of
infection and preventing infection by the fungus.
It should not be expected that total control of Armillaria root rot would be achieved.
However, all of the above factors will need to be part of an integrated programme of disease
management.
Australian plants
Before the arrival of Aboriginal people in Australia, about 40,000 years ago, the
Australian plants had continued to evolve from those established in late Gondwanaland,
and many of the primitive genera and families then widespread, remained only in
Australia. The evolution of the marsupials, birds, and insects had taken place during the time
that the continent was almost entirely out of contact with other lands. Additions to the flora
from elsewhere would have been minor. Much of the adaptation of the Aboriginal people to
Australia took place as they moved inland from early settlements on the coast. The degree of
adaptation reached was such that they were able to exploit even the most inhospitable areas of
Australia. Much of that adaptation depended on the acquisition of an intimate knowledge of the
properties of the indigenous flora, a flora of such apparent little use, and so unlike that of the
rest of the world, as to appear to the early European settlers totally incapable of supporting
human existence. But during those 40,000 years the land provided the Aboriginal people with
everything they needed for a healthy life, and they managed the land so that the resources
were not depleted. By controlled burning they kept the bush open and allowed the growth of
new seedlings in the ash-bed. Many Australian plants will re-grow quickly after a fire.
When Europeans arrived in Australia, Aborigines ate a balanced diet made up of
seasonal fruits, nuts, seeds, roots, vegetables, meat and fish. Foods varied from area to area
depending on availability, season and the preference of the people. In some warmer parts of
Australia plants made up about 65-70% of the people’s diet, however in colder areas plants
made up about 30% of the diet. So overall plants made up about 50% of the diet. It was the
women who collected the plant food.
Plants included fruit, seeds, nuts, and the green parts of plants that were only available
at certain times of the year. Roots, tubers, corms and bulbs could be dug all year round. Gum
was also eaten at any time of the year.
In north Australia, many tropical trees bear fruits and seeds, including fig (Ficus
species), lilly-pillies (Acmena, Syzygium and Eugenia species) and Macadamia nuts. Yams
(Dioscorea species) were important root vegetables.
In central Australia, where water is scarce, the plants are spread thinly over the land.
Here the Aborigines relied more on the seeds of native grasses, and wattles (Acacia aneura
(Mulga) and Acacia coriacea (wiry wattle)), and even seed of the coolibar tree (Eucalyptus
microtheca). There were also fruits of the various ‘bush tomatoes’ (Solanum spp.), Quandong or
native peach (Santalum acuminatum), native plum (Santalum lanceolatum), and Desert Fig
(Ficus platypoda). Roots included the Desert Yam (Ipomoea costata) and Nalgoo (Cyperus
bulbosus), a sedge, often called ‘bush onion.’
In southern Australia, the underground parts of plants were the most important foods.
Like the Maori, the Aborigines used the rhizomes of Bracken (Pteridium esculentum) from which
they chewed or beat out a sticky starch. There are many native lilies with small tuberous roots
that were collected for food. Murnong or Yam Daisy (Microseris lanceolata) was a plentiful and
favourite food. Along the Murray Darling River system, the bulrush (Typha species) provided
much nourishment.
In southwestern Australia underground parts of plants were also the most important
food, especially Warran Yam (Dioscorea hastifolia).
Plants were used for many other things besides food. The long leaves of sedges, rushes
and lilies were collected to make baskets and mats, and soaked and beaten to free the fibres to
make string. The bark of trees made buckets, dishes and shields. Red-river gum (Eucalyptus
camaldulensis) bark was particularly good for making canoes. The strong fibres on the outside
of some Pimelia species (rice-flower shrubs) were used to make fine nets to collect Bogong
moths to eat.
Remedies for coughs and colds were made from native mints (Mentha species),
boronias, eucalypts, and tea trees (Maleleuca species). The gum from Eucalyptus species,
which is rich in tannin, was used to treat burns.
Much of Australia, apart from the rain forest areas, has what is called ’sclerophyll’
vegetation, with plants that have adapted to periodic drought, intermittent fires, and to soils
that are low in nutrients. These plants have leaves that are tough and leathery, contain a lot of
woody material, and are very resistant to wilting. We looked at other ways in which Australian
plants have evolved to survive drought and fire, with features such as thick bark, seeds in
woody capsules, epicormic shoots, and lignotubers.
Most Australian plants, like those of New Zealand, have evolved from those that were
present in late Gondwanaland. As the Aboriginal people moved inland from their early
settlements on the coast, they acquired an intimate knowledge of the properties of the
Australian flora, which eventually enabled them to survive in even the most inhospitable areas.
When the European settlers arrived in Australia they found a flora quite unlike that in the rest of
the world, and it appeared to them to be totally incapable of supporting life. But for 40,000
years Australia had provided the Aboriginal people with everything they needed for a healthy
life, and they managed the land without depleting the resources. They ate a balanced diet made
up of fruits, seeds, nuts, roots, tubers, corms, bulbs, vegetables, meat and fish. Food varied
from area to area, in the warmer parts of Australia plants made up about 65-70 percent of their
diet, and in colder parts about 30 percent.
In the north of Australia, figs, lilly-pilly berries, macadamia nuts and Dioscorea yams
were important elements in their diet. In the dry areas of central Australia, the Aborigines relied
on the seeds of native grasses, wattles, and the coolibar tree (a species of Eucalyptus), and the
fruits of ‘bush tomatoes (Solanum), native peach and native plum (species of Santalum), desert
fig (Ficus), desert yam (Ipomoea), and bush onion (Cyperus).
In southern Australia, the underground parts of plants were the most important foods.
They used the rhizomes of bracken (Pteridium), the tuberous roots of many native lilies, yam
daisy (Microseris), and bulrush (Typha). In South Western Australia the underground parts of
plants were also the most important foods, especially the Warran yam (Dioscorea).
Plants were used for many other things besides food. The long leaves of sedges, rushes,
and lilies were collected to make baskets and mats, and were soaked and beaten to free the
fibers to make string. The bark of trees was used to make buckets, dishes, and shields. Redriver gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) bark was particularly good for making canoes. The strong
fibers on the outside of some Pimelia species (rice-flower shrubs) were used to make fine nets
to collect Bogong moths to eat.
Remedies for coughs and colds were made from native mints (Mentha species),
boronias, eucalypts, and tea trees (Malaleuca species). The gum from Eucalyptus species, which
is rich in tannin, was used to treat burns.
Asclepias
The Swam Plant genus contains some 150 species of perennials and some shrubs.
The commonly known Swan Plant is Asclepias fruticose, a quick growing shrub, short
lived. It is the host of the interesting caterpillars of the Monarch bitterly, and produces curious
seedpods.
Also see ‘Insects’ for details of Monarch butterfly.
Astrolabe Dome
The dome is built on the turret that once housed the range finder for the disappearing
gun. It contains an astrolabe, an instrument used to measure the altitude of stars and
planets.
Azalea
Azaleas are shrubs of the genus Rhododendron and members of the heath
family. There are 8 divisions of the genus Rhododendron. Azaleas comprise two of those
divisions. Large clusters of pink, red, orange, yellow, purple, or white flowers distinguish azalea.
Typically non-azalea rhododendrons have flowers that are in trusses. The truss is composed of
many flowers. Typically an azalea has flowers that have just one flower rather than a truss. The
notable exception is the azaleas that have a very tight ball shaped truss.
Most grow in damp acid soils of hills and mountains, and are native to North America
and Asia. Native American azaleas include the flame azalea (R. calendulaceum) and the
fragrant white azalea (R. viscosum), also called swamp honeysuckle. Most of the brilliantly
flowered garden varieties are from China and Japan. Some have deciduous leaves and are
usually very hardy, while other are evergreen and frequently less hardy. The deciduous
varieties are usually hard to propagate, but much progress had been made in this area.
Evergreen varieties are usually easy to propagate. Many hybrid and species azaleas are in the
commercial trade. They typically bloom early in the season and are popular for the colour they
add to the landscape.
When Linnaeus created the botanical grouping called genus Rhododendron in 1753, he
created a separate genus for Azalea containing 6 species. In 1796 Salisbury pointed out that
Azalea and Rhododendron could not be maintained as distinct genera. In 1834, George Don
subdivided the genus Rhododendron into 8 sections that are still recognised today. Azalea
comprises two of these sections, Subgenus Pentanthera typified by Rhododendron nudiflorum
and Subgenus Tsutsusi typified by Rhododendron Tsutsusi.
If flowers grow from terminal buds, new leaves and shoots grow from lateral buds and
leaves are deciduous, then the rhododendron is an azalea in the Pentanthera subgenus.
If flowers and leaves grow from the same terminal buds, and the flowers have 5 to 10
stamens, then the rhododendron is an azalea in the Tsutsusi subgenus.
One term that is used in describing many azaleas is hose-in-hose. This term is meant
to describe what looks like a flower inside a flower. This actually is a flower with a large calyx.
The sepals of the calyx are shaped like the petals of the corolla.
Another term that is more common with azaleas is double. A double flower looks like
the interior is filled with petals. This is because the stamens grow into petal-like structures. The
pistol may also be transformed into a petal-like structure or may be absent.
Another term is semi-double. In this case the stamens are partially transformed into
petal-like structures. Occasionally extra petals are present and all stamens are present also.
Another version is hose-in-hose double. A perfect example of this is Gable's Rosebud
azalea. The name is descriptive of the flowers appearance.
Evergreen Azaleas
The most impressive flowering shrub in the Northeast and the Northwest is the
rhododendron, and the most stunning flowering shrub of the Southeast, Gulf Coast and
Southern California is the evergreen azalea (neither survives in the central U.S.). Both are
members of the genus Rhododendron, and have very similar blossoms. The basic difference is
that azalea flowers have five pollen-bearing stamens while rhododendrons have 10 or more.
Most of the rhododendrons and azaleas grown in gardens are hybrids, and their ability to
resist cold differs remarkably from one variety to another. For this reason it is best to purchase
rhododendrons and azaleas from a local nurseryman who grows his own plants. The
descriptions below cover evergreen azaleas that have proved satisfactory in fairly broad
regions.
There are five major groups of hybrid evergreen azaleas: Gable, Glen Dale, Indica,
Satsuki, Kaempferi, and Kurume.
Gable azaleas are hardy to +0° F. The plants, most of which become 2 to 4 feet tall in
four to six years and have 1-inch shiny leaves, bear great numbers of 2-inch blossoms in the
spring. Typical varieties are 'David Gable', rosy pink; 'Forest Fire', blood red; 'Louise Gable',
salmon pink; 'Purple Splendor', rich purple; 'Rosebud', bright pink; 'Rose Greeley', white; and
'Stewartstownian', deep red.
Glenn Dale azaleas, which are also hardy +0° F, may grow upright or spread out; they
usually reach 3 to 5 feet in height after about seven years. Individual blossoms range from 1
1/2 to 3 inches across. Of the 400 named varieties the following are recommended: 'Aphrodite',
pale rose pink; 'Buccaneer', orange red; 'Cavalier', orange red; 'Everest', white with chartreuse
blotch; 'Fashion', rose pink; 'Geisha', white striped red; 'Glacier', white; and 'Vestal', white with
chartreuse blotch.
The Indica or Indian azaleas are divided into two groups according to their hardiness.
The Belgian Indicas are generally hardy to +35° F; Southern Indicas are generally hardy to
+15° F. Both types may become 6 feet tall and 10 feet or more across after 5 to 10 years in the
garden. The flowers, especially of the Belgian Indica type, are apt to be frilled at the edge or
many-petalled double blossoms and often are 2 to 3 inches across. Typical Belgian Indica
varieties are: 'Alaska', snow white, two layers of petals; 'Albert and Elizabeth', white, edged
pink, double; 'Avenir', salmon pink, double; 'California Sunset', variegated white and pink,
double; and 'Fire Dance', fiery red, double. Typical Southern Indicas, all with single blossoms
having one layer of petals, are 'Brilliant', red; 'Duc de Rohan', salmon pink; 'Fielder's White',
snow white; 'Formosa', also called 'Phoenicia', lavender; 'Prince of Wales', cherry red; and
'Southern Charm', deep rose pink.
The Satsuki azaleas are late blooming. They typically exhibit sporting, a characteristic
where the flowers are composed of two colours and no two flowers are exactly the same except
those that are all one of the two colours. Most Satsukis have flowers that will be predominantly
one colour with blotches of the other colour. Satsukis vary in hardiness but most are not very
hardy. The hardiest are hardy to -10F and some are only hardy to +30F. Since they bloom fairly
late, it is best to plant in partial shade. The Gumpo azaleas are popular Satsuki azaleas in the
US. This is a huge family of plants, most of which were hybridised in Japan.
Kaempferi azaleas are hardy to -5° F. Graceful plants that become 5 to 6 feet tall after
about five years, they bear many 2-inch flowers in spring. Toward the northern edges of their
areas they lose some leaves in cold winters. Typical varieties are 'Barbara', deep pink; 'Fedora',
deep pink; 'Herbert', lavender orchid; 'Holland', deep red; 'Mikado', bright red; 'Othello', orange
red; 'Thais', crimson; 'Wilhelmina Vuyk', white; and 'Zampa', violet red.
Kurume azaleas are also hardy +5° F. After five to eight years in the garden, most
Kurume azaleas become dense 18- to 30-inch bushes with small glossy leaves. In spring the
foliage is hidden by 1-inch flowers. Typical varieties are 'Coral Bells', medium pink; 'Eureka',
similar to 'Coral Bells' but hardier; 'Glory', salmon pink; 'Hershey's Red', rose red; 'Hino
Crimson', crimson; 'Hinodegiri', bright red; 'Lorna', bright pink; and 'Polar Bear', white.
Other varieties of evergreen azaleas include: R. mucronulatum, 'Cornell Pink'; R.
kiusianum
R. kiusianum, the Kyushu azalea, is a low growing Japanese species, only 18 inches high. Its
leaves are deciduous when the plant is young but evergreen in maturity, remaining on the plant
all winter, though often changing colour. In its original form the Kyushu azalea is covered in
mid-spring with 8- to 10-inch clusters of lilac pink flowers, but there are many named hybrids
derived from this species bearing white, pink, rose or purple flowers. It blooms while still young,
bearing flowers 1 to 1 1/2 inches across. It is hardy +5° F. This semi-evergreen spreading
shrub grows 3 feet tall, but up to 5 feet wide. The shiny 1-inch leaves sometimes turn red in
winter.
R. mucronulatum (Korean rhododendron) grows 4 to 6 feet tall and opens its rosy
purple flowers so early in spring that they are sometimes nipped by frost. It is hardy to +5° F.
The flowers are only about 1 1/2 inches across, but they appear in very large numbers. 'Cornell
Pink' is an especially fine variety, with clear pink flowers unadulterated by the magenta that is
present in the blossoms of the original species.
How to Grow Evergreen Azaleas
The most important factor in achieving vigorous growth is an acid soil mixture high in
organic content. Many commercial growers set evergreen azaleas in pure peat moss, or in a
50-50 mixture of peat moss and coarse sand or perlite. A favourite mixture on the West Coast
is 1/2 peat moss and 1/2 ground redwood, but in such mixtures, plants must be fed regularly.
Because the roots grow near the surface, a bed prepared especially for rhododendrons
and azaleas need not be more than 12 inches deep; deep planting keeps the roots from getting
the air they need. In fact, it is a good idea to set them about 1 inch higher than they grew at
the nursery. Balled-and-burlaped plants may be transplanted in blossom but it is better to
transplant them early in spring in areas where their hardiness is questionable and in spring or
fall where there is no likelihood of winter damage.
Cultivating the soil around evergreen azaleas would damage their roots. Instead, keep
the roots cool and moist with a permanent 2- to 3-inch mulch of wood chips, oak leaves, chunky
peat moss or other light organic material. Plants that have been given a soil mixture rich in
organic matter probably will not need feeding for several years. Do not stimulate fast growth
because it produces long weak stems and few flowers. But if a plant seems weak or sickly, use
cottonseed meal or a special rhododendron-azalea-camellia fertiliser, dusted on the soil early in
the spring. For maximum flower production, pinch off faded flowers or the seed capsules that
follow.
Most evergreen azaleas are fairly hardy, but do not develop their full hardiness until
after three seasons. In general, they need protection their first three winters after they are
rooted. Normally, they will be grown in a protected area the first winter. Then they will be
container grown in protected areas the second year. Then the third winter they will be field
grown in a somewhat protected area. Then the fourth winter they should have reached their full
hardiness.
Deciduous Azaleas
Azaleas are among the most colourful of all flowering shrubs, bearing 3- to 6-inch
clusters of red, yellow, orange, pink, white or purple flowers in spring and early summer, and in
many cases providing brilliantly hued leaves in fall. The deciduous species described here allow
gardeners in Northern regions to enjoy the beauty of this genus; they are not to be confused
with evergreen azaleas that are widely grown from Zone 6 south. Many nursery catalogues list
azaleas separately from the related plants commonly called rhododendrons, but both belong to
a single genus, Rhododendron. Azaleas will serve most garden uses admirably, and they also
can be grown in open woodlands in light shade where, with proper initial soil preparation, they
are often able to take care of themselves indefinitely.
Examples of Azaleas include: R. arborescens (sweet or smooth azalea); R.
calendulaceum (flame azalea); R. Ghent hybrids (Ghent azalea); R. Knap Hill Hybrids (Exbury,
Knap Hill and Slocock Hybrid azaleas); R. molle hybrids (Mollis Hybrid azalea); R.
mucronulatum (Korean rhododendron); R. nudiflorum (pinxter-bloom, honeysuckle azalea); R.
roseum, also called R. prinophyllum (roseshell azalea); R. schlippenbachii (royal azalea); R.
vaseyi (pinkshell azalea); R. viscosum (swamp azalea); R. yedoense (Yodogawa azalea).
R. arborescens, the sweet or smooth azalea, grows 4 to 6 feet tall and bears
clusters of very fragrant 2-inch white or rose-tinged flowers in midsummer. Its leaves turn a
deep glossy red in autumn and are hardy from 5 to -15° F.
R. calendulaceum, the flame azalea, is one of the most brightly coloured of native
North American shrubs, bearing large clusters of 2-inch flowers in early summer. Plants usually
grow 4 to 9 feet tall hardy to -10° F, and occasionally reach 15 feet. It bears clusters of 2-inch
clove-scented bright scarlet, orange or yellow flowers in late spring or early summer flowers
that are long lasting, even in full sun. The leaves are 3 inches long and drop in the fall.
Ghent azalea, are hybrids developed in Belgium about 150 years ago. Their single
flowers, with one ring of petals, or double flowers, with numerous overlapping petals, are 1 1/2
to 2 inches across and come in white and in shades of yellow, orange, pink and red. They are
hardy to -10° F.
Knap Hill Hybrids (Exbury, Knap Hill and Slocock Hybrid azaleas) are exceptional
hybrids developed at an English nursery of that name, but the term is also applied to the superb
Exbury Hybrids, sometimes called de Rothschild Hybrids, bred at the de Rothschild estate in
Exbury, Hampshire, England, as well as the Slocock Hybrids grown at the Slocock nursery in
England. All these plants have individual flowers as large as 3 inches across, in great clusters of
up to 18 flowers to a head. Basic colours are yellow, pink, red and white, but nearly every
flower has at least two colors. The shrubs blossom in early summer, and the foliage usually
turns yellow, orange or red in fall. Plants grow about 4 to 5 feet tall. Exbury and Knap Hill
Strains are the ones usually offered by nurserymen in the USA. The Knap Hill hybrids are hardy
to -10° F. The foliage turns red, orange or yellow in autumn.
Mollis Hybrid azalea bear large clusters of 2- to 3-inch flowers in late spring. The
colours include many shades of yellow, orange and pink as well as white. Plants usually grow
about 5 feet tall and are hardy to -10° F.
R. mucronulatum, the Korean rhododendron, is one of the earliest azaleas to bloom,
hardy to -25° F; its pink to purple flowers are susceptible to late frosts. Plant them in a
sheltered area to avoid undue exposure. They grow 4 to 6 feet tall. The flowers are only about 1
1/2 inches across, but they appear in very large numbers. 'Cornell Pink' is an especially fine
variety, with clear pink flowers unadulterated by the magenta that is present in the blossoms of
the original species. R. mucronulatum is not a true azalea, but somewhere in between an azalea
and a regular rhododendron. Hence, it might be listed in either category.
R. nudiflorum, the pinxter-bloom, honeysuckle azalea, 4 to 6 feet tall, is a hardy
native species that bears faintly scented pale pink or white flowers 1 1/2 inches in diameter in
late spring. It is hardy 4 to -20 F.
R. roseum, also called R. prinophyllum, the roseshell azalea, is quite similar to
pinxter-bloom, except that its 2-inch flowers are a deep rose pink and are more fragrant. The
plants usually grow 7 feet tall. It is hardy to -20 F.
R. schlippenbachii, the royal azalea, is a deciduous Korean species. It has soft green
leaves that grow in whorls around the stem and turn yellow, orange and crimson in the fall. It is
so lovely that man can hardly hope to improve upon its soft pink flowers. They are 3 inches
across, and freckled on the upper petals and have a delicate fragrance. Schlippenbachii
tolerates less acid soils than the other species, hardy to -10° F and grows to 6 to 10 feet tall.
Delicate R. vaseyi, pinkshell azaleas, grow best in the moist soil bordering ponds,
hardy to -10° F, where they grow 6 to 8 feet tall and bears 1 1/2-inch pink flowers in late spring
to early summer. Its leaves turn red in autumn.
Low, wet areas in Zones 3-8 suit the late-blooming R. viscosum, swamp azalea, which
bears extraordinarily fragrant 1 1/2- to 2-inch white blossoms tinged with pink in midsummer
on branches up to 9 feet tall. It is hardy to -20° F. The leaves turn orange or bronze red in the
fall.
R. yedoense, the Yodogawa azalea, has 2-inch double reddish purple flowers in late
spring. Plants rarely grow more than 3 feet tall, but may spread to 6 feet in diameter. It is
hardy to -5° F. The variety R. yedoense 'Poukhanense', Korean Yodogawa azalea, has single
flowers and is a bit more resistant to winter cold than the double-flowered type. The leaves of
both drop in Northern gardens, but remain nearly evergreen in milder climates.
The Northern Lights are a new group of deciduous azaleas from the University of
Minnesota for areas where winter temperatures are severe. They are a group of beautiful shrubs
that are cold hardy and flower bud hardy to minus 45°F. They are generally hardy -35° F. Some
of the more notable Northern Lights azaleas are:
Pink Lights Azalea: Introduced 1984. The flower has a light pink colour with a sweet
floral scent. Mature plants will have a height and spread of about eight feet. The plant is
extremely floriferous.
Rosy Lights Azalea. Introduced 1984. The flower colour is a deep rosy pink and plants
are extremely floriferous. Plant height and spread is about eight feet.
White Lights Azalea: Introduced White Lights is a hybrid of Rhododendron
prinophyllum and a white flowered Exbury hybrid. The flower buds have a delicate pale pink
cast but open to a white flower with a slight yellow blotch. This cultivar is extremely floriferous
and has a flower bud hardiness rating of -35 degrees F. Plant height and spread is about five
feet.
Spicy Lights Azalea: Introduced Spicy Lights is a selection from hybrids having
Rhododendron prinophyllum in their background. The flower has a salmon colour with a slight
fragrance. Flower bud hardiness is rated at -35 degrees F. Plant height is about six feet and
spread is about eight feet.
Orchid Lights Azalea: Introduced 1986 Orchid Lights Azalea is a hybrid of
Rhododendron canadense and Rhododendron x kosteranum. The orchid-coloured flowers are 11/2 inches across and are sterile, so seed capsules are not produced. Flower bud hardiness is
rated at -45 degrees F. The compact plants of Orchid Lights will mature at an average height of
three feet and a spread of three to four feet.
Golden Lights Azalea: Introduced 1986 Golden Lights Azalea is a hybrid of an Exbury
seedling and an unidentified azalea seedling. The golden flowers are 1-1/2 to 2 inches across
and have a cold hardiness rating of -30 degrees F. The mature plants reach an average height
and spread of four feet. Golden Lights has the added advantage of greater resistance to mildew
than some other hybrid azalea cultivars.
Northern Hi-Lights Azalea: Introduced 1994. Northern Hi-Lights Azalea is a hybrid of
an Exbury seedling and an unidentified azalea seedling. It is a hybrid with the same parents as
"Golden Lights". The flowers are creamy white with a bright yellow upper petal and have a cold
hardiness rating of -30 degrees F. Plants grow relatively slowly to four feet high and four to five
feet wide. The dark green foliage has some resistance to mildew.
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of about 75 species in the Protea family (Proteaceae). All species
occur in Australia with one (B.dentata) extending to islands to Australia's north. Most of the
species of Banksia occur in Western Australia.
Banksias were named after Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), who, in 1770, was the
first European to collect specimens of these plants. A number of Banksia cultivars have also
been developed.
Southwestern Australia contains the greatest diversity of banksias, with 60 species
recorded. They are also an important part of the flora of Australia's eastern coast. Few banksias
are found in the arid regions of Australia or in the rainforests of the eastern coast.
Banksia grows on heaths, in scrub, and in dry open forests. It has leaves that are hard
and stiff, with a waxy coating and sunken stomata to reduce moisture loss. The leaves of some
species have white tomentum underneath which reduces moisture loss even more.
Banksia belongs to the protea family
There are no species that are common to eastern and western Australia except Tropical
Banksia, Banksia dentata, which occurs across northern Australia, in Papua New Guinea, Irian
Jaya and the Aru Islands
New Zealand has only two species belonging to the Proteaceae family. One is
Rewarewa (Knightia excelsa), sometimes referred to as NZ Honeysuckle, although it is not a
honey suckle. It has long, narrow, thick, leathery, serrated leaves like some of the Banksias,
and dark red flowers, with tightly coiled sepals and petals (four). The flowers are laden with
nectar, which attract native birds and bees. Two other members of the genus occur in New
Caledonia. Our other tree in the Proteaceae is Toru (Toronia toru), which occurs in forest and
shrub land, from the Bay of Plenty northwards. It too, like the Banksias, has long, narrow,
thick, leathery leaves, and fragrant flowers, with four yellow petals. This genus is endemic to
NZ.
. The Banksia inflorescence consists of a mass of flowers on a central axis. The tip of
each flower’s style is modified with a ‘pollen presenter’ that picks up the flower’s own pollen
when it opens, and projects. Birds, usually honeyeaters, and small mammals become crosspollinating agents as they seek nectar at the base of the flower, so transferring pollen on their
heads. Relatively few flowers develop into woody fruiting follicles in a ‘cone.’ In some species
these follicles open spontaneously to release two winged seeds, but for others a bush fire is
needed.
The two Banksias growing here are the Coast Banksia (B. integrifolia) and the Saw
Banksia (B. serrata). Both are from Victoria and NSW, the Coast Banksia grows on coastal
sands, and the Saw Banksia in near-coast forests. Coast Banksia grows to a height of 4-20m
and Saw Banksia to 2-12m. The bark of the Saw Banksia is knarled, thick and warty. Its cones
have large velvety follicles. The flower remnants persist in Saw Banksia but do not in the Coast
Banksia. The leaves of Coast Banksia are entire, but the juvenile leaves may be serrated.
The Aboriginal people used the flowers of the Banksia to make sweet drinks. They
soaked the flowers in water in a bark or wooden bowl, so that the nectar sweetened the taste of
the water. Flowers of Grevillea and Callistemon (bottlebrush), also made sweet drinks. In NZ,
the nectar of the rewarewa used to be collected by Maori. The picked flowers were tapped on
the inside of a gourd vessel. These days the nectar is collected by bees to make a dark and rich
flavoured honey. Some Banksias retain the dry flowers on the cone, which some Aboriginal
groups used to strain drinking water. Other groups used these cones as hairbrushes.
Some Aboriginal groups used needles made from Banksia wood for the weaving of
baskets and mats.
Banksias can be found in most environments; the tropics, sub-alpine areas, the coast
and desert areas. The most diversity in the genus occurs in the south of Western Australia
where over 80% of the species occur.
Archaeological evidence suggests that banksias have existed for over 40 million years.
The first humans to discover and make use of Banksia were the Australian aborigines who used
the nectar as part of their diet.
The first Europeans to observe banksias were probably Dutch explorers who made
several landfalls along the West Australian coast during the 17th and early 18th centuries. No
botanical collections were made, however, until the discovery of the east coast of Australia by
Captain James Cook in the Endeavour in April 1770. Accompanying Cook were botanists Joseph
Banks and Daniel Solander who collected many new species at Botany Bay including four which
would later be included in a new genus, Banksia, named in honour of Joseph Banks' contribution
to botany. The four species collected were B. serrata, B. ericifolia, B. integrifolia and B. robur.
Later, on the same voyage, Banks and Solander collected a fifth species (B. dentata) on the
north Queensland coast.
Fire and Banksias: Of the plants that have developed in relation to fire, the Banksia
stands out as being both dramatic and familiar. Its cones, often burnt to charcoal, present an
intriguing variety of forms and an invitation to the most staid of imaginations. Consequently, a
brief look at the adaptive responses of that genus would seem appropriate.
Existing bushes of Banksia ericifolia are killed outright by fire; recovery of the species
depending on the accelerated seed shed a fire induces.
Studies on B. ericifolia have shown that the post-fire emergence of seedlings is affected
by both seasonality and fire intensity. It has been found that seeds are released earlier and
quicker from cones exposed to high fire temperature than from those exposed to a low fire
temperature. Follicles were usually incompletely opened during the fire, maximum opening
normally occurring only after a subsequent drying out of the cones on the killed bushes.
Disturbance created by wind or heavy rain shakes the seeds free, thus bringing about variation
between seeds in their time of release. Should fire be followed by periods of good rainfall a very
large proportion of seed will germinate. New plants mature and produce seed again after 5 - 6
years. A second fire passing through within 5 years would therefore result in the species being
lost to the area.
Banksia serrata - burnt cones. Of the banksias occurring in the Hawkesbury/Blue
Mountains area B. ericifolia, B. penicillata and B. cunninghamii are the only ones to be killed
outright by fire. Other species (B. marginata, B. oblongifolia. B. paludosa, B. robur and B.
spinulosa var. collina regenerate from lignotubers, a woody swelling at the base of the stem
that contains buds and food reserves.
Fire tolerant species such as B. aemula. B. integrifolia and B. serrata regenerate from
both lignotubers and epicormic shoots located along the trunk. The trunk is usually protected by
bark 1-3 cm thick. Fire sensitive arborescent species and the narrow stems of lignotuberous
species on the other hand have a bark less than 5 mm thick which is unable to protect the
stems against fire.
Banksia: Fire Management of Vegetation
Plant communities are not static and will change according to environmental conditions
and disturbances. An important natural disturbance in most Australian ecosystems is fire and
the plants and animals have developed adaptations that enable them to survive in a fire-prone
environment.
Fire is a regenerative as well as a destructive force and its effect on plants and
animals depends on the fire regime - the combination of fire frequency, intensity and season of
burn. How do we manage fire, or more specifically the fire regime, so as to maintain the
diversity of plants and animals of an area?
. Some species are killed by fire and regenerate from seed (seeders). Others regenerate
by resprouting from buds that are protected from the fire (resprouters).
For seeder species to regenerate on site the seed must either be stored safe from fire in
the soil (such as wattle seeds), in protective fruits in the canopy (banksias), or it must be
reintroduced to the site on the wind (daisies) or by animals and birds (rainforest fruits).
A good example of the role of fire in the life cycle of a species is the Heath Banksia
(Banksia ericifolia), a common plant in the heaths and woodlands and one that has been studied
in detail. Heath Banksia is killed by fire and regenerates from seed that is held in woody cones
on the plant and is released as the cones open after fire. The young banksias need about 6
years to produce seed and longer to accumulate a good store of seed. As the banksias mature
they grow tall and dense and shade out smaller shrubs. However banksia seedlings will not
grow beneath a dense cover and as long as the parents are standing another generation will not
succeed.
After about 30 years Heath Banksia starts to die. Some seedlings may establish in the
gaps left by the old plants, however it is not known whether a full stand of banksia will replace
the dead plants. Few stands of banksia remain unburnt for this long and the regeneration
process has not been observed. It is possible that without fire to release a large number of
seeds and remove the overstorey, banksia stands will not regenerate and other species will
become dominant.
So it appears that stands of Heath Banksia need a fire sometime between 6 and 30 years
of age. One fire every 15 years might seem suitable. However the banksia grows with many
other species that have differing requirements for fire. Being burnt every 15 years may suit the
banksia but not the species that require the occasional fire at a shorter or longer interval than
this. The key to maintaining the range of species with all their different requirements appears to
lie in variation of the fire regime. A set of limits can be applied (such as 6 and 30 years in the
case of Heath Banksia) and within this the fire regime is varied. Some intervals between fires
are long, some are short, or fire may occur in different seasons that will also vary the intensity
of the burn.
Heath Banksia is a common species of heaths and woodlands and can be used as an
indicator species for determining fire regimes because it is a well-studied species. However
there may well be other species which are better indicators but we have yet to do the research.
There is much to learn on the fascinating topic of fire ecology and a great deal of it can be done
by simple observation; recording how plants regenerate after fire and when they start to flower
and produce seed. Equally fascinating is the response of wildlife to fire and the interaction
between regenerating vegetation and the fauna, but that's another topic
Banksia integrifolia
Coast banksia Australia - New South Wales, S. Queensland, Victoria..
If this species is to be successfully cultivated, the soil should be low in nutrients,
especially in nitrates and phosphates. Quite resistant to wind and salt spray, it grows well by
the coast. Plants growing in exposed positions have entire leaves whilst those in sheltered
positions have serrated leaves. Plants in Australian gardens tolerate temperatures down to at
least -7°C.
A polymorphic species, there are many named varieties selected for their ornamental
value. A good bee plant
The bark contains about 10% tannin. Used as a rootstock for other members of this
genus.
Wood - soft, easily worked, pinkish with a prominent grain. It is highly decorative but
the plants tend to be gnarled and irregular thus limiting its use. Used for veneers, furniture etc
The flowers are rich in nectar sometimes harvested as a food. It is best harvested in the
morning before birds and evaporation depletes the yields. The flowers can be sucked or soaked
in water to obtain the nectar
Banksia serrata
Saw Banksia The rugged bark, serrated leaves and large flowers of this banksia
give it a distinctive appearance of great value in landscaping. Plants may grow from 2 to 12 m.
It is adaptable to most soils, but requires good drainage, and is frost tolerant. The flower heads
are greenish yellow and open from summer to winter. A low-growing cultivar B. serrata
'Austraflora Pygmy Possum' is available.
Banksia serrata grows in coastal forests. It grows to a height of 2-12 m, and has leaves
that are serrated, like a saw. The bark is thick and warty. The ‘cones’ have velvety follicles. The
flower remnants persist on the cone, and some Aboriginal groups used the cones to strain
drinking water. Other groups used them as hairbrushes.
Begonias
There are around 1,000 begonia species and many, many more hybrids. They originated
from Central and Southern America, China, India, Indonesia and South East Asia – none have
been found in Europe or Australasia.
Tuberous Begonias: with the very large flowers are all hybrids originating from single
flowered species found in 1860 in Bolivia and Peru. Their development over 120 years has
resulted in magnificent blooms. Large flowered tuberous begonias prefer to be grown in semi
shade protected from strong winds. They do not tolerate frost and in early winter lose their
foliage and remain dormant until spring.
Semperflorens Begonias: known to most gardeners as bedding or wax seen in many
gardens and parks and make a wondrous sight en masse. A wide range of with green,
variegated or bronze foliage. They are more tolerant to the heat tuberous cousins will not
tolerate frost. They are treated as annual plants but in warmer climates can be cut back in
winter and will grow again.
Cane-like: Are also called "Angel Wing" begonias and sometimes tree begonias. They
are excellent in both pots or open ground and can vary in size from a mere foot tall to in excess
of 10 feet high. They have long clusters of small flowers that last for long periods in the warmer
areas. They do not tolerate frost.
Rex Begonias: These have rhizomatous habit grown solely for their They are not the
easiest of begonias to grow, require a humidity of around 70% and are best grown in protected
areas.
Hiemalis begonias: known as Rieger or Blush tends to be grown as winter flowering
plants. They are very susceptible to over watering but if well fed and grown in reasonable light
they will smother themselves in one inch semi double flowers ranging from scarlet through to
soft pastels, pinks and creams.
Trailing-Scandents: make good hanging baskets. They are well worth growing and
propagate very easily from tip and stem cuttings.
Shrub-like begonias: have excellent foliage which ranges from being extremely hairy
to totally bare
Elatior begonias: the Hiemalis/Rieger begonias are regarded as winter flowering
whereas the Elatior, although a similar begonia developed in recent years in Europe, flowers all
year round and makes an excellent house plant
Thick-stemmed begonias: A relatively small group not so widely known have thick
stems from their base to their tips. They do make good pot plants; can grow to six feet in
height and like plenty of good light. Tuberous begonias: most spectacular flowers
1847
The first ancestor of the complex hybrid lines of tuberous begonias (today often
called Begonia ´tuberhybrida) was imported to Europe from the Bolivian Andes
of South America. Plants of this species, Begonia boliviensis, have a trailing
habit and brilliant scarlet flowers. Within three decades hybrids were created
around Europe.
By 1882 a double-flowered cultivar had been created.
Large-flowered tuberous hybrids (Tuberhybrida) are the widely grown
Each classification in the tuberous group has its own cultural idiosyncrasy or two, general
practices are similar.
Most do best with plenty of filtered light but little or no direct hot sun.
Because they can rot from excessive amounts of water, a very coarse, fast-draining
planter mix is required. Coarse perlite or leaf mould as a substantial part of the mix will do the
trick. When you water, the excess will drain quickly. The large amount of air in the mix will
require more frequent watering, though, in warm seasons.
Some, especially the Tuberhybrida begonias, need high humidity for adequate flowering.
This can be provided through frequent misting early in the day or creation of a high-humidity
section of a greenhouse.
A side effect of high humidity can be development of powdery mildew and other fungus
diseases. These can be controlled with the fungicides karathane (to get rid of it) and benomyl
(to prevent it). Always follow label directions.
Some tuberous begonias grow upright, either without further assistance or with judicious
staking to support the supple stems. Others trail and are well suited to use in hanging baskets.
Since most tuberous types are grown for their flowers, they are heavy feeders. This
means you must fertilise a lot. The most frequently encountered method is to use a lowintensity complete fertiliser such as fish emulsion (5-1-1) early in the season to get a large,
healthy plant. When buds appear, switch to a combination of 5-1-1 and bloom (such as 0-1010) fertilisers, one tablespoon of each to one gallon of water, applied every two weeks. Or feed
at half-strength weekly. Otherwise, follow label directions.
When leaves begin to yellow, flowers wither, and the plant slows down, stop fertilising
and water less frequently because dormancy is approaching. When the plant is dormant, some,
such as Tuberhybrida, do best if the tubers are lifted and stored clean in a dry place. Others can
be stored right in their pots.
Like most begonias, tuberous kinds grow best in warm and airy but comfortable-tohumans temperatures. They are perfect to display in places where you and guests spend a lot
of time outdoors in summer.
Battery
The semicircle of concrete marks the site of an artillery battery, which occupied
area from 1896 until 1904.
In the late 1870’s an article was published in an Auckland newspaper reporting the
presence of a Russian naval vessel, the Kasowiski, (the imaginary ship was actually named
‘case of whisky’) holding Auckland to ransom. This caused widespread panic. It was later found
to be a hoax, designed to bring to general attention the lack of preparedness against naval
attack around the country. The result was the procuring of 4 gunboats, but these were found to
be obsolete when they where delivered. It was then decided to construct a number of
fortresses in the main harbours, and the Garden Battery was one of five built in Wellington in
response to a fear of attack by the Russian Navy. The battery was equipped with a disappearing
gun. The recoil of the explosion drove the gun back into a pit so it was not apparent to the
people being fired upon.
Underground tunnels (not open) indicate the locations of the original Shell Store and
Cartridge Store.
On Saturday September 27, 2003 there was a small ceremony to dedicate the Botanic
Garden's 'new’ old gun
The Garden Battery area was developed as a military post (battery) in the 1890s,
during what was known as the Russian Scare It was part of the city's coastal defence system
The battery was the last of six to be built The other five, between it and the harbour entrance,
were designed to protect the city from invading vessels This one was built to provide cover for
an area outside the range of guns at Ngauranga, Kaiwharawhara and Point Halswell
The gun planned for it was stored in the underground gunpowder and ammunition store
nearby but was never installed in the gun emplacement itself. The battery was disestablished in
1904 when the threat of invasion ended
The Krupp Gun was manufactured by Fried Krupp AG, Essen, Germany, in 1907 and
remained in service in the German army during the First World War, 1914-1918. The crest of
the Prussian Foot Guards Artillery Regiment can be seen on the top surface of the barrel
The gun was captured near La Vacquene, northeast France, on 29 September 1918, by
the New Zealand division Two battalions of the Wellington Regiment were engaged in this
action, which was part of an Allied attack on the Hindenburg line of defence At the end of the
First World War, this gun and many other captured arms were sent to New Zealand as war
trophies. In 1920 this piece was gifted to the City of Wellington in honour of the soldiers from
the Wellington district
For almost 50 years the gun was displayed at Newtown Park. It is thought to be the
only one of its kind remaining from about 190 manufactured
Begonia House (Lady Norwood)
The Begonia House and its extensions were built with the help of substantial
funding from Sir Charles Norwood, and the Norwood family. Sir Charles and Lady Norwood were
a former Mayor and Mayoress of Wellington, and enthusiastic advocates of the cities parks and
gardens, and particularly the Rose Garden area of the Botanic Garden.
The house was built in 1961. The Cafe was added in 1980. The Tropical Lily
Pond was added in 1989, while the rest of the house underwent extensive
renovations, which were completed in 1990
It is more correctly a conservatory because a wide range of tropical and temperate
plants are grown and displayed all year round in the house. However during the summer
months the spectacular tuberous begonias are the dominant display plants and it is from these
displays that the house gets its name. Recent efforts have been made to extend the Begonia
collection into a wider range of different types.
The house is divided into 2 sections:
1. Temperate Section - This section is heated to a minimum of I5oC.
Seasonal displays of potted flowering and foliage plants make up the main displays in
this section. There are also 2 beds of permanent and semi permanent plantings of larger
growing plants, including the spectacular huge leafed Damaropsis (syn. Ficus) kingiana.
Main display plants;
• Tuberous Begonias, both pot and basket types, with their spectacular large colourful
flowers dominate the displays during the summer months.
• Other types of Begonia such as cane, rhizomatous, and non tuberous basket types are
also grown and many of these flower at other times of the year.
• Steptocarpus or Cape Primrose hybrids also feature during the warmer months of the
year.
• Cymbidium hybrids and Primula obconica provide the main floral display during winter.
• Cymbidium orchids provide displays in winter -spring
• Hippeastrum - spring
• Lilium - late spring- early earner
• Nerine - autumn
• Impatiens, Begonias other than tuberous types, Coleus and other foliage provide
interest all year round.
2. Tropical Section – min. temperature is set at 20 oC. Most plants in this house
are permanently planted.
Main collections include;
 Bromeliads - members of the Pineapple family. There are Tillandsias growing on a "tree" in
the enclosure just through the doors into the house and various other genera growing
through out the house.
 Aroids - members of the Arum lily family, including the Fruit Salad plant Monstera deliciosa
and the awesome Titan lily Amorphophallus titanum.
 Orchids - some permanently planted, but most in temporary potted displays below the
epiphyte wall.
 Aquatic plants in the Tropical Water lily Pond.
The Tropical Water Lily Pond is housed in an extension to the Tropical section,
and the pond was opened in November 1989. It was built to grow the giant Amazon water lily
species Victoria amazonica and vercruziana. The pond is heated between 23 and 27 degrees
depending on time of year, and is stocked with tropical fish, mainly guppies and swordtails, to
keep algae down. The Goldfish in the pond have been dumped in there by members of the
public! Unfortunately they eat the beneficial tropical fish!
Apart from the Victorias, the pond is also home to a white form of the Sacred Lotus,.
Nelumbo imeifera and several tropical and hardy waterlilies of the genus Nymphaea.
Pest control: High toxicity pesticides such as
Modern birch bark tankard from Russia
organophosphates have not been used for general
pest control in the Lady Norwood Begonia House
since 1993.
Pest control is now based on Integrated Pest Management. This involves monitoring pest
population levels and where necessary, reducing the populations using physical and
environmental means, Biological control, or low toxicity chemical or biochemical means.
Biological controls are used for the pests; 2 spotted mite, white fly, and Mealy bug.
Betula
Birches are common trees and shrubs of
northern temperate and boreal zones of the
Northern Hemisphere. The group is highly
diversified, especially in the Old World. The species
are well known for their free hybridisation, and
specimens are therefore frequently difficult to identify.
Birches occupy habitats in cool, moist regions,
including peat lands, stream banks, and lakeshores,
cool, damp woods, and moist slopes in cool coves. The
wood of species that grow to a large size (including
especially B. alleghaniensis) has many uses, including
the manufacture of doors and windows, flooring,
cabinetry, interior moulding, wood paneling, furniture,
and plywood.
Species number around 35 throughout
Northern Hemisphere, North America, Asia.
Birches are a difficult group taxonomically
because of their high vegetative variability and frequent hybridisation. Many morphologic
and cytologic studies have attempted to deal with variation within the genus or its subgroups.
Species of Betula form a polyploid series, with chromosome numbers of 2 n = 28, 56, 70, 84,
and 112, plus additional numbers in some hybrids.
For people in Estonia the Birch tree is considered symbolic of their beliefs and
country. Legend tells of a man who was asleep under the Birch tree. A change in the weather
was coming and a passing peasant woke the man to save him from getting wet and help him
avoid the storm. The stranger thanked the peasant for his help, saying When, far from thy
country and experiencing homesickness, thou shah see a crooked Birch, strike if and ask: “Is
the crooked one at home? “ and went on his way. It is said that the peasant later as soldier in
Finland, became homesick. The sudden appearance of a crooked birch surprised him, but
remembering the words of the stranger, the
soldier repeated: 6 Is the crooked one at home \
The stranger re-appeared and called upon the
spirits that were known to him to relieve the
soldier's suffering. Instantly he was transported
back to his home with a knapsack full of shining
silver.
In Scandinavian this tree is sacred to
Thor, the deity of agriculture and fertility, and a
symbol of spring. A branch of birch on a house
was thought to protect the family from the evil
eye, lightning, gout and barrenness.
The broomstick on which the witch rode
Birch bark baskets
to the Sabbath was traditionally made of birch
(also from heather or broom). Birching is the
beating with a branch from a birch tree.
USES FOR BIRCH BARK
For as long as there have been birch trees in New England, Native Americans have
recognized the special uses to which the bark of this tree could be put. Native Americans of the
Northeastern Forests made wide use of the outer bark of white (or paper) birch for canoe
construction and wigwam coverings. Long before the arrival of Europeans and even before the
development of ceramic vessels 3000 years ago, bark containers were used to collect, store,
cook and consume food or other products. Birch bark was also used to make hunting and fishing
gear; musical instruments, decorative fans, and even children's sleds and other toys. Birch bark
designs were also used in beadwork. Although few Native Americans in southern New England
still make these items from birch bark, more recent decorative arts, such as splint basket
decoration, draw upon many patterns developed in birch bark.
Removing the bark from a live birch threatens the health of that tree. If the dark inner
bark of the birch tree is damaged this can kill the tree. Harming a tree only for pieces of its bark
is not advised. Fortunately because of the remarkable preservative properties of birch bark, it is
possible to use the bark from dead or fallen trees to make containers and other items.
There are several types of birch trees and the best type of bark for items from canoes to
containers is the paper birch, sometimes called white birch. Do not confuse this bark with that
of the gray or wire birch which is often referred to as white birch but is not as suitable for craft
work. The bark from the sweet or black birch is rough and completely unsuitable for craft work
but is the source of wintergreen, and from which Native Americans brewed a tea high in vitamin
C.
Although the bark from fallen trees may be gathered at any time, the best time for
gathering live birch bark was spring up until the month of June. This bark is the thickest,
retaining the dark brown inner bark that formed from flowing sap in winter. In this season the
bark will recoil easily from the tree and almost peels itself. To peel bark sheets from the tree, a
vertical slit is made down the trunk. For smaller projects, sections about two feet long can be
peeled from around the trunk by prying up using your hands between the dark bark on the
interior of the birch sheets and the hard inner wood of the tree.
To store bark for later use, lay out the sheets and gently press them flat. Put weights on
top of the bark sheets to prevent them from curling up, as birch has a tendency to do on its
own. Fresh bark can be worked without special preparation. If stored bark or bark from fallen
trees is used, the bark should be heated by soaking in warm water, or by steaming over a fire.
Heat warms the sap retained in birch bark even after several months in storage and will render
even old bark pliable and flexible to be cut and bent. If the bark is very thick, several layers of
white paper may be peeled away to make the remaining sheet easier to cut or fold.
Paper patterns are ideal to practice with. To assure a symmetrical pattern and to practice
the folding methods, cut a pattern from heavy paper and "stitch" the item with a modern
stapler. Paper patterns can be made larger or smaller, scaled to fit the available piece of bark.
To ensure straight, even folds, it may be necessary to score along the fold with a dulled
point that creases but does not cut the bark on the inside of the container.
Holes for stitching or lacing may be made by piercing the layers of bark with an awl or
large needle with a triangular point. Holes made along seams where bark overlaps may be
temporarily held in place using small wooden pegs or splinters of wood. Clothes pins and large
paper clips are also useful in holding rims in place as they are stitched.
Seam stitching and rim wrapping are accomplished using lacing. Modern lacing may be
heavy waxed nylon thread strung through a needle. Using natural material available to Native
Americans, lacing would be made of basswood or dogbane cord, of thin strips of inner cedar
bark, or from stripped pieces of black spruce roots. Natural lacing should be soaked in warm
water before use to make it more flexible.
Stitching together seams:
Rims for containers are not only decorative, but also add reinforcement to an otherwise
brittle area on birch bark vessels. Rims may be solid wood like white cedar, split spruce root, or
basketry splints. Rims may also be made using a skinny bundle of plant material like
sweetgrass. Rims are attached to a vessel by wrapping lacing around the rim material through
evenly spaced holes pierced in the bark at the mouth of a vessel. Holes can be patched with a
warmed mixture of white pine pitch and charcoal.
Wrapping the reinforced rim:
Betula ermanii
Gold Birch is also known as Russian Rock Birch. From mountains N.E. Asia - China,
Japan
The bark is used to bandage wounds
Betula papyrifera
Paper Birch: Grows in woods, usually on slopes, edges of ponds, streams and
swamps etc. Found in a wide range of soil conditions, but the best specimens are found in welldrained sandy-loam soils.
Native of Northern N. America to Greenland..
This species was an exceedingly important tree for the Indians - they utilised it for a
very wide range of applications and it was a central item in their economy
The thin outer bark used to make drinking vessels, canoe skins, roofing tiles, buckets
etc. This material was very widely used by various native North American Indian tribes; it is
waterproof, durable, tough and resinous. Only the thin outer bark is removed, which does not
kill the tree. It is most easily removed in late spring to early summer.
The outer bark has also been used as emergency sunglasses in order to prevent
snow-blindness. A strip of bark 4 - 5cm wide is placed over the eyes, the natural openings
(lenticels) in the bark serving as apertures for the eyes.
A brown to red dye can be made from the inner bark.
A pioneer species, it rapidly invades deforested areas (such as after a forest fire or
logging) and creates suitable conditions for other woodland trees to follow. Because it cannot
grow or reproduce very successfully in the shade it is eventually out-competed by the other
woodland trees. The tree has an extensive root system and can be planted to control banks
from erosion.
The bark is good tinder.
An infusion of the leaves is used as a hair shampoo, it is effective against dandruff.
The thin outer bark can be used as a paper substitute. It is carefully peeled off the
tree and used as it is. A fibre is obtained from the inner bark and another from the heartwood;
these are used in making paper. The branches of the tree can be harvested in spring or
summer, the leaves and outer bark are removed, the branches are steamed and the fibres
stripped off.
Wood - strong, hard, light, very close grained, elastic, not durable. Used for turnery,
veneer, pulp, also as a fuel. It splits easily and gives off considerable heat even when green,
but tends to quickly coat chimneys with a layer of tar
Paper birch was often employed medicinally by many native North American Indian
tribes who used it especially to treat skin problems. It is little used in modern herbalism.
Inner bark - eaten raw or cooked, best in the spring. The inner bark can also be dried
and ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups or be added to flour and used in
making bread, biscuits etc. Inner bark is generally only seen as a famine food, used when other
forms of starch are not available or are in short supply.
Sap - eaten raw or cooked with a sweet flavour. Harvested in early spring, before the
leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk. The flow is best on warm sunny days following a hard frost.
The sap usually runs freely, but the sugar content is lower than in the sugar maples. A pleasant
sweet drink, it can also be concentrated into a syrup or sugar by boiling off much of the water.
The sap can also be fermented to make birch beer or vinegar.
Very young leaves, shoots and catkins can be eaten - raw or cooked.
A tea is made from the young leaves, and also from the root bark
Paper birch wood is used commercially for veneer, plywood, and pulpwood. It is easily
worked and takes finishes and stains readily. Furniture, cabinets, and numerous specialty items
are made from paper birch lumber. Tree chips are used for pulp and paper manufacture,
reconstituted uses, and fuel
Betula pendula
Silver Birch a native of Britain
. A superb tree for encouraging wildlife, it has 229 associated insect species
. A good plant to grow near the compost heap, aiding the fermentation process. It is also
a good companion plant, its root action working to improve the soil
The bark is used to make drinking vessels, canoe skins, roofing tiles etc. It is
waterproof, durable, tough and resinous. Only outer bark is removed, this does not kill the
tree. It is most easily removed in late spring to early summer. The inner bark can also be
separated into thin layers and used as a substitute for oiled paper
A pioneer species, it readily invades old fields, cleared or burnt-over land and creates
conditions suitable for other woodland trees to become established. Since it is relatively shortlived and intolerant of shade, it is eventually out-competed by these trees.
A tar-oil is obtained from the white bark in spring called 'Russian Leather' has been
used as a perfume. It has fungicidal properties and is also used as an insect repellent. It makes
a good shoe polish. Also used medicinally. A decoction of the inner bark is used to preserve
cordage, it contains up to 16% tannin.
A brown dye is obtained from the inner bark
Glue is made from the sap.
Cordage can be made from the fibres of the inner bark. This inner bark can also be
separated into thin layers and used as a substitute for oiled paper. The young branches are very
flexible and are used to make whisks, besoms etc. They are also used in thatching and to make
wattles. The leaves are a good addition to the compost heap, improving fermentation.
Wood - soft, light, durable. It is used for a wide range of purposes including furniture,
tool handles, toys and carving. The wood is also pulped and used for making paper
A high quality charcoal is obtained from the bark. It is used by artists, painters etc.
Inner bark - eaten cooked or dried and ground into a meal. It can be added as a
thickener to soups etc or can be mixed with flour for making bread, biscuits etc. Inner bark is
generally only seen as a famine food, used when other forms of starch are not available or are
in short supply.
Sap - eaten raw or cooked with a sweet flavour. It is harvested in early spring, before
the leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk. It makes a pleasant drink. It is often concentrated into
syrup by boiling off the water. Between 4 and 7 litres can be drawn off a mature tree in a day
and this will not kill the tree so long as the tap hole is filled up afterwards. However, prolonged
or heavy tapping will kill the tree. The flow is best on sunny days following a frost.
Young leaves - eaten raw or cooked.
A tea is made from the leaves and another tea is made from the essential oil in the inner
bark
Betula utilis
Indian Paper Birch The natural range: E. Asia - Himalayas to S.W. China.
Found in forests at the upper height limit of tree growth, rarely found below 3000 metres
A paper is made from the inner bark. The outer bark can be carefully peeled off the tree
(this does not harm the tree) and used as a paper. The outer bark can also be used as a
waterproofing and for roofing houses.
Wood - tough, even grained, moderately hard, elastic. Used for construction
Medicinal Uses: An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of hysteria
Blechnum filiforme
Panako or Thread Fern is a climbing fern has three different types of fronds - the
wispy fertile fronds, the small fronds with the roundish leaflets that grow on the ground, and
the much larger adult climbing fronds with long pointed leaflets.
Body and Soul
Sculpture by Mary-Louise Browne, erected on Norwood Path in 1996.
This black granite staircase is designed to follow the natural incline of the site and
provide a means for the viewer to climb to a grove of beautiful evergreens on the boundary of
the Botanic Garden and Salamanca Road.
The thirteen steps are engraved with a word sequence from BODY to SOUL.
“As the medieval alchemist strove to transmute base metals such as lead into
gold in the hope of making fortunes for themselves and their patrons, so does an artist.
Although no alchemist succeeded with precious metals, it is possible to transmute words
easily enough.
Although the staircase will be reminiscent of memorials, and there is an
obvious allusion to mortality and an afterlife, on this site it is positioned as an invitation
to climb and to read. Visitors who make the climb are prompted to think about the
balance of imbalance between psyche and nature. Without death there is no live.
Without shadow there is no sunlight. The intention is to create an atmosphere
intensified by the placement of text, to remind the viewer of the power of nature and the
transitory quality of life, that ‘all things must pass’”
See ‘sculpture’ for further information
Bolton St Memorial Park
Land was allocated for cemeteries in 1840. Church of England, Public (nonconformist) and Jewish here, Catholics in Mount Street.
First recorded burial 1841 for Church of England, 1849 for Public interments.
Total recorded burials 8,509 (Church of England 4,378, Public 4,087, and Jewish 44).
These cemeteries (including Mount St) closed in 1892, after Karori opened in August 1891,
except for burials in pre-purchased or existing family plots. In 1968 the cemetery was closed for
any further burials.
Anderson Park was part of cemetery reserve land. In October 1890 burials started
there, and continued until September 1891. A total of 55 burials were made there, and later
removed for the park development. They appear to have been re-interred behind Seddon about
1906, except for two that were transferred to Karori. No memorials have been found for any of
these burials.
Destruction of the cemetery in the 1960s for an urban motorway was resisted fiercely by
two action groups. The combined cemeteries had an area of 3.3 ha and Wellington's Urban
Motorway was to claim 1.5 ha of that. Although the groups failed to halt the motorway intrusion
(completed 1978) they succeeded in elevating the status of the cemetery to a significant
historic site and city reserve. Co-operation with adjacent landowners boosted the final area of
today's Memorial Park to 2.1 ha.
3693 were disinterred for the motorway in 1969-1971, including 1037 'unknown" burials.
Earlier there were threats of disinterments for the formation of Bowen St.. These did not occur
except for about 4, but slips after Bowen St was formed resulted in some 17 graves being
moved.
It was estimated construction would disturb 700 graves involving the remains of 2,000
people. But the area affected contained some of the earliest burials and many unmarked graves
were found as earthworks proceeded.
A large vault beneath Memorial Lawn contains most of the disinterred. Identifiable
burials are now respectfully recorded in the Chapel. Most headstones were returned to the
appropriate religious sectors of the cemetery. The vault containing the remains of 3,700 people
re-interred during motorway construction.
Nearby are several large oaks, thought to be the first trees planted in the cemetery,
given by Bishop Selwyn, New Zealand's first Anglican Bishop.
The Sexton’s Cottage was built for the Church of England cemetery in 1857 with
help from the 65th Regiment. The grave of one of the regiment's bandsmen lies nearby: John
Palmer was killed by a 15 ft. shark in 1852. The sexton's cottage was restored in 1978. It is not
open to the public.
The Anglican Mortuary Chapel is a replica of the original built in 1866, which was
removed during motorway construction. A chapel for Anglican burial services became necessary when the
nearby St. Paul's Church was closed and its successor was built some distance from the cemetery. The
Chapel contains displays and burial information.
A National heritage rose collection is in the cemetery, with peak flowering
November/December and contains some 250 different hybrids and 100 species
Boronia
The large family of plants which includes the genus Boronia (some 95 species) is
distributed over many parts of the world. Botanically the family is known as the Rutaceae and it
includes a number of commercially important plants such as the citrus group of fruit trees
(oranges, lemons, lime, etc) and popular ornamental plants such as Diosma that is native to
South Africa. Within Australia there are about 40 genera, many of which are cultivated. The
most widely cultivated of these are the genera in the "Boronia group".
Botanically the "Boronia group" is known as the Tribe Boronieae. Within this group is the
well known Boronia itself, and a number of less well known genera. There are 19 genera in the
and all but one of the species in this group are endemic to Australia; the odd one out is
Phebalium nudum, which occurs in New Zealand
Generally the Boronia group comprises plants of open forests and woodlands. They
only rarely are to be found in rainforests or in arid areas. Overall the group is distributed
throughout Australia but certain genera within the group may be restricted in their distribution
(eg Correa is not found in Western Australia). The Boronia group of plants are usually small to
medium sized shrubs; none would reach even small tree proportions.
A feature of most of the group is the presence of aromatic oils in the foliage and, in
some cases, the flowers. When crushed or brushed against, the foliage gives off quite a strong
aroma. In most cases this is an attractive feature but a few people find the very strong aroma
of some Zieria species (for example) to be unpleasant. A number of the boronias have a very
attractive perfume with the "Brown Boronia", B. megastigma, being the most famous. The
fragrance of other boronias such as B. serrulata ("Native Rose") and B. florabunda is subtler
and not universally detectable. Boronia belongs to the Rutaceae family, the same family as
Citrus. There are about 100 species in Australia, and four in New Caledonia. They are known for
their aromatic foliage and flowers. The genus is named in honour of an eighteenth century
Italian botanist, Francesco Borone. Many species of Boronia flower prolifically in the wild, but do
not adapt well to cultivation, and tend to be short-lived.
The Aboriginal people used infusions of Boronia to treat respiratory illnesses.
Birds
Magpies: Part of the Garden is called Magpie Lawn, after the birds that live in the
vicinity.
Magpies were introduced from Australia in 1864-67, to try to control pasture pests and
were protected until 1951. They eat grass grubs, weevils and porina caterpillars, but probably
do not keep these pests under control. They are fiercely territorial during the breeding season
and will attack people as well as other birds. They are now considered to be a pest and a danger
to native birds.
Song thrush: Introduced from Europe between 1862- 78 and now found throughout
New Zealand in gardens, orchards, parks, exotic plantations, scrub, hedgerows and
regenerating native forest.
The male song is a loud string of repeated clear-cut musical phrases, each separated by
a brief pause: ‘chitty-choo, chitty-choo, co-eee, co-eee….’ The alarm note is a rapidly repeated
‘chuk’ or ‘chip’ and the flight call is a thin high-pitched ‘seep’.
The Song Thrush feeds mostly on the ground, hopping and running then remaining
motionless. They eat invertebrates such a snails (hammered open on a regular ‘anvil’), insects,
worms, amphipods, millipedes and spiders and a variety of fruits from native and introduced
shrubs and weeds. They cause damage to commercial crops such as berryfruits, grapes,
pipfruit, stonefruit and tomatoes.
Breeding is from August to February and 2 – 3 broods a year are raised. A substantial
nest of twigs, grass, roots and moss, bound together with mud and smoothly lined with mud is
built by the female in the fork of a shrub or hedge The clutch of 2 – 6 clear greenish blue eggs
with small black spots is incubated by the female for 12 – 13 days. Both parents feed the chicks
that fledge at 13 – 15 days old. The young remain with their parents and are occasionally fed
for several more weeks.
House sparrow: This gregarious, garrulous and quarrelsome bird introduced between
1866 – 71 and is common
House Sparrows feed in flocks, eating mainly cereal, grass and weed seeds, and
invertebrates, fruit and nectar. They cause serious damage to cereal crops.
Breeding is between September and February and 3 – 4 broods a year are raised. The
male builds a bulky, untidy domed nest with a side entrance composed of grasses and lined
with feathers in trees, buildings or cliffs. The clutch of 3 – 6 greyish white, brown spotted eggs
is incubated by both sexes for 10 – 15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge at
11 – 19 days.
Grey Warbler: These diminutive birds are often heard in the Garden but very rarely
seen. They have a very loud call and are quite common. They are one of the few native species
to have adapted to, or even benefited from, human modifications of the landscape. They are the
only host to the shining cuckoo, a native about the size of a sparrow, which does not say
“cuckoo” like the British species, but instead has a rather harsh call. Fortunately the grey
warbler nests earlier than the arrival of the cuckoo and so is able to raise one brood before the
next clutch of eggs are parasitised by the larger bird. Male grey warblers defend their territory
with loud and prolonged singing. They feed on insects and spiders taken from under leaf litter,
and also eat a few small fruits.
Silvereyes: These very common birds colonised New Zealand from Australia. They
were first recorded in 1832, but it was not until 1856 that they arrived in large numbers and
colonised permanently. The Maori name means stranger. Now, however they are among the
most abundant of New Zealand’s birds.
They feed mainly on invertebrates, fruit and nectar and can cause damage to
commercial fruit crops and grapes.
Blackbird:. A thousand birds were introduced in 1862-75 for sentimental reasons, and
they established quickly. Probably the most widespread species within New Zealand and
especially abundant in parks, suburban gardens, orchards and farmland. Their diet is a mixture
of invertebrates and fruits and they can cause considerable damage to commercial crops of
berry fruit, grapes etc.
Cocks seldom quarrel over hens; what they quarrel over is real estate and status. With
infinite detail and patience, he observed the pattern of bird competition which he published in a
booked called Territory in Bird Life. A superb naturalist, Eliot Howard studied species after
species, migratory birds and resident birds, land birds and sea birds and always there was the
same conclusion, that a cock who has acquired territory will have small problems in gaining or
holding a mate. The cock seizes a territory, defines his boundaries by the pugnacity of his
individual nature and warns off all others by his song. On this territory will he mate and breed
but the seizure and struggle take place before the coming of the hen and without consciousness
of sexual significance.
By marking out an area of land and defending it against cocks of its own species, a bird
can gain monopoly access to food, nesting material and nest sites. A system of territory holding
means that birds are dispersed more widely in suitable habitats than if the population is
crowded in without restraint. It is within territory that social order is developed and defined. It
is a survival mechanism that has evolved to reduce competition for resources. As an
evolutionary strategy, a bird able to hold a territory is better able to pass on his genes.
Most territorial species have a definite code of conduct with the territory owner showing
aggression within its own defended territory and fleeing when it is discovered trespassing in
another bird's territory. Rival birds seldom resort to physical combat - the risk of real injury to
both is too great to make this a practical way of settling a dispute. Instead they have evolved
patterns of behaviour that achieve results without exposing them to danger. Their territorial
songs, like their elaborate threat displays, are battles of nerves, each bird working out the
tension built up by two conflicting impulses - the impulse to fight and the impulse to flight.
Fights are usually brief and bloodless. Among the exceptions are the spectacular battles
between two mute swan cobs. The birds fight breast to breast in the water, necks intertwined,
beating each other with their powerful wings. These battles may last until the both birds are
exhausted although their ultimate object is to push the rivals head under water to enforce
submission and retreat.
Most birds hold territory for the breeding season only but some birds such as well
established pairs of blackbirds may stay in their breeding territory over winter. There are the
odd species where the female chooses the territory and attracts a mate.
Fantail: These native birds have two colour forms – pied and black. In the South Island
the black phase makes up 12-25% of the population, but only .1% in the North Island – mainly
around Wellington and has been seen in the
Garden. Fantails are widespread and locally
abundant – one of the most common native
birds, which has benefited from the large-scale
clearance of forest and the creation of forest
edge and scrub habitats.
They remain in pairs all year, but high
mortality means that few pairs stay together in
successive seasons. Fantails mainly feed on
insects – moths, flies, wasps and beetles, taken
in mid-air. They are very manoeuvrable and can
use their fanned tail to stop mid-air and change
direction. Rarely feed on the ground. Endearingly
Mallards
tame, the fantail follows people, other birds or
animals through the bush to catch the insects they
disturb.
Mallards: These ubiquitous ducks were introduced from both the UK and USA.
Liberations continued up until 1960 when mallards had become the most numerous and
widespread waterfowl in New Zealand, and had driven the native grey duck into the rougher
backblocks. A very fast flier and a loud quacker, especially the hen. Mallards usually mate for
life, but drakes are not above raping their neighbours wives or solitary hens. Now partially
protected and legally harvested in the duck-shooting season.
In New Zealand they interbreed with Grey ducks (Anas superciliosa) and hybrids are
common.
Birds of British game-farm stock were first introduced to New Zealand from Australia in
1867. Acclimatisation Societies made much liberation up to about 1918 but were not
particularly successful until they were intensively bred from American stock and liberated in the
1930s and 1940s.
Mallards have now become the most numerous of all water birds and are widely
distributed from town ponds to outlying islands. The population has been as high as perhaps
5,000,00 but have declined in recent years due to farm runoff and avian botulism, something
that has put the New Zealand Fish and Game Council at loggerheads with farmers.
The birds are legally harvested in May during the duck shooting season, with the take
controlled by daily bag limits for licensed hunters.
The contrast between our native grey
Grey Duck
and the introduced mallard duck, Anas
platyrhychos, readily demonstrates how
different evolutionary histories influence the
fate of these birds, influences their survival.
There used to be literally millions of
grey duck, or Pacific duck, in New Zealand.
Even in 1970 there were 1.5 million but now
the numbers have shrunk to less than
500,000 nationwide. It is competition and
hybridisation with mallard that has led to
their decline.
The mallard come from an open
pothole grassland country created during the
retreat of the Northern Hemisphere ice
sheets. They need an open landscape
whereas the grey duck evolved in wetlands
where trees and bush cover dominated.
Mallard are pre-adapted to the ponds and
dams that came with the clearing of the bush and the creation of open farmland. However, he
says that if we had not introduced mallard here, the grey duck would have expanded their
range of habitats to exploit the pastoral ponds and wetlands as has happened in Tasmania and
many parts of southern Australia where Mallard were not introduced.
Mallard, he continues, have a number of other advantages. They are bigger than greys
and will physically oust them in a scrap. They also breed more profusely. In their natural range,
mallard had to contend with numerous predators, raccoons, foxes, polecats, crows, hawks and
ravens. They also had to handle a demanding annual migration, each leg of which would involve
a journey of several thousand kilometres. So they responded with a large clutch size and a
rapid re-nesting response. In New Zealand, there is no need for the mallard to migrate and
depredation from predators is minimal, resulting in a high survival rate.
In contrast the grey duck, evolving in the more our benign environment, has an average
clutch of just eight eggs, three less than the mallard average.
This might to enough to put the grey at a serious disadvantage but there is not only
ecological competition but sexual competition as well. Mallard are sexually more aggressive
than the greys. Mallard drakes pair only briefly. Once the female has laid her eggs and
commenced incubation, the male moves on to other females that are still laying and forcefully
mates with them. Up to one third of ducklings in any mallard brood are fathered
Tui
by males other than the primary mate. Grey females also become targets for
mallard attention with the inevitable hatching of grey/mallard
hybrids.
Murray Williams says that the consequence of this is that we
already have an extensive hybrid population and that the creation of
a uniquely New Zealand duck, the grallard, is well on the way.
International conservation agencies such as the IUCN, The
World Conservation Union, view interbreeding very seriously and
have already ranked the grey duck in New Zealand as an
endangered species. The Department of Conservation has not yet
indicated that it shares the IUCN concern.
Tui: These native birds are widespread. They are also
abundant in subfossil and midden deposits in both the North and the
South Island. Tuis are mainly found in forest and scrub, however
outside the breeding season they become partially nomadic and
travel to town and rural gardens in search of nectar or fruit. Tuis
have adapted well to human changes in New Zealand. Even though much prime lowland forest
has been cleared, the widespread planting of flowering plants (especially gums, kowhai, flax
and puriri) has provided them with a regular year-round food supply. They play an important
ecological role as pollinators of many native tree and are one of the main disperses of seeds of
plants with medium-sized fruits. They are almost never seen on the ground.
Tuis are usually solitary. They are aggressive and pugnacious and chase other tuis and
other birds from feeding sites with noisy whirring wings (they have a notch in the 8th primary
that makes a noise in flight). Their two voice boxes can produce a song consisting of rich
melodious notes intermixed with croaks, coughs, clicks, grunts, wheezes and chuckles. An
energetic high-pitched subsong is only partly audible close up.
Pigeons: Pigeons are seen occasionally in the Garden, but these are mainly city birds,
which reflect their original habitat that is cliffs and caves. They nest on ledges, both man-made
and natural.
Moreporks
Moreporks are also seen (heard) in
the Garden.
The morepork menu usually includes
moths and beetles caught on the wing as well
as small animals such as mice, baby rats,
lizards and birds usually no larger than
themselves.
This type of prey is commonly eaten
whole with indigestible bits like the bones and
feathers being regurgitated in a sausage
shaped pellet from the mouth.
All owls have been designed by nature
as superb hunting machines with the particular
intention of operating at night. The plumage of
an owl is exceptionally soft with softened
feather edges which enable the birds to fly
silently through the air so that they can
approach their prey without warning. Owls have excellent hearing with their disc-shaped faces
designed to direct the slightest sound to the large ear openings. In addition, owls have very
flexible necks which can rotate 270 degrees to look for prey from every possible angle and large
shining eyes designed for optimum binocular vision in low intensity light.
Talking of large shining eyes, Ruru is an important part of Maori mythology and
tradition. For example, many of the carved figures seen on Maori meeting houses have had
their eyes modelled on Ruru and when performing the war dances of the haka and the pukana
the glaring looks from the Maori warriors are also imitating the fiery little owl.
It is hardly surprising that, in Maori mythology, Ruru that hunts by night on silent wings
and has a melancholy hooting call, is associated with the spirit world. In fact the special
ancestral spirit of a family group is thought to take the form of Ruru. Known as Hine-ruru, the
"owl woman", Maori traditionally believed that these owl guardians had the power to, protect,
warn and advise.
According to such beliefs, the presence of a morepork sitting in a conspicuous place
nearby, knocking on a window or even entering the house signifies a death the family while the
high piercing call of the morepork is thought to herald bad news and the ordinary call to indicate
good news on the way.
There is a lot of good news going on around New Zealand today, as Ruru is widespread.
The morepork call is said to be the most common native animal sound heard at night.
While archeological evidence suggests that the now common morepork was scarce
before the time of human occupation in Aotearoa, elsewhere in its natural distribution range it is
not faring so well.
A bird known as the boobook that lives in Australia was originally thought to be the same
species as the New Zealand morepork but recent research has suggests this species is actually
slightly larger than the New Zealand version.
The boobook on Norfolk Island that is also known as the morepork is one of three sub
species of the Australian bird. In 1987 the sub species was down to only one female but with
the help of two New Zealand morepork males the population is now well into the double figures.
Native pigeon or Kereru is a splendid bird and the aristocrat of the Columbidae family
which includes doves. With its head, throat and upper breast and back a metallic green flecked
with gold and with a purple sheen, its belly white and its eye, beak and feet crimson, it is truly a
gorgeous bird.
Kereru is a forest bird, favouring lowland forest dominated by podocarps, tawa, taraire
and puriri, but it can now be found in bush patches on farmland, in gardens and in parks in
cities. Their breeding and wintering distributions are similar but birds will move long distances
to good sources of fruit or foliage outside the breeding season.
Berries are the Kereru's favourite food all the year round - Puriri in the summer and
autumn, Miro in the autumn and winter and Taraire in the winter and spring. Karaka, Nikau and
Kahikatea and other berries also supplement their diet where available. During the late winter
when there are few or no berries, leaves and shoots provide sustenance.
Nesting usually occurs in spring or early summer and their mating is characterised by
spectacular aerial displays, by both sexes but particularly males, close to the time of egg laying.
I have often watched them flap upwards from a perch, stall and dive, doing the "loop de loop".
By way of explanation for this remarkable behaviour, the
locals say they get drunk on Puriri berries.
They lay one egg that is peculiarly long, narrow and
white. Both adults brood the egg during the 28 day
incubation period. The hen sits through the night and
morning with the cock taking over from midday until the
evening.
Apart from Emperor penguins and flamingos,
pigeons and doves are the only birds to produce food for
their chicks. They feed their chicks, called squabs, cropmilk, a protein rich, cottage cheese like secretion from the
crop wall. At first crop milk is the only food but, as chicks
grow, regurgitated foods form an increasingly large share of
the diet.
Like many long lived birds, Kereru breed very
slowly. Studies in Northland, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough
have found that fewer than 15 per cent of chicks survive
long enough to become independent. If this decline
continues the species will not be able to sustain itself.
Native Wood Pigeon
Although habitat loss is a major concern, the most serious
threat comes from predators, especially Homo sapiens.
Their conservation is important because they play a key ecological role in the
regeneration of native forest by dispersing seeds of trees and shrubs such as Miro, Tawa,
Karaka, Puriri and Taraire, too large to be dispersed by other birds. A couple of years ago, the
Waikato and Bay of Plenty Conservation Boards initiated a Kereru counting project aimed at
farmers with remnants of bush on their land. The project was also aimed at encouraging
landowners to fence off bush, to trap and poison predators and plant tree lucerne in the short
term while native trees recovered or became established. It is good to see that many
landowners have picked up the challenge and adopted these birds as their own.
Kereru is usually a silent bird, something which can be unnerving when one finds them
sitting on a branch, usually in the deep shade of a tree quietly observing one. A soft "ku" is
sometimes heard along with the growl of the hen bird and the slightly sibilant whistle of
welcome to their own. The various Maori names, kuku, kereru, kukupa, tend to be
onomatopoeic. They also reputed to sometimes shower in light rain, turning over with feet
firmly gripping a branch to allow the rain to fall on their bellies.
Unlike most birds, pigeons can drink without raising their heads to swallow. They
become especially thirsty while eating berries, something Maori used to their advantage in
hunting them. They would place drinking troughs with nooses beneath berry bearing trees. I am
told that these troughs were still in use not too many years ago in the upper reaches of this
Valley.
They seem totally unafraid of man that is much to their detriment. They are entirely
vegetarian not even feeding insects to their young, as do the honeyeaters. Harmless as a dove
is an old adage, and like the dove the symbol of purity and peace, they are faithful to their
mates, defenceless, gentle
Bolton Street Memorial Park
The name Bolton Street Memorial Park was adopted in 1978 in recognition of the area's
heritage and landscape qualities. It is the modern name for the site of Wellington 's earliest
cemetery that dates from the founding of the city in 1840 and was closed fifty years later.
A single Town Cemetery
The selection of public land for a ‘town cemetery' for all people regardless of religious
affiliation mirrored the new society the Wakefield Company sought to create in the colony. This
contrasted with the traditional overcrowded churchyard cemeteries of England.
Burials began formally after Governor Hobson's approval of the area as a non-sectarian
burial reserve in August 1841. Deaths recorded in those early days of Wellington were often a
reflection of the difficulties of life in the new settlement. Drowning, consumption and childbirth
were commonly given as causes of death. Soldiers, large settler families, sailors, and especially
children predominated, to be joined later by politicians and Maori and Pakeha community
leaders.
At first the struggling citizens of Wellington could only afford wooden headboards and
picket fences for protection from cows grazing on land overgrown with weeds. Whereas deaths
were recorded, the locations of individual grave plots were not listed until the 1850s. These
wooden headboards have long since decayed so that many plots cannot now be located.
Three cemeteries
In 1851 following some controversy, the ‘town cemetery' was split into three sectarian
areas known as Bolton Street Cemetery (for Church of England burials), Sydney Street
Cemetery (the public one for “non-conformists”) and the Jewish Cemetery. Roman Catholic
burials took place in the Mount Street Cemetery located adjacent to the University.
As the town grew and its leading citizens began to be buried, the headstones became
more elaborate and permanent. The popular 19th Century plant, the rose, began to be planted
amongst the graves. Exotic trees were also planted, both conifers from California and deciduous
trees such as oaks and elms from Europe . Holly and yew were among other trees planted
because they were felt to be appropriate for graveyards.
Overtaken by town development
Growth of the town during the 1880s resulted in the three town cemeteries being
surrounded by development to the concern of its citizens:
“It is not a pleasant thing to witness funerals from your window day by day, much less to
hear when at meals, ‘I am the resurrection, etc.' ”, noted a letter to the editor of the New
Zealand Times (20 June 1881).
With imminent overcrowding and concerns about health risks, the distant Karori
Cemetery was established and the three town cemeteries closed in 1892, except for close kin
within existing family plots.
Buildings
Of the three buildings once in the cemetery area, only one remains. The Church of
England Sexton 's Cottage located in lower Bolton Street was built of timber in 1857 and
extended in 1885. A recent conservation plan has guided its restoration and maintenance. It is
one of the two oldest houses still extant in Wellington and
has historic status protection. It is currently not open to the
public.
The Mortuary Chapel within the Church of England
Cemetery was built of timber in 1866. After closure of the
town cemeteries it was little used and fell into cycles of
disrepair and restoration. Prior to its demolition in 1969,
‘measured drawings' were taken for its planned restoration
but finally a replica was built because of the poor condition of
stored remnants from the original building. It is now a visitor
centre, open daily, and contains displays, a memorial plaque
and a full burial list with plot locations.
The Public Cemetery Sexton's Cottage was built of
timber in 1857 and demolished in 1908. It was occupied by
Sexton, David Robertson, and his family for 30 years of his
life, and then remained the home for his widow for the
following twenty years of her life. Its brick outline can be
seen on the upper lawn.
Disinterments
Several numbered ‘reserve areas' in the vicinity of current day Anderson Park had been
set aside for expansion of the town cemeteries if needed. A small number of burials were
located there in the late 1880s before the overall closure in 1892. In 1906 prior to the formation
of Anderson Park , the remains of 56 burials were disinterred from the so-called ‘Reserve V'
area (near Tinakori Rd ) to unmarked plots adjacent to Kinross Street . A plaque unveiled in
2001 now commemorates those reinterred after research of their records and current location
by the Friends of BSMP.
The steep Glenbervie Road boundary was the source of occasional slips, further
exacerbated by its widening to form Bowen Street in the late 1930s. A large slip in 1945 and
further slips between 1953 and 1957 necessitated the reinterment of the remains from
seventeen affected graves to the Memorial Lawn area.
Huge controversy prevailed in the 1960s over the proposed selection of the cemeteries
area for the route of Wellington 's motorway. The cemetery was temporarily closed to all public
access from 1968 until 1971 while about 3,700 burials, many newly discovered, were exhumed.
Most of these remains now lie in a large vault beneath the Early Settlers Memorial Lawn
situated behind the replica Chapel, while a small number were reinterred at Karori or Makara
Cemeteries at the request of relatives. All recovered grave stones and monuments were
relocated throughout other parts of the Cemetery, except for a few claimed by relatives. This
section of the motorway was opened on 21 May 1978. A promise to build a linking piazza never
eventuated and a more modest footbridge over the motorway was constructed instead. The
overall damage to the cemetery was considerable and marked a turning point on Wellington 's
attitude to conservation questions.
Unquiet Earth
The figures for the land area summarise the history of the Park. The original designation
in 1841 comprised 18 acres, subdivided during 1850s into just over 7 acres for the Church of
England and 2 roods, 37 perches for the small Jewish section, leaving just over 8 acres for the
public cemetery. After land losses to the Bowen St cutting and Anderson Park , a total of only
8.2 acres (3.3ha) was still designated cemetery land. The Motorway took another 3.7 acres
(1.5ha) leaving finally, after further small additions including a recent gift of land from Morva
Williams, about 1.85 ha for the present park.
A detailed and authoritative history of the Park has been written by Margaret H.
Alington. This is “Unquiet Earth” published in 1978. She is also the author of several articles
about the Park and the Friends. The Turnbull Library holds useful material including these
articles, the Friends' newsletters, photographs and gravestone transcripts.
Buxus microphylla
Common Names: littleleaf boxwood, small-leaved boxwood, boxwood
The boxwoods are profusely branched evergreen shrubs widely used in landscaping, especially for hedges and
foundation plantings. There are some 70 species of boxwoods, but only two are commonly found in cultivation: this one
and common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens). But those two species have given us hundreds of botanical varieties,
horticultural cultivars and hybrids of garden origin to choose from
Littleleaf boxwood has not been found in the wild. It has been in cultivation in Japan since at least the 1400's,
but no one knows where it originally came from - China, Korea, Japan? Perhaps it was created by gardeners by
hybridizing and/or selecting other species, or perhaps it has simply gone extinct in the wild
Bramley; William
William Bramley (1819 – 1908) was born in Loughborough in Nottinghamshire. A
trained professional gardener on the estate of Lord Fitzmaurice in Yorkshire, he married in 1863
and emigrated to NZ. For several years he farmed unsuccessfully in Dunedin.
In September 1870 the Board authorised the Secretary to engage a gardener at £80 per
annum. He could reside in the cottage and had a right to cut grass for one cow that was not be
go at large (a right that still exists). Eight days later Bramley was appointed Gardener/Keeper,
a position held until 5 August 1889 when he retired for old age. When he arrived he
immediately set about clearing the land, fencing, establishing tracks, and planting.
During his appointment, his wife used to visit him bringing him his lunch, and occupied
‘Annies Seat’ close to the nursery, the seat still being recognised by that name.
On his retirement the Garden Annual Report noted “that through the untiring and faithful
services and economical management of Bramley that the Board has been able to effect such
extensive improvements of a public property with the very limited means at is disposal.”
Bromeliads
See also Tillandsia usneoides.
Bromeliads are members of a plant family known as Bromeliaceae (bro-meh-lee-AH-sayeye). The family contains over 2700 described species in approximately 56 genera. The best
known is the pineapple. The family contains a wide range of plants including some very unpineapple like members such as Spanish Moss (which is neither Spanish nor a moss). Other
members resemble aloes or yuccas while still others look like green, leafy grasses.
In general they are inexpensive, easy to grow, require very little care, and reward the
grower with brilliant, long lasting blooms and ornamental foliage. They come in a wide range of
sizes from tiny miniatures to giants. They can be grown indoor in cooler climates and can also
be used outdoors where temperatures stay above freezing.
All are natives of tropical America, the majority being epiphytes. These rosette-forming
plants differ from most other non-aquatic flowering plants by absorbing most of their food and
water through their leaves, rather than their roots. Within this collection can be seen examples
of water storage in the cup-like leaf arrangement - a feature essential to the well being of many
bromeliads, but likely to be lethal to most other non-aquatic plants. Portions of the leaves at the
centre of the rosette often become highly coloured before and during flowering. Seemingly this
is natures way of attracting pollinating insects and birds. The majority of bromeliads grown as
house plants are epiphytes. Members of this group can be grown outside on trees/rocks, or
terrestrially in a well-drained and open rooting medium. For culture outside, the winter
temperature should not fall below 13 C (55 F) for prolonged periods. The best known terrestrial
bromeliad is the edible pineapple (Ananas comosus).
Bromeliad History Bromeliads entered recorded history some 500 years ago when
Columbus introduced the pineapple (Ananas comosus) to Spain upon return from his second
voyage to the New World in 1493. On that voyage he found it being cultivated by the Carib
Indians in the West Indies. Within 50 years this tropical fruit was being cultivated in India and
other Old World countries.
It took some time for additional bromeliads to enter cultivation. It wasn't until 1776 that
another bromeliad (Guzmania lingulata) was brought to Europe. Aechmea fasciata followed in
1828 and Vriesea splendens in 1840.
Within the last hundred years, bromeliads have become more widely used as ornamental
plants. Originally only found in royal botanical gardens or the private greenhouses of wealthy
Europeans, their popularity has spread to the masses. Today bromeliads are more available to
the enthusiast than ever before. New species are still being discovered and plant breeders are
developing ever more stunning hybrids to choose from.
Uses for Bromeliads Although the pineapple is the only member of the family
cultivated for food, several species including Caroa (Neoglaziovia variegata) are cultivated as a
source of fibre. Pineapple stems are a source of the protein-digesting enzyme bromelain used
as a meat tenderiser. Because fresh pineapple also contains bromelain, it cannot be used in
gelatine moulds since the enzyme breaks down the congealing proteins. Spanish Moss
(Tillandsia usneoides) contains a tough, wiry core that was once used as a material for stuffing
upholstery.
Where they Grow Bromeliads grow virtually exclusively in the New World tropics (and
subtropics). Most come from South America with the greatest number of species found in Brazil.
They range from Chile and Argentina in South America through Cental America and the
Caribbean reaching their northern limit around Virginia in the southeastern United States. A
single species (Pitcairnia feliciana) is found in western Africa. Bromeliads altitude range is from
sea level to over 14,000 feet. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats from hot, dry
deserts to moist rainforests to cool mountainous regions.
They are found in a variety of growing situations: Terrestrial species are found growing
in the ground (the way we expect most plants to grow). They may be found growing in bright
sun along sandy beaches to the shady understorey of a forest among the leaf litter and debris.
Saxicolous species are found growing on rocks. They may grow on hard rocky outcrops where
their roots may penetrate cracks and fissures to locate moisture or organic nutrients or
sometimes they are found growing tenuously on sheer cliff faces. Epiphytic species are found
growing on other plants, usually trees, shrubs or cactus but sometimes they can be found on
telephone poles or even on the telephone lines themselves. This capability to take their nutrition
and moisture from the atmosphere has earned these bromeliads the name "Air Plants".
How They Grow All bromeliads are composed of a spiral arrangement of leaves
sometimes called a "rosette". The number of degrees between successive leaves varies from
species to species with a few having a 180 degree separation between leaves. This causes the
plant to grow in a flattened configuration with its leaves lined up in a single plane. The bases of
the leaves in the rosette may overlap tightly to form a water reservoir. This central cup also
collects whatever leaf litter and insects happen to land in it. The more ancestral terrestrial
bromeliads do not have this water storage capability and rely primarily on their roots for water
and nutrient absorption. Tank bromeliads (as the water storing species are often called) rely
less heavily on their roots for nourishment and are more often found as epiphytes. The roots of
epiphytic species harden off after growing to form holdfasts as strong as wire that help attach
the plant to its host. Even though bromeliads are commonly called parasites in Spanishspeaking countries, these epiphytes do not take sustenance from their host but merely use it for
support. In some species, the bases of the leaves form small chambers as they overlap and
these protected spaces are often home to ants. In exchange for shelter, the ants' waste may
provide the bromeliad with extra fertiliser.
All bromeliads share a common characteristic: tiny scales on their leaves called
trichomes. These scales serve as a very efficient absorption system. In species found in desert
regions where the air is hot and dry and the sun beats down relentlessly, these scales also help
the plant to reduce water loss and shield the plants from the solar radiation. These plants are so
covered with scales that they appear silvery-white and feel fuzzy. On many species (especially
in more humid areas), the scales are smaller and less noticeable. Sometimes the scales can
form patterns and banding on the leaves that add to the plant's beauty.
With few exceptions, the flower stalk is produced from the centre of the rosette. The
stalk (or scape as it is called), may be long with the flowers held far away from the plant (either
erect or hanging pendently) or the scape may be short with the flowers nestled in the rosette.
The scape may produce a single flower or many individual flowers and may have colourful leaflike appendages called scape bracts that serve to attract pollinators and delight bromeliad
enthusiasts. With rare exceptions, bromeliads only flower a singe time - once the plant stops
producing leaves and produces its flower, it will not start making leaves again. It will, however,
vegetatively produce new plantlets called "offsets" or "pups". These plants will feed of the
"mother" plant until they are large enough to set roots of their own and survive as a separate
plant. The mother may sometimes survive a generation or two before finally dying off. Pups are
usually produced near the base of the plant - inside the sheath of a leaf. Sometimes, however,
pups may be produced on long stolons or atop the inflorescence (flower spike) of the mother
plant. The green, leafy top of a pineapple is in fact a pup that may be removed and planted to
start a new plant.
Bronze Form
This sculpture by Henry Moore is on the Salamanca Lawn. Presented by Fletcher
Challenge in 1988, and moved from Midland Park to its present site in 1995. There were six
cast and the one in Wellington is No. 4”
“In the early 1980’s Moore developed an opened out three part sculpture, where an
internal ‘profile form’ became the central figure in Figure in a Shelter. He later decided that the
Bronze Form of Figure in a Shelter was a piece that could be totally independent and could
stand in its own right.
Buchanan; John
He was born in Dumbarton, in Scotland, and was a textile designer in the calico printing
trade. He also had a keen interest in botany. He emigrated to Otago in 1852, where Joseph
Hooker at Kew, recommended him to James Hector, who was engaged in the geological survey
of Otago. Thus began a working relationship that lasted for more than 30 years.
Buchanan's contribution to the botany of Otago is acknowledged by the species name
buchananii in the genera Hebe, Ranunculus, Poa, Colobanthus, Chenopodium, Atriplex, Acaena,
and Raoulia.
Buchanan moved to Wellington with Hector when Hector became the Director of the
Colonial Geological Survey, the NZ Institute, and the Colonial Museum. Buchanan became the
draughtsman and botanist to these organisations, and later to the Botanic Garden as well.
The upper (eastern) main path from the Founders Gate was called Dray Road. This was
the route taken by the horses at the end of their day's work on their way back to their stables,
which are located below the Treehouse, in the days when horses were used instead of the
motorised vehicles used today. It was one of the first access ways constructed in the Garden.
The path was renamed Buchanan Way to honour the Botanic Garden's first botanist and
draughtsman.
Callistemon
Commonly known as the ‘Bottlebrush’ this is a genus of around 30 species in the
Myrtle family (Myrtaceae). All except four species are endemic to Australia, the others occurring
in New Caledonia.
Callistemons are commonly known as "bottlebrushes" because of the cylindrical, brushlike shape of the flower spike. They are very popular for gardens and landscaping both in
Australia and overseas and numerous cultivars have been brought into cultivation.
In nature, they are often found along watercourses or along the edges of
swamps. They are generally plants of open forest or woodland in relatively high rainfall
areas. They are closely related to Melaleuca ("paperbarks" and "honey myrtles") and differ
from that genus in the way that the stamens are connected to the floral tube.
The showy parts of the flowers of Callistemon are the stamens, the petals being small
and inconspicuous. The stamens are often brightly coloured with red being the most common,
but a whole range of colours...white, green, yellow, pink, salmon, mauve and purple...occur on
various species and cultivars. The Callistemon "flower" is really an inflorescence formed by a
cluster of small flowers arranged linearly along and around the branches. Because of this
arrangement, the familiar "bottlebrush shape" is formed by the colourful masses of stamens.
Peak flowering for most species and cultivars is late spring to early summer (October to
early December in Australia), however, a second flowering in autumn is not unusual. The flower
spikes occur terminally at the ends of branches with the foliage continuing to grow beyond the
ends of the spikes.
Following flowering, three-celled woody seed capsules develop with each capsule
containing many small seeds. The seedpods usually remain tightly closed unless stimulated to
open by the death of the plant. In a few cases, however, the seed is released from the capsules
when ripe (eg. C.viminalis).
Most are small to medium shrubs but some are prostrate and a few can become small to
medium sized trees.
Melaleuca and Callistemon are two of the best known Australian members of the Myrtle
family. All of the Callistemons and many of the Melaleucas have flowers arranged in
"Bottlebrush" fashion clustered together in cylindrically shaped spikes. But only Callistemons are
commonly called "Bottlebrushes”; Melaleucas are usually called "Paperbarks" or "Honey Myrtles"
or sometimes "Tea Trees" although that name is more appropriate to another related genus,
Leptospermum.
Callitris rhomboidea
Port Jackson Pine or Oyster Bay Pine, sometimes called the Dune
Cypress Pine, is native of Australia. The name Callitris comes from two Greek words,
The
“kalli”, meaning “beautiful”, and “treis”, meaning “three”, referring to the arrangement of the
leaves in threes. The name “rhomboidea” refers to shape of the cone scales.
Callitris belongs to the Cypress family, the Cupressaceae. It is widespread but not
common. It is a small tree growing tree 9-15 metres tall.
Its timber is used locally for building and poles, but is not plentiful enough to be of
economic importance, and is sometimes used as a hedge plant in coastal or light soils. The
timber of Callitris is resistant to termite attack, and is used for buildings and poles.
This is the most decorative of the native Australian cypresses.
Aboriginal people on the Murray River used the resin from Callitris species as an
adhesive for fastening barbs to reed spears and axe-heads to handles. They made canoe poles
from the long branches, which also doubled as fish spears.
Calocedrus
Named from Greek: callos, beautiful, and kedros, cedar
Calocedrus decurrens
The Incense Cedar is found on the western ranges of California from Oregon to Baja
California, occurring individually or in small groups. Called Incense Cedar; White, Bastard,
or California Post, Cedro incienso [Spanish]
Resinous, aromatic tree that occurs in mixed conifer forests or (seldom) pure
stands
Incense Cedar wood is resistant to decay, making it very desirable for exterior use.
Used as mud sills, window sashes, sheathing under stucco or brick veneer construction,
greenhouse benches, fencing, poles, and trellises. It is also widely used for exterior and interior
siding. Much of the top quality wood is used in the manufacture of pencils. Incense Cedar is
widely planted in the mountains for erosion control.
It is a good competitor on hot, dry sites and is commonly found on sun facing slopes.
Incense Cedar grows between 500-2,010 m at its northern distribution, and between
910-2,960 m in its southern limits. Incense Cedar is highly susceptible to fire. Seedlings have
very flammable bark and foliage, and are usually totally consumed by fire. More mature trees
have a thicker basal bark 15 cm) that adequately protects them from ground fires. . It sheds
its needles in late summer and produces 2,000 pounds of litter per acre (4,940/ha) per year.
This deep litter layer provides sufficient fuel for moderate- to high-severity fires
As with the other native false-cedars of the west coast, all parts of Calocedrus decurrens
were used for some purpose by indigenous peoples. The Cahuilla of southern California
used the bark to make temporary shelters, and the wood to construct permanent dwellings.
Boughs were often used as brooms, lending an aromatic bonus when sweeping. Many tribes
used various parts of the tree, roots and bark for example, in basketry and other weaving. The
Washo people from near Lake Tahoe used small limbs of the Incense Cedar for bows. In more
modern times, when the supply of eastern red cedar ran short, incense cedar made up
almost the entire supply of pencil wood in the United States.
The Klamath Native Americans of southern Oregon used branches and twigs in an herbal
steam for sweat baths. Some tribes took a decoction of Incense Cedar leaves for stomach
illness, and an infusion of leaves steam was inhaled for cold remedy by the Paiute. Dense
leaflets were also used by some tribes in California to spice or flavour acorn meal.
Widely used in parks and landscaping, the Incense Cedar is probably the most well
known of the Pacific Northwest native false cedars. Growing in a pyramidal to narrowly conical
form, it is very popular in formal plantings and often seen lining roads or walkways. Unlike the
other native false cedars, the Incense Cedar prefers drier, even drought prone areas. In drier
areas, the thick green foliage creates a lush backdrop that may be harder to achieve with other
trees.
Similar in stature to the Western Red Cedar and Port Orford Cedar, the Incense Cedar
grows to 100’-150’, and 500 years old. The trunk creates the familiar wide base of weathered
grey bark, tapering up to a narrowly conical crown. The reddish bark (that weathers grey)
grows thick and fibrous, and may be irregularly furrowed up to four inches deep. The lower
limbs drape gracefully towards the ground, clothed in thick green foliage. The scale-like leaves
are a dark blue-green with no white markings underneath, and are easy to differentiate from
other false cedars by the longer scales that resemble the shape of a long-stemmed wine glass.
The lush foliage has a pungent, spicy door when crushed. Male flowers are small and goldenyellow in colour, while the cones resemble one-inch long green urns that open into a brown
“open duck’s bill.”
Camellia
Camellias have been cultivated in China for over 4000 years, being a favourite
flower of many Chinese emperors. There are some
260 species natives from subtropical regions in China,
Japan and neighbouring countries. Widely hybridised
there are some 25,000 man made hybrids which have
been extensively planted in gardens throughout the
world. They originate.
The first recorded camellia propagation in
England was by Lord Petre at his Thorndon Hall
property in Essex, England. Descendants of Lord
Petre family settled in Wellington, hence the
name of the neighbouring suburb, Thorndon.
Illustration from Edwards: the "Chinese
Rose" in Lord Petre's Stove-House George
Edwards, 1694-1773, "Plate 67: The Peacock
Pheasant from China [1745]," from his A natural
history of birds : most of which have not been figured
or described, and others very little known from obscure
or too brief descriptions without figures, or from figures
very ill designed. London: Printed for the author, at the
College of Physicians in Warwick-Lane, 1743-1751.
This is the first coloured engraving of a camellia
published in the West, and the first drawn from a living
The Peacock Pheasant from China [1745]
specimen. Edwards's book depicted a series of birds in
appropriate settings. The branch on which Edwards has perched this bird is described by him as
a "Chinese rose," but is recognizably Camellia japonica. Edwards's accompanying text here
describes the Rose (which "I drew from Nature") and recounts that "this beautiful flowering
Tree" had been raised "by the late curious and noble Lord Petre, in his Stoves at Thorndon-Hall
in Essex." Harold Hume points out that the branch is "of considerable size," so that, if Edwards
were drawing "from life," Lord Petre's camellia must have been growing in England for some
years prior to publication of this plate in 1745.
1816 John Reeves introduced Wisteria sinensis to European gardening from nurseries in
Canton, China. The first two plants to be exported, each sent on-board a different
ship, arrived in the same month of May. One of the ship Captains was Richard
Rawes, famous for his involvement with introduction of the first camellias.
(Grimshaw, 1998)
1823
East India Company employees Charles Alexander and Robert Bruce discovered a
kind of tea previously unknown to Europeans (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)
growing in Assam, a province of northern India. The first shipments of Assam tea
arrived in England in 1838. Though attempts were made to cultivate China teas in
India, it became clear that the native Assam tea was the better crop for that region.
Today, Assam tea is grown in Africa as well as Papua New Guinea
1857
Prosper Alphonse Berckmans (of Arschot, Belgium) assumed management of
Fruitland Nursery in Augusta, Georgia. By 1861 the nursery offered more than 100 Camellia
cultivars. Berckmans’ original house and grounds are now part of the Augusta National Golf
Course. (L.P. Neely in Slosson, 1951)
The camellia arrived in Europe from the Orient during the 17th century, where it had
been grown for centuries. It reached its zenith in the western world during the 1800s, when the
entire continent fell in love with it. The plant with its lush blossoms and satiny deep green
leaves was celebrated in art and literature during Queen Victoria’s reign, and was grown in
quantities by the great nurseries of England, France, Belgium and Italy.
The camellia came to America early in the 1800s –probably as a mistaken substitute for
tea seed. Soon, the popular ornamental varieties of Europe were imported and spread rapidly
through the conservatories of the Northeast and the fabled Southern plantation gardens of
Charleston, Mobile, Savannah and New Orleans. The blossom’s magnificence spread like
wildfire, extending all the way to the West Coast before the Civil War.
The war and Reconstruction took their toll on many rare shrubs, and camellias fell from
favour (or possibly were just forgotten) until the turn of the twentieth century. We have placed
camellias from their American introduction until the beginning of World War I in the category we
call Antique. These plants can still be found in Southern plantations such as Middleton Gardens
in Charleston. In fact, you can grow an authentic living antique, as each camellia carries the
same DNA as the original plant!
Historical (World War I - 1949)
A new generation of plantsmen in the Southeast and on the West Coast imported
quantities of seed from Japan and bred exciting new varieties following World War I. These
varieties, along with the older Antiques, were planted widely throughout the Southeast and
California. Many of these plants survive today in abandoned nurseries and neglected public
gardens. In renovated older landscapes, they even thrive as trees. Camellias took their place as
garden essentials during this period.
Heirloom (1950 - 1959)
Camellias and camellia collecting vaulted in popularity during the 1950s. The American
Camellia Society, founded in 1945, still thrives today in its promotion of the genus. Local, state
and regional camellia organizations sprang up during the mid-1950s. The camellia industry
could barely keep up with the demand, and the camellia show was the rage of the winter
months. In fact, Bellingrath Gardens, once home to one of the finest collections in the world,
had to use traffic policemen to help control the masses of autos visiting the cold-weather
showcase.
New varieties in great number were produced during this period, but the burst of energy
had its downside – many good garden varieties were overlooked in favour of the “show flower
Modern (1960 -)
The modern camellias are often the result of careful breeding programs to achieve
fragrance, colour, cold hardiness or some other desirable characteristic. Many recent camellia
introductions are outstanding as garden plants and yet are rarely seen outside collectors’
greenhouses. Often they carry excellent pedigrees of antique and heirloom parentage. They
should not be confused with the difficult and demanding C. reticulata hybrids. While our focus is
on the old, we find it hard to turn a blind eye to the wonderful work of many hybridisers who
are still trying to create great shrubs with garden merit.
These gorgeous shrubs, which are clothed in lustrous, dark green foliage, are natives of
Japan and China. The genus was named for George Kamel, a Jesuit missionary who travelled in
Asia and studied the flora of the Philippines. Red camellias symbolize intrinsic worth and white
blossoms mean loveliness. Displayed at Korean weddings as far back as 1200 BC, camellias
represent longevity and faithfulness. Camellias produce large, elegant, rose-like blossoms that
range in colour from pale ivory to shell pink to glistening crimson. The flowers come in a variety
of shapes and sizes. The flowers are prized, but so are the glossy leaves that stay a deep, shiny
green all year. It is a slow grower, but eventually will reach up to 20' tall. There are thousands
of varieties available to the gardener, which have been derived mainly from four species: C.
japonica, C. sasanqua, C. reticulata, and C. saluenensis. Most common is Camellia japonica. All
varieties have flowers ranging from single to double and come in red, pink, white and rose.
Over 3,000 varieties, cultivars and hybrids of Camellia japonica are cultivated. Camellia
japonica grows to an average height of about 8’, with some spreading varieties topping off at 4
feet. If grown indoors as a container plant, it will flower in January and February. Outside they
generally bloom in March and April. This ancient oriental species forms a dense pyramid.
It is economically most important because of Camellia sinensis (Black and Green tea)
and horticulturally because of Camellia japonica, Camellia reticulata, Camellia sasanqua,
(evergreen ornamental shrubs and trees) and an increasing number of interspecies hybrids.
Camellias are easily cultivated in open ground or in pots
They love warm wet summers and moderately cold dry winters, but prosper also well in
a range of adverse climatic conditions, say dry summers and wet winters. Frost hardiness is
-5°C (25°F) in pots and about -15 to -20°C (0 to 5°F) in open ground
The Camellia Garden is being heavily renovated to combat Camellia Blight. The
programme of hatracking continues. Last seasons hatracked plants are now having their new
growth thinned. Time consuming work but this should eventually make for a display that can be
viewed from the central footpath as well as allow for better sunlight penetration and air
circulation.
The Garden, with the assistance of scientists from Massey and Lincoln Universities, are
developing a biological control approach to the blight. Progress is promising but the trial results
aren't expected in the immediate future. Good things take time.
Camellia japonica
Habitat: Woods in hills and down to sea level near the coast in C. and S. Japan
A non-drying oil is obtained from the seed - used as a hair-dressing. The oil consists
mainly of olein. It is not subject to polymerise or oxidize, nor does it form solids at low
temperatures.
A green dye is obtained from the pink or red petals.
An edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is called 'tsubaki oil'.
Dried flowers - cooked. Used as a vegetable or mixed with gelatinous-rice to make a
Japanese food called 'mochi'. The leaves are a tea substitute
The flowers are classified as hermaphrodite.
Bees are responsible for pollinating this variety.
.
Camellia sinensis
Tea is a beverage made from the processed leaf of Camellia sinensis.
The tea plant should be called Thea sinensis even though it is a cultivated member of
the Camellia family. The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in London, determined over 225 years
ago that: "The effective publication of the generic name Thea L. dates from May, 1753,
whereas, Camellia L., was August, 1753. The tea plant should, therefor, be called Thea Sinensis
L. as this was the first name given to the species.
The tea plant is the only Camellia whose bud leaves produce the delicate flavour most
discerning tea drinkers are accustomed to experiencing. Because of this, and in the past, plant
taxonomists gave it a separate ranking, in the genus of Thea sinensis. The species name
sinensis is Latin for Chinese. Thus, its original name, Thea sinensis, is suggestive of the
interpretation of “tea of China,”
The genus Camellia, to which the tea plant Camellia sinensis belongs, includes some of
our most sought after ornamental plants. The leaves of the plant are important to the world’s
tea drinkers. These are called the flowery orange pekoe leaf (the bud leaf), the orange
pekoe leaf (the second leaf from the top) and the pekoe leaf (the third leaf from the top). In
combination, these three leaves are called the ‘flush’ or the “fine pluck.” From the fourth leaf
down, the pick or pluck is called the “course pluck.” Modern mechanical harvesting in many
cases has lessened this distinction.
The tea plant, which is a broad-leafed evergreen, grows best in areas where weather
patterns range from temperate to tropic locations.
The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend
in 2737 BC, the Shen Nong, an early emperor, was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron
of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled
as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and
the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the
court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid
was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank
some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created
In the fourth century AD, tea was already a popular drink in China. “Te” developed
through three main stages: boiled tea, mashed or beaten tea and infused tea
In 610 AD tea was first taken to Japan, where it assumed a major role in Buddhist
ritual. A returning Buddhist priest Saicho who had seen the value of tea in China in enhancing
religious mediation brought the first tea seeds to Japan. As a result, that priest is known as the
"Father of Tea" in Japan. Because of this early association, tea in Japan has always been
associated with Zen Buddhism. Tea received almost instant imperial sponsorship and spread
rapidly from the royal court and monasteries to the other sections of Japanese society.
Tea was elevated to an art form resulting in the creation of the Japanese Tea
Ceremony. The Tea Ceremony requires years of training and practice to graduate in the
art...yet the whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than the making and serving of
a cup of tea. The supremely important matter is that the act be performed in the most perfect,
most polite, most graceful, most charming manner possible". The tea ceremony, whose aim is
to help the spirit find peace, has effectively straddled centuries and borders.
In the eighth century, tea became a royal beverage in China, adopted by the nobility
as an elegant pastime. Poet Lu Yu, at the height of the Tang Dynasty, wrote the first book of
tea. The Indian History has a mention about how Marco Polo, the great traveller, carried tea
from China to the court of the famous Indian Emperor Harsha Vardhana.
While tea was at this high level of development in both Japan and China, information
concerning this then unknown beverage began to filter back to Europe. Via the caravan routes,
tea penetrated all Mongol lands, Muslim countries and Russia before reaching Europe. Since
Europe had long periods with no contact with the Orient, it therefore got to know about tea
relatively late when it was brought by an Arab trader named Suleiman.
Earlier caravan leaders had mentioned it, but were unclear as to its service format or
appearance. The first European to personally encounter tea was the Portuguese Jesuit
Father Jasper de Cruz in 1560. Portugal had been successful in gaining the first right of trade
with China. It was as a missionary on that first commercial mission that Father de Cruz tasted
tea.
The Portuguese developed a trade route by which they shipped their tea to Lisbon, and
then Dutch ships transported it to France, Holland, and the Baltic countries.
It was not until about 1610 that tea really started a large-scale expansion of
consumption in the Western World. The East India Company established relations with the Far
East, introducing tea into Holland first in 1610, then to France in 1636 and finally to England in
1652/4. (Later than coffee, which had been introduced into England in 1650)
Because of the success of the Dutch navy in the Pacific, tea became very
fashionable in the Dutch capital, The Hague. This was due in part to the high cost of the tea
(over $100 per pound) that immediately made it the domain of the wealthy. Slowly, as the
amount of tea imported increased, the price fell as the volume of sale expanded. Initially
available to the public in apothecaries along with such rare and new spices as ginger and sugar,
by 1675 it was available in common food shops throughout Holland. Throughout this period
France and Holland led Europe in the use of tea.
By 1650 the Dutch were actively involved in trade throughout the Western world. Peter
Stuyvesant brought the first tea to America to the colonists in the Dutch settlement of New
Amsterdam (later re-named New York by the English). Settlers here were confirmed tea
drinkers. And indeed, on acquiring the colony, the English found that the small settlement
consumed more tea at that time then all of England put together. Tea has been the cause of
more than one war, but the most important single war was probably the American War of
Independence. This was brought about by a single act, now called “The Boston Tea Party” and
occurring on the 16th of December 1773
As the craze for things oriental swept Europe, tea became part of the way of life. The
social critic Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Seven makes the first mention in 1680
of adding milk to tea.
During the same period, Dutch inns provided the first restaurant service of tea. Tavern
owners would furnish guests with a portable tea set complete with a heating unit. The
independent Dutchman would then prepare tea for himself and his friends outside in the
tavern's garden. Tea remained popular in France for only about fifty years, being replaced by a
stronger preference for wine, chocolate, and exotic coffees.
Great Britain was the last of the three great sea-faring nations to break into the
Chinese and East Indian trade routes. The first samples of tea reached England between 1652
and 1654. Tea quickly proved popular enough to replace ale as the national drink of England.
As in Holland, it was the nobility that provided the necessary stamp of approval and so
insured its acceptance. As early as 1600 Elizabeth I had founded the John Company for the
purpose of promoting Asian trade. The John Company was granted the unbelievably wide
monopoly of all trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of Cape Horn. It was the single
largest, most powerful monopoly to ever exist in the world. And its power was based on the
importation of tea.
At the same time, the newer East India Company floundered against such competition.
Appealing to Parliament for relief, the decision was made to merge the John Company and the
East India Company (1773). Their re-drafted charts gave the new East India Company a
complete and total trade monopoly on all commerce in China and India. As a result, the price of
tea was kept artificially high, leading to later global difficulties for the British crown. Opium was
traded for tea, the Chinese encouraged to take up this habit providing the medium for exchange
for the demand for tea from the western traders.
Afternoon Tea in England: Tea mania swept across England as it had earlier spread
throughout France and Holland. All levels of society drank tea.
Prior to the introduction of tea into Britain, the English had two main meals - breakfast
and dinner. Breakfast was ale, bread and beef. Dinner was a long, massive meal at the end of
the day. It was no wonder that Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861) experienced a
"sinking feeling" in the late afternoon. Adopting the European tea service format, she invited
friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o'clock in her rooms at Belvoir Castle.
The menu centred around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of
course, tea. This summer practice proved so popular, the Duchess continued it when she
returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking
the fields.
Other social hostesses quickly picked up the practice of inviting friends to come for tea in
the afternoon. A common pattern of service soon merged. The first pot of tea was made in the
kitchen and carried to the lady of the house who waited with her invited guests, surrounded by
fine porcelain from China. The hostess warmed the first pot from a second pot (usually silver)
that was kept heated over a small flame. Food and tea was then passed among the guests, the
main purpose of the visiting being conversation.
Tea Cuisine: Tea cuisine quickly expanded in range to quickly include wafer thin
crustless sandwiches, shrimp or fish pates, toasted breads with jams, and regional British
pastries such as scones (Scottish) and crumpets (English).
At this time two distinct forms of tea services evolved: "High" and "Low". "Low" Tea
(served in the low part of the afternoon) was served in aristocratic homes of the wealthy and
featured gourmet titbits rather than solid meals. The emphasis was on presentation and
conversation. "High" Tea or "Meat Tea" was the main or "High" meal of the day. It was the
major meal of the middle and lower classes and consisted of mostly full dinner items such as
roast beef, mashed potatoes, peas, and of course, tea.
Coffee Houses: Tea was the major beverage served in the coffee houses, but they
were so named because coffee arrived in England some years before tea. Exclusively for men,
they were called "Penny Universities" because for a penny any man could obtain a pot of tea,
a copy of the newspaper, and engage in conversation with the sharpest wits of the day. The
various houses specialised in selected areas of interest, some serving attorneys, and some
authors, others the military.
They were the forerunners of the English gentlemen's private club. One such beverage
house was owned by Edward Lloyd and was favoured by shipowners, merchants and marine
insurers. That simple shop was the origin of Lloyd's, the worldwide insurance firm.
Tea Gardens: Experiencing the Dutch "tavern garden teas", the English developed the
idea of Tea Gardens. Here ladies and gentlemen took their tea out of doors surrounded by
entertainment such as orchestras, hidden arbors, flowered walks, bowling greens, concerts,
gambling, or fireworks at night. Women were permitted to enter a mixed, public gathering for
the first time without social criticism. At the gardens were public, British society mixed here
freely for the first time, cutting across lines of class and birth.
Tipping as a response to proper service developed in the Tea Gardens of England. Small,
locked wooden boxes were placed on the tables throughout the Garden. Inscribed on each were
the letters "T.I.P.S." which stood for the sentence "To Insure Prompt Service". If a guest
wished the waiter to hurry (and so insure the tea arrived hot from the often distant kitchen) he
dropped a coin into the box on being seated "to insure prompt service". Hence, the custom of
tipping servers was created.
Early in the nineteenth century, China was virtually the sole supplier of tea in the
world.
1823 East India Company employees discovered a kind of tea previously unknown to
Europeans (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) growing in Assam, northern India. The first
shipments of Assam tea arrived in England in 1838. Though attempts were made to cultivate
China teas in India, it became clear that the native Assam tea was the better crop for that
region. Today, Assam tea is grown in Africa as well as Papua New Guinea.
In 1834, tea plantations of Camellia sinensis were introduced into India and a little
later, in 1857, in Ceylon and thereafter Asia, Africa and South America. As the cultivation of
tea spread, the competition between ship owners for the speediest transportation of tea led to
races along the Far East shipping lanes. This was the origin of the great “Tea Clipper” races. Tea
was now a worldwide beverage.
In Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka.) tea plantations did not emerge as a result of prior
planning. Ceylon was, in the middle of the last century, a major producer of coffee. And even
before that, a major producer of spices. They were infected by an infestation of insects. The
disaster finally led to the planting of tea bush seeds and seedlings, since tea bushes were
immune to the particular insect leaf infestation.
 Iced tea was invented at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 by an enterprising British
salesman who realised that fair goers were not attracted to hot tea in summer
weather.
 New York tea importer Thomas Sullivan introduced the tea bag in 1908 as a means
of marketing samples. By 1934, 8 million yards of gauze were used annually to be
sewn as tea bags
Carter Observatory
New Zealand's National Observatory owes its origins to a bequest left by
Charles Rooking Carter. The Observatory was opened in 1941 with its principal instrument a
historic 9 inch (23 cm) refracting telescope.
During the 1960s, funding by the late Ruth Crisp was used to build a new two-storey
library and office wing, and purchase a 41 cm Boiler and Chivens telescope. Known as the Ruth
Crisp 'Telescope' it was installed in the Observatory's second dome.
In 1992 a visitor centre was constructed. This included the Golden Bay Planetarium,
relocated from downtown Wellington.
The Observatory has four distinct functions:
1. Conducting astronomical research on variable stars, star clusters, galaxies,
astronomical optics and the history of astronomy.
2. Providing astronomical education for schools and teachers.
3. Providing a regional public astronomy service through seminars, displays,
public nights, publications and planetarium programs.
4. Assisting in the preservation of New Zealand's astronomical heritage by
acquiring astronomical instruments and archives.
Carpinus betulus
Hornbeam, found in woodlands and hedgerows. Native of Britain. The hornbeam has
28 species of associated insects
. Trees take 10 - 20 years from seed before they produce seed and about 100 years to
reach maturity. At one time this tree commonly pollarded or coppiced for its wood and for fuel.
Plants can be grown as a medium to tall hedge, they retain their dead leaves throughout the
winter if clipped at least once a year in late summer. They should not be clipped in spring since
they will bleed profusely.
A yellow dye is obtained from the bark.
Wood - heavy, close grained, hard, very tough, very durable, and not very durable
according to another report. Used for flooring, cogs, tools, piano mechanisms etc. A good fuel
Casuarina
The She-oak family (Casuarinacece) is a highly evolved and is closely related to
no other. They have achieved specialisation in isolated conditions such as exposed,
sandy coastal foreshores, riverbanks, dry grassy woodlands, desolate rocky sites or
swampy riparian flats. Casuarina trees are sometimes called ‘Australian pines’ on account of
their conifer-like appearance. There are six species widely distributed throughout Australia, and
another six in the islands to the north. They are very much part of the Australian landscape,
and are adaptable to dry conditions
Its generic name Casuarina or Allocasuarina ("Allo" meaning like the casuarina)
refers to the fine filamentous branches, which resemble the cassowary's quills. Early Australians
referred to casuarinas as Australian "Pines". The verticillata in Allocasuarina verticillata relates
to the whorled arrangement of the very reduced leaves around the stem, (as in bike spokes).
The word She-oak comes from the recognition by the early colonial craftsmen that an inferior
(in their opinion) oak grain could be achieved by cutting the she-oak logs on the quarter (a
specialised saw milling technique) and using the wood for crafting etc.
The long drooping branches consist of myriads of finer branchlets. The leaves are
reduced to ribs on the branchlet, which end in leaf teeth. These reduced leaves occur in whorls
located at the evenly spaced joints along the branchlets. These green branchlets perform the
same food-making role (photosynthesis) as the leaves, but save on water losses, by
reducing transpiration.
The trees are endowed with a tough corky, corrugated bark, ideal as a protective
shield from the abrasive, sand laden coastal winds.
The trees have two distinct forms, either male or female (dioecious). The male tree has
long reddish flowers at the ends of its branchlets, which pollinate the rusty red, globular flowers
on the female tree. The female's flowers are designed to hang well out to catch the wind born
pollen grains that wafts pass from the nearby male. The production of pollen can be so prolific
that they often produce a reddish carpet of pollen under the trees.
The fruit resembles brown cones with valves (look like little beaks) opening to produce
shiny black seeds.
The cones can be assisted to release the seed, by selecting ones that have closed valves,
and storing them in a paper bag for a few weeks, until the beaks open to release the seed.
Magical Connotations: The mysticism of She-oaks relates to the Tahitians, who
believed that they arose from the warriors who died in battle, killed by clubs or spears made
from its very hard wood. The warriors hair became the foliage and their blood oozed forth once
more as the red sap.
However, for the colonists, they saw the superstition and mythical nature of the tree in
its ability to support the parasitic mistletoe, since it commonly sprawls over and sometimes
smoothers this tree.
The Australian southern states mistletoe (Amyema sp.) has a remarkable ability to mimic
the host she-oak so much so that they are very hard to tell apart.
The authenticity of the suspect plant is given away by watching the mistletoe bird
feeding on its glutinous berries. The seed passes through the bird's unusual gizzard in 30
minutes and lodges on another She-oak branch. Its green shoot then suckers into the bark,
with the help of its enzymes, that breakdown the bark and wood.
A broad range of nectar feeding birds pollinates the mistletoes. These include
unlikely species such as the cuckoo-shrikes, ravens, cockatoos, shrike thrushes and even wood
swallows. They also provide nutritious fruits for the birds to feed on, which is a separate activity
to the dispersal role that the mistletoe bird performs.
As a landscape plant for the gardens or streetscapes, the public either like them or
loathe them. Their ability to flourish in dry coastal sites and attract native birds should
guarantee a strong following. Many like their wind breaking, screening and erosion control
abilities. They also possess an expansive, dense root system, which binds the sandy soils, whilst
restricting only but the toughest of plants from surviving, the dry, low light conditions under
their canopy.
The She-oak roots have developed a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhiza fungi. This
enables she-oaks to fix their own nitrogen and tap into the nutrient exchange system offered by
the dense mat of this fungal mycelium attached to their roots. Not only does this give the Sheoak its tolerances to tough conditions, but it also provides the ready-made food source for
bandicoots etc.
Their truffle fruiting bodies provide a nutritious treat, following their important
bioturbation process, used in their endeavours to uncover the buried truffles. The truffles pass
through the gut of the animal which pre treats the spores ready for germination once dispersed.
Their droppings with these spores are advantaged even more if they are placed on soil recently
sterilised following a local wildfire.
The She-oak is an excellent example of how an individual plant’s life history changes
depending on the fire regime applied. The response mostly relates to the intensity of the fire as
described below. For a low intensity fires or cool burns, the older trees are unaffected, whilst
the younger plants are killed. However, they will re-sprout from their bases. Cool burns do not
release the seed stored in the cones within the canopy.
For a moderate intensity fires, the younger plants are killed and they mostly do not resprout. The mature tree survives, but some of their canopy dies releasing a small amount of
seed from the cones.
For high intensity fire or very hot burns, all She-oaks are killed outright with their
survival relying on the release of the seed stored in the cones within its canopy (where it maybe
stored for up to 10 years).
She-oak trees, which are killed by hot fires, shed their seed. These will only stay viable
for less than 3 months in the soil. With suitable conditions, prolific germination occurs after a
hot fire on the sterile nutrient rich ash bed. (Provided that the harvester ants do not grab them
first).
Once successfully germinated, the dense mass of seedlings crowd out other native
plants, which may germinate. It needs to be remembered that, young She-oaks need to have at
least 5 to 7 years of growth before they start to produce seed bearing cones and at least 10
years before they have a reasonable number of cones in their canopy.
If no further hot fires occur the She-oak community dominates the area once again. If
two hot fires occur within 7 years then the She-oak woodland will be replaced by grassy
woodland.
Colonial Use: The craft wood potential of the hard, beautifully grained, reddish timber
was recognised by early settlers. Its attributes ensured an export market to the mother
country. Here it was treated as a prized wood, only to be used sparingly on highly prized
projects. Small artefacts such as document boxes or inlaid features in fine quality furniture were
crafted from this imported She-oak.
The strength of the wood proved useful to colonists for crafting axe handles and other
tool handles.
Today the wood has once again been recognised for its qualities to the point where a few
plantations of She-oaks have recently been planted. These plantations also benefit the apiary
industry as the flowers' pollen attracts honeybees, which produce a distinctive tasting honey.
She-oak was also noted for its firewood property of burning very hot, leaving a pure
white ash bed. This white ash proved ideal as a sheet whitener, prior to commercial whiteners.
This ash also comprised the major component in soap, forming the "Li" or alkali which, when
mixed with animal fat (Sheep or Roo origins) and scented with rose water, chemically combined
to form real true blue soap.
She-oak was popularly used for making spears. The inner bark and sapwood shavings
were soaked in water and the liquid gargled for toothaches.
Aboriginal tribes used the She-oak trunks for attracting grubs. The trunk was dumped
into creeks and rivers to attract grubs. These were harvested and eaten raw or cooked.
The young She-oak cones were chewed to promote salvia in dry mouths, as they
travelled long distances through the hot, dry landscape.
Exudates collected from the trunk were chewed or melted with warm water to form a
jelly prior to eating.
Casuarina cunninghamiana
River Oak, River She-oak is a fresh-water riverbank species, and is the largest of the
Casuarina species, growing to 20-30 m. It grows in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and
the New South Wales Coast. In spite of the male and female flowers being inconspicuous, and
the visible foliage consisting of branches and not leaves, they are graceful trees. Male and
female flowers occur on separate plants. They have nitrogen-fixing organisms in their roots and
there is some evidence that compounds released from the fallen branches inhibit other plant
growth. They grow by themselves in thickets. The wind whistles through them. Casuarina
species are found in all Australian states.
The hard wood of the Casuarina was much used to make boomerangs, shields, and
clubs. In South Australia, archaeologists found a boomerang 10,000 years old, made from
Casuarina wood. Young shoots were chewed to quench thirst, and young cones were also eaten.
Snakes and spiders do not go under Casuarina trees, so the Aboriginal people put their
children underneath them to play. Aboriginal children were also taught that if they were lost, to
find a Casuarina tree and sit under it until they were found. They were safe from snakes and
spiders, they could cover themselves with fallen branches, and they could reach up and pick the
Casuarina cones to eat. (If you break a stem you can see that they have little hairs.)
(Casuarinaceae)
Cedrus – the ‘true‘ cedars
A great number of Cupressaceae are also commonly referred to as cedars, therefore
these are often known as the ‘true cedars’. With 4 species they are natives of the
mountains of S and SE Mediterranean and the W Himalayas.
They are important timber trees, used in construction and in cabinetry.
They are widely planted as ornamentals in milder areas.
‘Cedros’ is the old Greek name for a resinous tree.
Cedrus atlantica
The Atlas Cedar reaches a height of 40 metres. It is native of Morocco and Algeria.
It is regarded as a fast growing tree, and is widely cultivated for ornamental purposes. This
species is cultivated for its timber in some parts of S. Europe
Its wood is fragrant, durable and used in building and furniture. It is prized for joinery
and veneer and is also used in construction. It is also used for making insect-repellent
articles for storing textiles
In Morocco the wood is steam distilled to obtain oil that has a long lasting balsamic
odour, used for scenting soaps and for fixing odours. In India it is used for rubbing on inflated
hides commonly used for crossing rivers, and as a remedy for ulcers and for mange in horses.
In Nepal extracted oil is used to relieve rheumatic pain.
An essential oil obtained from the distilled branches is a good antiseptic and fungicide.
An essential oil obtained from the distilled branches is used in perfumery, notably in jasminescented soaps. The essential oil also repels insects.
This species is more tolerant of atmospheric pollution than other members of the genus
Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca”, the Blue Atlas Cedar, is also planted in the garden.
Cedrus deodara
The Himalayan or Deodar Cedar reaches 50 m (250 feet) in the wild, but is now
almost extinct over much of its former range. It is native of India and Pakistan.
It is an important timber tree in India, and is widely planted as an ornamental in Europe
and the western USA. In India its bark has been used as a medicine for fevers, diarrhoea and
dysentery.
In the Himalayas this tree is considered sacred, and plays an important rose in religious
ceremonies. Thin slices of this wood are burned with butter and other plants after chanting the
‘mantras’ on the occasion of births, marriages deaths and other occasions. Its bright yellow
pollen grains are used for brightening metallic idols.
Cedrus libani
The Cedar of Lebanon is the national emblem of Lebanon, but only a few small
groves survive there today because grazing animals prevent their regeneration. Larger
populations survive in Turkey. Its natural range: N. Africa to W. Asia - Lebanon, Syria and
Turkey.
Cedar wood is light and soft and has a very pleasant aroma. It was greatly esteemed
in antiquity and it was transported from Lebanon to Egypt and Mesopotamia as far back as 3000
BC. Cedars provided the timber for temples, palaces, ships and royal coffins, because it is slow
to decay. So quickly were the trees cut down in Lebanon that by 330 BC, Alexander the Great
had to import the timber for his ships from Syria. It was widely used for shipbuilding. As
supplies ran out in one area the industry kept shifting around from North Africa around to
Greece and Italy. From there it shifted to Britain and Northern Europe. The use of steel came at
a time when the supply of Oaks started run out.
In 2750 BC a coffin from the Egyptian Saqqara Pyramid was made of six layers of
wood veneers, sandwiched and glued together like plywood. Cypress, juniper, and
Cedar of Lebanon were used.
In 1840 John Dresser (Stockbridge, Massachusetts) devised a hand powered veneer
lathe. Thin sheets of wood are used for creating finished surfaces as well as in the manufacture
of plywood, but they must be shaved or sawed from the original block. Dresser’s lathe pointed
the way to mechanisation of this process, leading to the commercial manufacture of plywood
Trees very long lived, to 300 years or more. Several named varieties are selected for
their ornamental value
An oil similar to turpentine is obtained from the wood.
An essential oil from the wood is used in perfumes.
Wood - moderately hard, durable. Used for construction. The wood is extremely durable
and retains its delightful fragrance for many years
Among the native tree species present in Lebanon, the most famous, most treasured
species both nationally and internationally is the Cedar of Lebanon, known scientifically as the
Cedrus libani. The Cedar of Lebanon is cited numerous times in religion and mythology. In
addition to its significant role in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Cedar of Lebanon is regarded as a
world tree in several mytholog ical passages. One deeply mythological passage sees the
imperial nation, the embodiment of history, under the figure of something like a world-tree
[Ezekiel 31.1-18]. The cutting of the cedar is seen as the destruction of world-empires - really,
as the end of history. Our understanding of ecology, the dependence of human history on
maintenance of the natural environment, simply makes this primitive insight explicit.
Medicinally, the Cedar of Lebanon also made its mark. The pitch of the cedar was utilized
for easing the pain of toothaches. The sawdust of the cedar puts snakes to flight, and thus
makes sleeping under the shade of a cedar a relatively safe siesta. Furthermore, based upon
historical analyses, it is believed that the cedar was used in the preservation of the corpses in
Egypt.
Naturally, both the religious and mythological recordings and the medicinal employment
reflect the importance of the Cedar of Lebanon historically, and have contributed to making the
cedar one of the most signifi cant tree species in world history. The Cedar of Lebanon aided
society not only culturally but was the basis of numerous economies for ancient civilizations.
The cedar had been used for the construction of temples, palaces, and boats. The export of
cedar wood to Egypt was an important factor in the growth of Phoenician prosperity and
provided capital to launch the more ambitious enterprises in international trading, navigation,
and arts and crafts. The Phoenicians and the Egyptians were not alone in utilizing the cedar.
The Assyrians, Nebuchdrezzar, the Romans, King David, King of Babylonia, Herod the Great,
and the Turks in the Ottoman Empire all exploited the cedars. During the War of 1914-1918,
most of the remaining stands were exploited and dest royed for railroad fuel. As a consequence,
the extent of the cedars in Lebanon has dramatically declined.
The Cedar forests at one time probably covered large areas in the mountains of the Near
East. The ancient Mediterranean would look to our eyes like northern Europe today, with great
coniferous forests in Lebanon, Turkey, and Corsica, and oaks and beeches in Italy. It is a
general rule that when those northern climax forests are cut, they are replaced by a scrubby
southern flora; most of the soil is lost, water cannot be retained, and the period required to
restore the stable climax is unknown.
Thus, based upon historical data and scientific estimates, the perennial springs of higher
Lebanon today must formerly have been much fuller and more constant, the lower slopes green
and moist. There may even have been greater annual rainfall through the recirculation of water
on the western slopes by the transpiration of the forest. The forest and its animals were thought
to be inexhaustible... and so blind deforestation continued until the wooded area in Lebanon
became a mere 60,000 hectares, and the cedar only accounting for a small percentage. Now,
the Cedar of Lebanon is limited to twelve stands, a total of approximately 1,700 hectares, a far
cry from its previous flourishment over the conservative estimate of 81,000 hectares in
Lebanon.
Among all the conifers, the Cedar of Lebanon is one of the most majestic. The Cedrus
libani is native to Lebanon and to the Taurus Mountains of Syria and Sou thern Turkey. A
distinct relict population occurs in Northern Turkey near the Black Sea.
The Cedrus libani is in the Pine Family (Pinaceae). The cedar is monoecious; it has
unisexual flowers with both the male and female sex being borne on the same plant. The male
inflorescences are solitary, erect, approximately 5 cm long, and occur at the ends of short
shoots. The female cones are reddish and smaller, and can occur singly at the tips of the dwarf
shoots. When mature, they are large, barrel-shaped, and break up while still attached to the
branches. Female cones mature in the second year, requiring about 17 to 18 months for full
development. Young cones are light green, mature cones dull brown. The branches of the young
trees are often erect or a scending. The trunks of old trees are usually divided into several
stout, erect branches, the side-branches being horizontal and sometimes extended for a
considerable distance from the trunk.
The shape of the tree, specifically the form of its trunk, changes depending on the
density of the stand. When located in a high density stand, the Cedrus libani grows straighter,
whereas when growing in a low density stand, the Cedrus libani develops its lower horizontal
branches and spreads them out over long distances.
The fruiting cones, which take two or three years to mature, are oval to oblong. On
average, trees do not bear cones until they are 40 or 50 years old. Propagation is from seed.
The seeds germinate in late winter, when either rain or snowmelt are still available.
The Cedrus libani is most abundant and best developed on North-facing slopes, where
the impact of radiation is less severe, but in wetter locations it grows equally well on the
mountain sides exposed to the prevailing rain-bringing winds. In the Mediterranean, these
slopes are facing the sea. Winter snow is an important source of water in the spring. Annual
precipitation in Lebanon usually exceeds 1000 millimeters where Cedrus forests occur.
The extensive soil erosion over the Lebanon range may have rendered the forest species
more sensitive to atmospheric conditions, and the denudation of vegetation may have reduced
the amount of cloud formation.
Shade tolerance is generally low; cedars require abundant sunlight through out their life.
Cedrus often forms pure, rather open forests, with only low undergrowth of grasses of low
shrubs, but it is also mixed with other conifers and oaks.
Currently, the Cedrus libani in Leban on is limited to twelve, separate stands. From north
to south, these stands are: Jabal Qammoua forest, Wadi Jahannam in the Akkar area, Ehden,
Bcharre, Tannourine-Hadeth, Jeij in the Jubail mountains of central Lebanon, and in the Jabal
el-Barouk forest s of the Chouf mountains, Ain Zhalta/Bmohrain, Barouk, and Maasser el-Chouf.
The areas are briefly described below, and Bcharre and Jabal el-Barouk will be discussed in
further depth and detail.
The Jabal Qammoua is a large forest area of several hundred hectares. It is highly
degraded and only about 30 hectares are closed forest. It is a mixture of Cedrus, Abies cilicica,
and Juniperus species, with Abies dominating on northwest and north slopes, and Cedrus on
northeast and east slopes. Jabal Qammoua supports a high population of goats, which damage
seedlings and the lower parts of trees.
Ehden forest, located northeast of the village Ehden, is approximately 140 hectares of
closed and well-protected forest. Ehden forest is floristically the rich est locality in Lebanon.
There is very little sheep and goat-grazing.
The Bcharre cedars, also known as Arz el-Rab [the cedars of the Lord] is the most
famous stand of cedars in Lebanon. It comprises only 7 hectares, and contains the oldest and
largest specimens of Cedrus libani, reported to be over 2000 years old. There is scant cedar
reproduction. Mistakenly, the literature often suggests that it is the very last remnant of cedar
forest in Lebanon. Bcharre cedars have been nominated as a World Her itage area by the
Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon.
Tannourine and Hadeth forests are located on Jabal Mar Moroune and Jabal es Sair
between the villages Hadeth ej Joube and Tannourine et Tahta. They encompass about 200
hectares of forest of which only 85 hectares can be called closed.
Jeij cedars, located above the village of Jeij, comprise a mere, but beautiful, 2 hectares.
Jabal el-Barouk is located on the slopes of the central portion of the Mount Lebanon chain, at
the southern-most limit of the cedar's growing range in Lebanon. It has the largest self-
regenerating stand of the Cedrus libani in Lebanon. Jabal el-Barouk is comprised of three
adjacent but separate stands of cedars on communal land belonging to the respective municip
alities, and covering an area of about 3509 hectares. The forested area, however, covers a total
of only 216 hectares, a mere 8.6% of the 3509 hectares. The cedars have adapted to the heat
and dryness of the area by sending down deep roots. Every three years an abundant production
of seeds allows the only significant natural propagation of this tree in Lebanon. It is one the last
remaining areas in Lebanon were larger mammals such as the wolf and the wild boar can still be
found, and where the ibex an d the mountain gazelle can be reintroduced. In addition, Jabal elBarouk has been cited as an important bird area by BirdLife International.
Chamaecyparis – the (false) cypress
Containing 5 species depending on taxonomic opinion, some authorities include all these
species in the genus Cupressus, but genetic studies have shown that separate status is
warranted. Chamaecyparis species mostly occur in the cooler, moister, and more northerly
regions of the Northern Hemisphere, while the true cypresses mostly occur further south and in
drier regions.
The species range over North America, Japan and Taiwan.
It contains important species to modern horticulture, accounting for 80-90% of the
ornamental conifers grown in British gardens. Its genetic variability has resulted in the listing of
hundreds of horticultural cultivars..
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
This tree, known as the Port Orford Cedar belongs to the genus Chamaecyparis (or
false cypress), and belongs to the cypress family. It is often known as the Lawson Cypress
or lawsoniana.
C. lawsoniana comes from the humid coastal forests of NW USA, from a tiny coastal area
in southern Oregon and northern California. It is a valuable tree growing over a limited natural
range, much of which has become infected with a fatal root rot that is still spreading. There are
about 200 cultivars reflecting its genetic instability, so this tree is more famous than its small
native range would indicate.
It is a majestic conifer that can grow up to 38 m (120 feet) tall. Its seedlings are
considered easy to grow and establish, and cuttings from the tips of major branches in winter
can be taken with ease.
Its foliage is widely used by florists, and it makes an attractive specimen plant.
The white aromatic wood is highly valued by the Japanese for shrines and temples,
and it was used for arrow shafts. It is now the most valuable wood harvested in western
North America. It is widely grown throughout the world as an ornamental. Wood very closegrained, hard, strong, durable easily worked, light, abounding in fragrant resin, acid resistant.
One of the world's finest timbers, it is widely used for flooring, fencing, making boats etc. It is
now in short supply due to over harvesting without replanting
A very uniform species in the wild, in cultivation there are many named varieties. The
crushed foliage has a pungent smell.
Favoured by many birds for roosting, providing high cover and especially for nesting,
large specimens of this tree help to attract songbirds to the garden
Plants can be grown as a tall hedge. They are very tolerant of clipping so long as this
does not extend into the brown barked wood since trees cannot regenerate from this. Any
trimming should be done in the summer.. The branches have been used to make brooms.
Chamaecyparis obtusa
Also known as Hinoki or the Hinoki Cypress, it grows to 40 m high and 3 m in
diameter. It is native of Southern Japan with a variety in Taiwan. It is one of Japan’s most
important timber trees.
‘Hinoki’ means "fire tree". It was used to make fire by friction, a practice still
employed at Shinto shrines.
It is one of the 'Five sacred Trees of Kiso' in Japan, the others being Ch. pisifera, Thuja
standishii, Thujopsis dolabrata and Sciadopitys verticillata.
Chamaecyparis pisifera
Known as Sawara or Sawara False-Cypress. It is a large evergreen tree with
straight trunk and open, narrow, pyramidal crown. It is native of Japan, preferring moist soils in
the humid temperate zone.
Widely planted as an ornamental, with numerous cultivars. In Japan, regarded as an
important timber species.
Cicada (Amphipsalta species).
See
also ‘insects’
Cicada song is synonymous with the warmer months
of New Zealand. There is a great number of species; of all
different colours, from red, green, yellow and brown. The
most impressive cicadas are the large Amphisalta spp.
measuring 19 mm in length. In some years, there can be
large numbers emerging, and near forest edges their song
can be deafening. They also congregate around streetlights,
where they will sing throughout the night. The soundproducing organ, chamber, is located in the abdomen.
Muscles flex the wall of this chamber to produce a sound in
the same manner as a popping tin can. The sound is
altered through elevation of the flaps on the under surface
of the abdomen. The song of the cicada is complex and
very varied between species.
Cicada nymphs feed on the xylem of plant roots,
and in the Amphisalta spp. the nymphs probably take
between five to eight years to reach full development.
Cicadas are found right throughout New Zealand, and those
in alpine areas, like the grasshoppers, have restricted
distributions, probably for the same reasons.
There are a number of cicadas throughout the
country, and found locally. The giant cicada is a handsome
Male cicada on emergenc Kikihia subalpina
insect with a wingspan of about 75 mm (3 inches). The
body is green with black markings and on the fore part of
the head there are three red eyes like jewels, set between the two larger compound eyes. This
cicada has a loud chirping song that ends with a click caused by a flick of the wings. On a hot
summer's day the air seems to crackle with the volume of sound produced by hundreds of these
insects singing together.
Perhaps the strangest fact concerning cicadas is that only the males are capable of
producing sound, and in this connection one cannot help admiring the daring of the obviously
"hen-pecked" Greek poet, Xenarchus, who wrote:—
"Happy are cicadas' lives,
for they have only voiceless wives."
The larvae burrow into the ground, where they extract juices from the roots of trees.
When fully grown the larva becomes clothed in a horny armor and has rudimentary wings. On
reaching maturity it leaves the ground, climbs a few feet up a tree trunk and finally the perfect
insect emerges, leaving the light brown horny case attached to the tree trunk.
Cicada song is synonymous with the warmer months of New Zealand.
There is a great number of species, of all different colours, from red, green, yellow and
brown. In some years, there can be large numbers emerging, and near forest edges their song
can be deafening. They also congregate around streetlights, where they will sing throughout the
night. The sound-producing organ, chamber, is located in the abdomen. Muscles flex the wall of
this chamber to produce a sound in the same manner as a popping tin can. The sound is altered
through elevation of the flaps on the undersurface of the abdomen. The song of the cicada is
complex and very varied between species.
Eggs are laid in slits of branches. Young nymphs fall to the ground, and burrow down to
the roots of trees, where they attaché themselves. Cicada nymphs feed on the xylem of plant
roots, and in the Amphisalta spp. the nymphs probably take between five to eight years to
reach full development. Cicadas are found right throughout New Zealand, and those in alpine
areas, like the grasshoppers, have restricted distributions, probably for the same reasons.
Usually the loudest cicadas come out in the beginning of February. Wellington has two species
of cicada, which look and sounded alike but appear at different times of the season.
The vagaries of Wellington's summer had influenced exactly when they appear. The big
black ones come out before Christmas, but the second one doesn't come out till
February. The latter species, Amphipsalta zelandica, made up for its tardiness by being louder
and greater in numbers than Amphipsalta cingulata, which was found only in the North Island. A
fine groove on the front of the head distinguished one from the other. The song is different
between the two but most people wouldn't pick it out. They both have these clicks that go along with the
song. The first one that comes out goes a bit like yackety yackata while the second one has more of a
“zzz' sound.
Cinnamomum camphora
The Camphor Laurel is a source of commercial camphor and its aromatic wood is
used traditionally in China to make storage chests. However it is more widely grown as an
ornamental, as a shade tree in parks and gardens, and as a street tree. The leaves are aromatic
when crushed.
This genus includes C. zeylanicum, from the bark of which we obtain cinnamon.
Native of China and Japan, and grows quickly and is from the same family as tawa and
taraire.
The roots are said to release a compound that inhibits the growth of other plants under
its canopy. In parts of Australia it is regarded as a weed.
The essential oil 'camphor' is obtained from the leaves and twigs. It is extracted
commercially by passing a current of steam through the wood chips, 30 kilos of wood yielding 1
kilo of camphor. Camphor is used medicinally, in perfumes, as an insecticide and also to make
celluloid and as a wood preservative. It can also be put in shoes to cure perspiring feet
(probably by acting as a deodorant rather than preventing perspiration).
The wood has been burnt as a fumigant during epidemics. It is beautifully grained.
Used for furniture etc
Medicinal Uses: Camphor has a long history of herbal use in the Orient with a wide
range of uses.
Young shoots and leaves - eaten cooked. Some caution is suggested because there is a
report that the plant is poisonous in large quantities. The old leaves are dried and used as a
spice. The plant is poisonous in large quantities
The Remarkable Camphor Laurel
An incredible survival story, with a
sequel in the Botanic Garden, recently featured
in the local paper.
A camphor tree, Cinnamomum
camphora, burnt to the ground in the 1945
nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. Astonishingly, it
regrew, and, still alive today, marks the site of a
destroyed shrine and is revered as a symbol of
hope.
In 2002, three cuttings (not leaves, as
the Dom Post claimed) from the tree were
presented to Christchurch by the mayor of
Nagasaki, in recognition of New Zealand's antinuclear stance. The cuttings duly became
saplings and one was recently gifted to
Wellington city. The 1.5 metre-high tree has been planted, as you might expect, near the Peace
Garden and Peace Flame.
The tree tells a fabulous story of survival against tremendous odds, but the reason for its
survival becomes evident when you discover that this heroic life form (if a tree can be heroic)
is, in fact, a weed. The camphor laurel originated in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, but grows
rather too well in some other parts of the world. It is widely naturalised (invasive) in Australia
and parts of Florida and California, and cannot be sold in Queensland. Advice is that it should
not be grown in the USA at all.
Camphor is one member of a well-known genus from the laurel family, Cinnamomum,
the most famous representative being, you guessed it, the tree from which we get culinary
cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon ,C. zeylanicum. Other spice-bearing species are Indian Bayleaf and
Chinese Cinnamon (Cassia). Cinnamon is an ancient spice, one that is mentioned in the Old
Testament.
Camphor is widely planted as a shade tree, screen, or windbreak. In China and Japan, it
is grown commercially for its medicinal oil. Camphor oil has a strong penetrating fragrance, a
pungent bitter flavor, and feels cool on the skin, like menthol, though it also has irritating
qualities as well as a numbing effect. Camphor has been used to treat ailments ranging from
parasitic infections to toothaches. Scientific evidence has confirmed that chemicals in the plant
have value in antiseptics and medications for treating diarrhea, inflammation, itching, and
nervous conditions. Beware, though, camphor in large doses is toxic; it stimulates the central
nervous system and may affect respiration or cause convulsions.
Camphor wood is prized for its attractive red and yellow striping, amenability to
woodworking, and insect repelling properties. It is light to medium in weight and soft to
medium in hardness. Wood from the camphor tree is not especially strong, but it takes polishing
well. It is commonly used for chests, closets, coffins, instruments, and sculptures. Camphor
veneer is used in fine cabinetry. Camphor is also used in perfumes.
The new foliage can start as a rusty burgundy colour, turning glossy green with maturity.
Flowers are fragrant, greenish white to pale yellow, small and borne on 3-inch panicles; fruit are
reddish, ripening to black, fleshy drupes.
Camphor is a small to medium sized tree (to 60 feet but may reach 100 feet) with a
round, wide-spreading crown. It can form dense thickets where naturalized, due to its
unfortunate ability to grow from root sprouts.
Camphor laurel is a prolific seed producer that apparently does not have serious
predators or diseases outside its native range. Seedlings and root sprouts are abundant near
mature trees, but individual trees pop up far from seed sources. In Florida, camphor trees
appear in undisturbed mesic hardwood forests, upland pine woods, and scrubs, as well as in the
vacant lots and fencerows where it is more commonly observed.
In our cooler climate the plant appears better-behaved; the one already in the Botanic
Garden has not caused problems.
Sources www.floridata.com,
David Sole, Dominion Post.
Chiranthodendron pentadactylon Devils Hand Tree
The Devil's Hand Tree (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon) is an unusual, rare tree with
devilishly shaped flowers! But don't be afraid of it; the Devil's Hand Tree - also called the
Mexican Hand Tree - is a wonderful, one-of-a-kind beauty that should be more widely grown.
An evergreen species native to Guatemala and southern Mexico, where it is becoming
endangered. It is fast-growing to about 40 feet tall. The oversized leaves are really cool, with
their fuzzy undersides and coppery veins. The bizarre flowers appear in the spring and
summer. Each 5 inch blossom has five red stamens that branch out like fingers, with vivid
yellow pollen on the "knuckles". As the blooms age, the "fingers" curl under like a clawed hand!
Inside each cup-shaped blossom is a glossy, red & yellow interior that almost looks like a
porcelain goblet. Water collects in the upward-facing blooms and birds like to sit and drink the
nectar. In the wild, the tree is said to be pollinated by bats! After flowering, the Hand Tree
makes fascinating 5 inch seed pods that are almost indestructible. The Hand Tree comes from
mountain cloudforests, where temperatures are moderate year-round, and nights are cool. It is
reported to be hardy down to about -6 degrees C, but younger plants should probably be
protected from extremes in temperature. It appreciates some humidity, and prefers full sun
and well-draining soil.
The generic name - Chiranthodendron is a combination of Greek words meaning
"hand-flower-tree." This was the name
used by the Spanish botanists in Sessé's
expedition, which studied the tree in
1787. The trivial name pentadactylon
means "five-fingered." The tree flowers in
winter, when the branches are otherwise
bare. It was well-known long before the
Spanish arrived in the 1500s; in the
Aztec language Nahuatl it is called
Macpalxochicuahuitl ("hand-flower-tree").
In Spanish it is called Árbol de las
manitas ("tree of the little hands"), flor
de manita ("flower of the little hand"),
and manita or mano de león ("little hand,
or hand, of a lion"); and in English, the hand-flower tree or Mexican hand plant (Hortus Third).
The tree was known from a single specimen growing since time immemorial in Toluca in
the Valley of Mexico. The Indians revered it and used it in medicines for relieving pain and
inflammation, according to the Badianus Manuscript, an Aztec herbal now in the Vatican Library,
and early Spanish commentaries, notably Hernandez's Quatro Libros de la Naturaleza y Virtutes
de las Plantas y Animales...en la Nueva España first published in 1615. Following their beliefs
about what would please the gods, the Aztecs picked every flower on the Toluca tree each year
to prevent it from germinating and producing others of its kind, although it is reported that
there were a few others cultivated in gardens or presented as royal gifts. The Toluca tree was
visited and studied by Sessé and Mociño, Cervantes, and Humboldt and Bonpland on their
several botanical expeditions during this period. The species is a large forest tree in the
Sterculiaceae (Cacao) family and is now known to be abundant in wet mixed oak-pine and
deciduous mountain forests through Mexico and Guatemala.
Cinerarias
Senicio is a large genus in the daisy family (Asteraceae) with worldwide distribution.
Cineraria has been developed from Senecio cruentus which came from high altitudes in
the Canary Islands. The development included much selective breeding and probable
hybridizing with S. heritieri, and S. populifolia.
Modern Cinerarias come in a wide range of sizes and growth habits along with a colour
range of Blue and purple to white and pink to red and salmon and Bi-colours of these with a
white “eye”.
Cinerarias are Annuals. Plants are grown from seed in late summer or autumn and flower
within one year in late winter or spring. After setting seed the plant then dies.
Cinerarias make excellent, cool weather flowering pot plants and can be grown as
bedding plants where winters are mild, or are given some protection from frost, as they are
frost tender.
Cultivation and Care
Cineraria seed should be sown in late summer or early autumn, on the surface of a
container of seed raising mix and lightly pressed in with a board or some other flat object. The
seed should not be covered, as light is required for germination. The container should be
watered by gently spraying water on the surface or by dunking the base in another container of
water so it may soak up through the mix. The container should then be covered with a pane of
glass or sheet of clear plastic to help retain the moisture and placed somewhere shady to
germinate which usually occurs in 7 – 20 days. The mix should be checked often and watered to
keep it damp. When all or most of the seed has germinated the covering should be removed,
and the seedlings allowed to develop.
When the seedlings have 3 or 4 small leaves they should be transplanted into a tray of
potting mix at an approximate spacing of 50 - 75 mm, and grown on for another 4 – 6 weeks,
at which stage they may be planted out into the garden, or into a pot.
The large flowered “Grandiflora” type cinerarias prefer a 200mm – 250mm pot, while the
small flowered dwarf “Multiflora Nana” types will give a good display in a 100mm – 150mm pot.
The containers should be grown out doors in a position where the plants get good light and are
kept cool, 7 - 12 C is ideal, but are sheltered from frost. When in flower the containers can be
moved to a porch, patio or car-port to provide a flowering display for 4 – 6 weeks.
If flowering plants are brought indoors provide a cool bright spot to display them.
Temperatures above 12C will reduce the life of your flowering Cinararia in proportion to the rise
in temperature. If purchasing a flowering pot plant Cineraria try and select one with only a few
flowers open, this will ensure that you get the longest display from your plant.
Cinerarias left to self-seed and germinate in the garden will produce a display year after
year, although it will not have the colour range of the original plants.
Cinnamomum camphora
(commonly known as Camphor tree, Camphorwood or camphor laurel)
Camphor is a white crystalline substance, obtained from the tree Cinnamomum
camphora. Camphor has been used for many centuries as a culinary spice, a component of
incense, and as a medicine. Camphor is also a insect repellent and a flea-killing substance.
native to Taiwan, southern Japan, southeast China and Indochina, where it is also
cultivated for camphor and timber production.
It was used medicinally and was also an important ingredient in the production of
smokeless gunpowder and celluloid.
In the ancient and medieval Middle East and Europe, Camphor was used as ingredient
for sweets but it is now mainly used for medicinal purposes. For example, Camphor was used as
a flavoring in confections resembling ice cream in China during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–
907). An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th century contains a recipe for Meat with
Apples which is flavored with Camphor and Musk.[1] A 13th century recipe for "Honeyed Dates"
is also flavored with Camphor.[2] By the time of the Renaissance, Camphor as a culinary
ingredient had fallen into disuse in Europe.
Today, Camphor is widely used in cooking (mainly for dessert dishes) in India where it is
known as Pachha Karpooram (literally meaning "green camphor" though "Pachha" in Tamil can
also be translated to mean "raw" which is "Pachha Karpooram's" intended meaning)in kannada
its called karpoora . It is widely available at Indian grocery stores and is labeled as "Edible
Camphor". In Hindu poojas and ceremonies, camphor is burned in a ceremonial spoon for
performing aarti. This type of camphor is also sold at Indian grocery stores but it is not suitable
for cooking. The only type that should be used for food are those which are labeled as "Edible
Camphor".
The twigs and leaves of the camphor plant are used in the smoking and preparation of
Zhangcha duck, a typical banquet and celebratory dish in Szechuan cuisine.
Cinnamomum camphora was introduced to Australia in 1822 as an ornamental tree for
use in gardens and public parks, and is commonly called Camphor laurel there. It has become a
weed throughout Queensland and central to northern New South Wales where it is suited to the
wet, subtropical climate.
Its massive and spreading root systems disrupt urban drainage and sewerage systems
and degrade river banks. Its leaves have a very high carbon content, which damages water
quality and freshwater fish habitats when they fall into streams and rivers. The camphor content
of the leaf litter helps prevent other plants from germinating successfully, helping to ensure the
camphor's success against any potentially competing vegetation, and the seeds are attractive to
birds and pass intact through the digestive system, ensuring rapid distribution. Camphor laurel
invades pastures, and also competes against eucalyptus trees which are the sole food source of
koalas, which are endangered in many parts of eastern Australia.
Clianthus puniceus
Glory Pea, Kakabeak
Collected 20 Oct. 1769
'Clianthus''from the Greek 'kleos' (glory) and 'anthos' (a flower), 'puniceus' means
reddishpurple The common name 'Glory Pea' because it is in the 'pea' family.
'Kakabeak' because the shape of the red flowers is reminiscent of the beak of a native
parrot, the
kaka. A chronology of kaka beak naming
1769 First specimens collected by Solander and Banks and referred to as Clianthus
puniceus 1832 Using the herbarium specimens of Solander and Banks, George Don renames the
plant after his father (also George Don): Doniapunicea G.Don
1835 Publication of Dr Lindley's restoration of the name Clianthus puniceus
1844 William Colenso moves to Hawke's Bay, discovers a different Clianthus species and
refers to it as C. maximus
1847 Colenso supplies specimens of the possible new species to Sir WJ Hooker at Kew,
whose team examines the specimens to hand and finds no material difference between the two
forms
1899 Kirk in his Students' flora of New Zealand, reduces C. maximus to a variety of C.
puniceus
2000 In a reappraisal of Colenso's taxonomy, Peter Heenan (Landcare Research, Lincoln)
reinstates Clianthus maximus Colenso to species rank, alongside Clianthus puniceus (G.
Don) Sol. ex Lindl.
Two species of Clianthus are accepted as endemic to New Zealand. Clianthus puniceus
refers to plants with matt, grey-green, and narrow leaves, and light salmon-red or salmon-pink
flowers. Clianthus maximus, described by W.Colenso in 1885, is reinstated at species rank.
Clianthus maximus is distinguished from C. puniceus by its leaves, which are glossy, green, and
broad, and its flower, which is significantly larger, and a dark salmon-red, red, or orange-red
colour. The glossiness of C. maximus leaves results from a thick layer of epicuticular waxes; in
C. puniceus the matt surface results from the cuticle that is ornamented with a reticulum of
buttressed ridges Listed as 'nationally critical' on the NZ Plant Conservation network, it is at
serious risk of extinction with only one plant remaining in the wild. Vulnerable to summer
droughts, competition from weeds and browsing animals it has been widely used in cultivation.
These days a less disease prone species is more frequently grown Clianthus maximus,
('maximus' meaning 'largest') but this is also considered vulnerable, with only 153 plans
remaining in the wild. The current distribution may not be natural, but a result of Maori
cultivation in the past. Many of the plants collected by Banks and Solander where painted by
Sydney Parkinson (1745?-1771)
During two years of the voyage, Parkinson produced hundreds of drawings and sketches
(1,500) of the animals and plants that were discovered. Parkinson's skills as a botanical artist
were noticed by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820). He
gave Parkinson access to Kew Gardens in order for him to draw the plants as a scientific
record. At the young age of 22, Sydney was asked to join one of the greatest scientific
expeditions of all time, Captain Cook's voyage of discovery to the South Pacific (1768-1771). In
1768, Parkinson accompanied Banks as his botanical draftsman on Captain James Cook's
famous voyage of circumnavigation.
This epic voyage of discovery was carried out on a converted coal ship, the HMS
Endeavour. The aim of the voyage was to sail to Tahiti to study the astronomical 'transit of
Venus' and then to the South Pacific to search for a mythical Great Southern Continent. The
Endeavour sailed west across the Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro arriving on the 13 November and
staying for three weeks. This was one of the earliest plant collecting trips for the scientists and
Parkinson managed to complete 38 botanical drawings of newly discovered plants together with
several zoological drawings. Cook went on to chart the coast of New Zealand and the east coast
of Australia. Banks who was keen to use the voyage to collect new specimens largely financed
the expedition. Tragically, on the return leg of the voyage, this young and capable artist was
one of many of the crew on the Endeavour to fall ill with tropical fever. Parkinson died at sea on
26 January, 1771.
Climatological Enclosure
The enclosure is operated by the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited.
The instruments in this enclosure and those on the top floor of the adjacent Met Service building
measure rainfall, air temperature, sunshine, air pressure, wind speed and direction, earth
temperatures and evaporation.
The earliest meteorological readings in Wellington were taken from February 1841 until
January 1842. Observations were sporadic until February 1862, when recording started at an
observatory near Bolton Street. Since then there has been a continuous record of daily rainfall
and temperatures in Wellington.
The observation site has changed a number of times since 1862 commencing at the
present site, in January 1928.
Cocos nucifera; The Coconut palm
Collections
see Palms
Australian Garden: This garden features banksia, grevillea, kangaroo paw and other
interesting and showy flowering plants.
Planted on the slope below is a young gum forest with a deck that takes you into the
middle of the forest.
Landscaped on a sunny North facing slope using railway sleepers. The Australian Garden
is near the top of the Garden and below the Carter Observatory.
Begonia House: see separate section
Camellias: The first recorded camellia propagation in England was by Lord Petre at his
Thorndon Hall property in Essex, England. Descendants of Lord Petre family settled in
Wellington, hence the name of the neighbouring suburb, Thorndon.
The Camellia Garden is being heavily renovated to combat Camellia Blight. The
programme of hatracking continues. Last seasons hatracked plants are now having their new
growth thinned. Time consuming work but this should eventually make for a display that can be
viewed from the central footpath as well as allow for better sunlight penetration and air
circulation.
The Garden, with the assistance of scientists from Massey and Lincoln Universities, are
developing a biological control approach to the blight. Progress is promising but the trial results
aren't expected in the immediate future. Good things take time.
Exotic Forest: Mature and imposing Monterey pines defining Wellington's distinctive
ridgeline are the legacy of early efforts to develop commerce from the land. Many of the 46
species of pines and conifers growing in the Garden were planted in the 1870s, a legacy of trials
to launch New Zealand's forest industry. Of the species of conifer seed tested, the Monterey
pine (Pinus radiata) was one of the first to prove commercially viable. Pinus radiata, proved
superior and later became New Zealand's main source of commercial timber.
Pines on Druid Hill and Magpie Spur are some of the oldest pines planted in New Zealand
Herb Garden: This garden, perched on a hill, displays useful and attractive herbs for
almost any garden situation, with an emphasis on sunny-site herbs. The herbs are grouped
according to their predominant use: fragrance, culinary, medicinal or domestic.
The olive, juniper, manuka and eucalyptus trees planted alongside the Herb Garden are
also useful to humans.
The native flora offers a wealth of herbal applications. In New Zealand, many 'herbs'
used by Maori are trees. Rongoa (Maori herbal medicine) uses herbs both in combination for
holistic healing and specific first-aid applications.
Tohunga (the spiritual and medicinal mentors of a tribe) would administer herbal
medicine in association with karakia (prayers). In addition, a great deal of day-to-day herbal
knowledge was, and is, accumulated by Maori women.
Horseshoe Bend: This tranquil garden has a very Asian feel about it with maples
magnolias, hostas, primula and rhododendrons all blending to provide interest at any time of
the year. Now is a particularly colourful time of year.
Found at the southern end of the Garden, off the beaten track, Horseshoe Bend is, in my
opinion, worth a visit. The well positioned seat provides a very pleasant resting point.
Lady Norwood Rose Garden: see separate listing
Maori Flax Collection (harakeke): The Maori Flax Collection is located near the Cable
Car Entrance and is one of the most historically significant collections in the Garden. Flax was
New Zealand's biggest export by far until wool and frozen mutton took over later in the century.
James Hector, Manager of the Botanic Garden at the time, was on the New Zealand Flax
Commission, whose task was to determine the commercial potential of the native swamp flax
Phormium tenax.
Flax was used in every conceivable way by the Maori, from clothing to art to medicine.
By November of 1870, the Commission was planning test gardens in the Wellington Botanic
Garden, New Plymouth and Christchurch. Flax did, in fact, became a significant industry in New
Zealand.
The first European traders called it "flax" because its fibres were similar to that of true
flax found in other parts of the world. Phormium is unique to New Zealand.
Native Forest: In 1843, the Town Council of Wellington set aside 13 acres of the Town
Belt along Karori Road to lease to the Horticultural Society. This was the seed of the Wellington
Botanic Garden. An adjacent 54 acres was granted to the Garden in 1871. This increased the
Garden's size significantly and also brought a stand of native bush into the Garden. This was
enormously valuable, since the original acreage had been cleared by settlers who needed timber
and firewood.
Sheltered gullies in the Garden contain remnants of native forest that link back to the
forest of pre-European settlement. The oldest tree in the Garden, a gnarled hinau in the Stable
gully remnant, is over 200 years old. The original forest giants, including rimu and totara are
gone now, but management plans propose reintroducing these trees.
The largest remnant of original native forest in the Garden lies between the Glen and
Mariri Entrances in the valley, and on the hillside.
Perennials: Hot coloured perennial plants tower up out of the garden beds in front of
the Begonia House. Many of these plants assist in attracting beneficial insects, such as hover
flies and lacewings, early to the Gardens helping to combat any aphids attacking the Roses.
This perennial garden looks great right now!
The rich reds, oranges, blues and yellows help in disguising the white washed frontage of
the Begonia House.
This hot dry spot receives full sun and is full of perennials that thrive in this environment.
Lobellia, Salvia(Sage)and Monarda (bergamot) varieties are looking especially colourful at the
moment.
Other perennial plantings are scattered about the Garden, up on Druid's Hill, in the Red
Garden - by the Soundshell. The garden beds surrounding the Sound Shell have a collection of
perennials that flower during winter.
Rhododendrons: Within the Main Garden are some large old 'Sir Robert Peel'
rhododendrons.
'Harry Tagg,' 'Christmas Cheer' and 'Cornubia' display their marvellous large heads of
pink, white and red flowers early in spring.
The Vireya Rhododendron Collection is planted in the valley below the Play Area and has
flowering plants almost all year round.
Rock Gardens: There are three rock gardens within the Main Garden area.
The Oak Rock Garden features mostly South African bulbs. The best time to view it is
from spring through to mid summer. The blue flowering oddity Puya alpestris is making a lovely
show above the rockery.
The Main Rock Garden has a broader collection of alpine plants and bulbs planted
together with rhododendrons and maples. This rock garden has plants from the Mediterranean,
Continental Europe and Asia.
The Kauri Rock Garden features alpine plants, the changing display of some of our many
native alpines.
Notable Trees: Redwood, sequoia, pinus, cork oak, common oak. Many trees in the
Garden date back to plantings in the 1870s.
Succulents: This hot, north-facing bank is home to plants with various shapes, forms
and sizes. Vibrant aloes shoot flower spikes of orange annually while the fucraea takes ten
years or so to produce huge heads of cream puffs.
This garden looks great in any weather and at any time of the year!
Scented Garden: This is the best place to be if you like dining on delicious perfumes.
Just below the Treehouse this garden is a wonderful spot to linger. The white flowering false
vanilla is very aromatic.
Coffee
The original home of the coffee plant is Africa. There are three different coffee plants, all
related:
Coffea Arabica from Ethiopia, known from prehistoric times.
Coffea Robusta from the Congo, discovered in 1898.
Coffea Liberica (Coffea Canephora) from Western Africa, of no great importance in
coffee trade.
The first coffee plant of economic importance was Coffea Arabica. It grows to the
height of 7-8 meters but the cultivated plants are cut to the height of 2-4 meters to get more
width.
The white coffee flower has five petals and a scent resembling that of jasmine. The
flowers last only 2-3 days. The coffee berries are cherry-sized and green at first, turning dark
red later on. The ripening takes eight months. The coffee tree starts flowering at 2-4 years old
and it can simultaneously have flowers and berries in all stages of development.
The coffee tree requires a mean temperature of 66-77 degrees Fahrenheit (19-25
degrees celsius). Thus, the coffee tree is a tropical plant. It is not a coincidence that coffee and
humans thrive in the same temperatures. Our original home is the same - Africa. It is quite
possible that Eve and her contemporaries (about 2.8 million years ago) munched coffee beans
for pleasure.
The coffee plant cannot stand frost but does not die from an occasional cold night. It
needs lots of water requiring annual rainfall of 59 inches (1500 millimetres). Coffee plantations
are normally situated in the altitude range of 984-6562 feet (300-2000 meters) around the
Equator.
A coffee tree can be harvested from the 5th year and harvesting can occur many times
throughout the year. At 25 the tree becomes old but it may live to be a wiry centenarian.
The coffee plant only grows in tropical areas. In the Northern Hemisphere production
zones coincide with the Tropic of Cancer, and in the Southern Hemisphere they extend to the
25th parallel in Brazil. Coffee grows at altitude from 200 to 2500 meters above sea level in a
hot, humid climate.
When the botanist Linneaus (1707-1778) created his system for naming plants, he
classified the coffee shrubs in the family Rubiacee comprising 4,500 species of which 60 are
called "coffea" .Out of these 60 species, 3 became especially useful to man: Coffea arabica,
Coffea liberica, Coffea robusta.
If not pruned, the COFFEA ARABICA tree, can reach from 3 to 10 meters in height. A
plantation has a lifespan of about 50 years, but fruit yield decreases significantly after 30.
The five-petal flowers fade quickly and give rise to the fruit known as the cherry, an oval
shaped berry, umbilicated at the end which is bright green, red when mature at 6 or 7 months
and brown when it is overripe. At high altitudes the plants generally blossom once, while in the
lower lying areas where there are no great seasonal changes the plants blossom several time a
year so there are almost always fruits on the plants.
The outer covering on the fruit is known as the "exocarp" inside there are usually two
beans with even planes, side by side. Some berries may contain 3 beans, others, especially at
the ends of the branches or on very old tree only one. In this case the beans are round and are
called CARACOLITO or PEARL COFFEE.
A thin membrane, especially along the longitudinal groove, remains attached to the bean
even after roasting. This skin is more evident in the wet processed Arabica coffee as opposed to
the dry processed type. The amount found in ground coffee is an indicator of the high quality of
coffee used in the blend.
About 3/4 of the world's coffee harvest is ARABICA. The best habitat for these plants is
between 600 and 1.300 meters above sea level, with an average temperature of 17/22"C and
annual rainfall of 1.500/2.000 mm annually.
Of the various types of ARABICA coffee (with caffeine content ranging from 0.9 to 1.7)
the best known are ARABICA proper, raised in the highest areas; BOURBON that was brought to
Brazil and Kenya from Maurice Island; small- grained, robust-flavoured MOKA and
MARAGOGYPE with very large beans that was transplanted to Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico
from Baia.
Coffee is believed to have been discovered in Abyssinia, now Ethiopia. According to
legend an Abyssinian goatherd found his goats dancing after eating the bright red berries and
leaves. After Kaldi's discovery it is believed that monks used coffee to stay awake during late
night prayer sessions. Coffee was probably first cultivated in the sixth century. At first the
people simply ate the leaves and beans of coffee (called bunn), but after time snacks, wines,
teas, and a sweet drink called qishr were developed. Sometime in the sixteenth century, coffee
is believed to have been roasted and brewed in the manner that continues today.
The coffee bean is the seed of a coffee cherry. Each winter (dry season) the ripe, red
cherries are harvested using a variety of methods. The bean is covered by several layers
including the silver skin, parchment (pergamino), mucilage, pulp, and skin. The interaction of
the sweet mucilage with the coffee seeds governs much of the flavour of coffee, as does the
process in which the coffee beans are retrieved from the cherry. There are three processes that
are commonly practiced including the wet-process, the dry-process, and the semi-washed
method.
The coffee cherries are brought to the processing plant immediately after harvesting.
Ripe, overripe, and under-ripe cherries are mixed together at this point. If they were not
separated the coffee would have a dusty unpalatable flavor with few desirable attributes. The
beans are first washed with water and then passed into tanks filled with water for preliminary
separation. The best coffees are dense and will sink in water, whereas the overripe cherries will
float and are separated. The low-quality coffees are either slated for internal consumption or
sold to instant coffee producers in the United States or Europe. Unfortunately, green (under
ripe) cherries are also dense and will continue to be mixed with the perfectly ripe cherries. The
green cherries can be sorted out during wet processing, or in the case of dry-processed coffees
must be sorted at a later time.
500 AD
Coffee, apparently native to the mountains of Ethiopia, was known as a
beverage in Arabia. It was first thought to have been roasted in the 1450's, with drinking of
brewed coffee spreading to Egypt by 1510, to Constantinople in 1550, to Venice in 1616, to
England in 1650, and to Holland in 1690. By 1600 coffee was grown in India, Ceylon, and the
East Indies. Cultivation moved to the West Indies and Brazil via propagation from a single tree
that was grown in Amsterdam. By 1650 coffee had arrived in England. In 1675 one could take
the beverage in over 3,000 coffee houses in that country
In 1674 the institution of the London coffeehouse was all male, generating considerable
distaste among women for the practice and the society it engendered. The Women’s Petition
Against Coffee commented: “We find of late a very sensible Decay of the true Old English
Vigour...Never did Men wear greater Breeches, or carry less in them of an Mettle whatsoever.”
It is blamed on: “the Excessive use of that Newfangled, Abominable, Heathenish Liquor called
Coffee, which...has so Eunucht our Husbands, and Crippled our more kind gallants....They come
from it with nothing moist but their snotty Noses, nothing stiffe but their Joints, nor standing
but their Ears. Coffee “makes the erection more Vigorous, the Ejaculation more full, adds a
spiritualescency to the Sperme.”
In 1706 Coffee trees were sent to the botanical garden in Amsterdam from Sri Lanka
(where the Dutch had only recently managed to establish plantations, breaking an ancient Arab
monopoly). A single tree survived, which was the parent of a tree at the conservatory in Paris.
In 1723, de Cliey carried a single offspring from the Paris tree to Martinique, which yielded
thousands of trees there by 1777. The Martinique plantations became the source of the first
plants to be taken to the various coffee-growing regions of South America.
In 1864 Jabez Burns, an English immigrant to the US introduced his self-emptying
roaster, designed to evenly roast and then eject coffee beans. With coffee, freshness of the
roasted beans was so critical that grocers and individuals acquired raw beans for local roasting.
Burns’s roaster became popular quickly and offered the capability to standardise this process,
leading to the branding and marketing of coffees.
In 1901 a Japanese chemist invented instant coffee
Conifers
Conifers are of great economic importance in the world. Their ancestors go
back to nearly 300 million years ago even before age of the dinosaurs, when together
with tree ferns they formed the deposits from which we derive coal.
One third of the land in the world is covered in trees, and one third of these are
conifers. Although there are only about 500 conifer species, they are of much greater
importance in the world’s timber industry than their number would suggest
Cordyline australis
Cordyline group consists of fifteen evergreen trees and shrubs that are natives of New
Zealand, Australia, South America, India, and Polynesia. Most of these plants are grown for
their ornamental leaves. The scientific name is Cordyline Australis. Cordyline is from the Latin
word "Kordyle" which means club because of the shape of the root. Australis means "Southern".
They usually form a single stem and several strong, ascending branches that are topped
with a crown of leaves. Some kinds can grow to a height of 35 to 40 feet, but for growing in a
home or greenhouse, small plants are preferred. Plants of the group, Cordyline, and those of
the group, Dracaena, are often confused by gardeners. The coloured-leaved Dracaenas are
nearly all varieties of Cordyline terminalis. The main botanical difference is that in Cordyline, the
cells of the ovary contain many ovules and in Dracaena, only one. The flowers of Cordyline are
also smaller than those of Dracaena. C. australis (Giant Dracena) is a tender, small to mediumsized tree usually producing a single trunk and several, ascending branches, each topped with a
large, thick mass of long, sword-like leaves. In early summer, large panicles of small, white
flowers are borne. In unsuitable climates, this tree can be successfully grown in a warm
greenhouse or home. A variety of C. australis, purpurea, is a small to medium-sized tree with
purple leaves. Sundance, another pretty variety, is a small tree having the midribs and base of
its yellow leaves shaded with dark pink. C. stricta is suitable for growing in a cool greenhouse
(min. temperature, 50º F), a sunny window, or outdoors in subtropical climates. This plant has
a thin stem, eventually growing 6 to 10 feet high. It can be made into a handsome branched
shrub by pruning. Its slender, green leaves are 18 to 30 inches long and 1½ inches wide. Old
plants usually produce branched panicles of light blue flowers. C. terminalis has clusters of rosy
to dark red leaves on top of a cane like stalk. They bear lavender flowers that are followed by
red berries. C. indivisa has wide, leathery leaves, 3 to 4 feet long and 2 to 4 inches wide, with
an orange coloured mid-rib and veins. Its variety, cuprea, has copper-red foliage.
The cabbage tree is one of the most distinctive trees in the New Zealand landscape,
especially on farms. They grow all over the lower parts of the country, but prefer wet areas like
swamps.
Sometimes it’s called the palm lily but it is not a palm, not quite a lily, definitely not a
cabbage, and not really a tree. European settlers used the young shoots from the heart of the
tree boiled as a vegetable. They must have thought it tasted like cabbage, hence the name.
They also brewed beer from the root. Sometimes hollow trunks were used as chimneys because
they don’t catch fire.
It has lovely scented flowers in early summer, which turn into berries that birds love. As
the plant gets old, the stems may die but new shoots grow from any part of the trunk. A huge
fleshy taproot anchors the tree firmly to the ground.
Maori from different parts of Aotearoa have different names for the cabbage tree; Ti
Rakau, Ti, Ti Kouka, Ti Pau, Titi. Ti are really important to the Maoris and in the old days were
put to many uses including:
Fibre - Ti leaves are incredibly strong and don’t get waterlogged easily, so were used for
sandals, Kete (baskets), bird snares, sieves (e.g. to separate the stones from mashed up Hinau
berries), thatch for rooves, rope and cord.
The whole leaves would be used for some of these applications. When used for making paper,
the leaves are harvested in summer, they are scraped to remove the outer skin and are then
soaked in water for 24 hours prior to cooking.
Food - Leaves (rau ti) - The tender young shoots were eaten raw, or roasted in the
embers. They taste a bit like artichokes and were eaten with fatty foods.
The cooked tap roots (and raw ones of the dwarf cabbage tree) and the tender shoots of
all cabbage trees were important foods of the early Maori. The core of the trunk of some
species, including ti kouka was also sometimes eaten. The roots are sweetest in spring before
the plant flowers. Only the root and trunk of the immature form of cabbage tree, less than two
metres high, was used. The tender shoots were eaten throughout the year. Dried roots contain
5.8% fructose, and the stems 3.5%. If a tree was to be cut for food there was a special
procedure carried out. The leaves were removed, and the tree was left to stand for some time.
The outer bark of the trunk and taproot was then removed, and the core was left to dry in the
sun, before being steamed in an earth oven for 24 to 48 hours. The sweet starchy meal was
separated from the fibres by twisting and rubbing, or by chewing and spitting out the fibre.
When rubbing was used, the meal was mixed with water to form a sweet paste.
Pith - Called Ti, this was dried in the sun and cooked to make a kind of porridge. Maori
also sed the inner roots of young trees as ti; making a kind of porridge. Dried and steamed
until soft. Sweet and starchy, it is also used to make a sweet drink.
Root - A delicious sweet drink was also made from Ti. Sugar was extracted by cooking it
in a special earth oven called an umu-ti. It can also be brewed into an intoxicating drink.
Sometimes the sugar became chewy and was used like chewing gum.
Medicine - Ti was used as a cure for diarrhoea and colic. Leaf scrapings were used as a
dressing for cuts. An infusion of the leaves was used to treat dysentery and diarrhoea, and
cuts. The leaves rubbed to soften them, then they were scraped, and the scrapings were
applied as an ointment to cuts, cracks in the skin, and sores. The young inner shoot and the top
of the stem were boiled and eaten by nursing mothers, and were also given to children for colic.
After the birth of a baby, Maori bury the placenta under special cabbage trees called te
whenua.
Fun - Kids used Ti leaves as toboggans.
Markers - Ti never really die so were planted to mark trails, boundaries, urupa
(cemeteries) and births.
It was used by both Maori and early European settlers. European settlers used the
hollowed out trunks for chimneys for huts, as the wood would not catch fire, although the
dried leaves burn readily, giving off an intense heat.
The root and stems are rich in fructose, the yields compare favourably with sugar
beet. A trial exploring the potential of the New Zealand species Cordyline australis (ti kouka) as
a modern-day annual crop for fructose production (1994) was conducted. Plants of four wild
provenances were grown at densities of 2 500, 10 000, and 40 000 plants/ha for 1 year after
transplanting. Maximum fructose yields for the provenances evaluated were estimated to be 4
t/ha at densities of 80 000 plants/ha. There is scope to improve yield and harvest index by
selection of variation present in wild populations. The traditional Maori practise of coppicing C.
australis as a perennial stem crop may be a better option than growing the species as an annual
crop. Consideration of fructose syrup taste, by-products, regional and ethnic associations, and
speciality market options suggest that cropping of C. australis warrants further investigation.
Edible shoots - a cabbage substitute. The leaves are very fibrous even when young
Cabbage trees look great in a garden because their long, spikey leaves add texture to
round-headed trees and shrubs. Also they’re easy to grow, and don’t get too big for town
gardens.
Some people don’t like cabbage trees near lawns because their dead leaves wrap around
the blades of mowers. The stringy trunk also jams chainsaws and if you chop it at any height,
lots of trunks soon sprout. Cabbage trees are almost indestructible and can survive a raging
blaze. The leaves burn ultra hot and can be used for kindling.
In 1987, a mystery disease started to kill off cabbage trees in the North Island. The
disease is called "sudden decline" and the cause is parasitic bacteria called phytoplasmas. But Ti
in natural forest patches continue to do well
Ti kouka or Cabbage Tree grows widely throughout the country, and reaches 20
m high. N.Z. 15 spp. Natives of India, Australia, the Pacific, S. America Related to the agaves,
it is amongst the largest members of that group of plants. Ti kouka is the most common of
NZ’s five cabbage trees
Corymbia ficifolia Red Flowering Gum
Cryptomeria japonica
see Eucalyptus ficifolia
The Japanese Cedar, or Sugi, belongs to the same family as the giant redwood,
and comes from China and Japan. Old trees in Japan are up to 46 m (150 feet) high, with
massive trunks.
This tree is widely grown as an ornamental, with many selected forms. In Japan it is
widely grown for its timber, but it is also venerated in historic avenues and groves, and is
widely planted around temples.
The leaves are very aromatic and are used as incense sticks.
A fairly wind-tolerant tree, it can be used in shelterbelt plantings.
Wood - light, fragrant, fine grained. Used in house building, ship making, boxes etc. The
wood can be used as a substitute for Deal (sawn pine or fir wood, in UK 200 mm 9 inch wide
nor more than 75 mm 3 inch thick and at least 6 foot long. In USA 11 inch wide; 2 ½ inch thick
and 12 feet long)
Old wood that has been buried in the soil turns a dark green and is then much
esteemed
An oil and/or a resin from the plant is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea
Cupressocyparis
This small group consists of hybrids of Cupressus (the common Cypress) and
Chamaecyparis (the False Cypress). These fast-growing trees are very popular trees and
need much the same care as Chamaecyparis
Cupressocyparis x leylandii
Leyland Cypress is a very fast-growing, large tree that forms a thick column.
Both of the parents of this hybrid are native to the North American Pacific coast. The
Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) is native to the coastal regions of Northern
California. The other parent, Nootka Cypress (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) is a native of the
Pacific Northwest - Leyland cypress most closely resembles this parent
The green foliage is in flattened or irregular, slightly drooping sprays.
The Leyland Cypress can tolerate many different conditions, except very dry, alkaline, or
waterlogged soil. This tree may cause irritation to skin. C. leylandii var. Castlewellan Gold will
slowly grow into a large tree, therefore is more suitable for growing as a hedge than C.
leylandii. The new growths on small trees of this variety are golden yellow eventually turning
bronze. C. notabilis is a pretty, medium-sized tree with upswept branches of dark greyish-green
foliage
Leyland Cypress is a most useful and beautiful hybrid "super tree"! It is an upright
evergreen conifer that can grow to more than 100 ft (30.5 m) in height. In Great Britain
individuals reaching more than 130 ft (39.6 m) are reported. In most areas of the United
States, however, Leyland cypress usually maxes out at half that height. It is very symmetrical
and assumes a pyramid or columnar shape. The needles are overlapping and scaly and are
assembled into flattened sprays that densely cover the upward curving branches.
The Leyland cypress is fertile intergeneric hybrid that was created in 1888 on the
Leighton Hall estate near Welshpool, Wales in Great Britain. Normally hybrids are
possible only between species within a single genus. This plant is interesting as it is a cross
between species of two different genera. Several varieties of this hybrid are available the
parents in all cases being the Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) and the
Nootka cypress (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis). The most common variety is from the
original cross of a male Monterey Cypress and a female Nootka. It is known as 'Haggerstown
Gray' and has foliage that is sage green above and light grey-green below. It was named after
the estate owner's brother-in-law, C.J. Leyland, who planted the new hybrid at his home,
Hagerstown Castle.
Some years later another cross was performed involving a female Monterey and a male
Nootka. The result was a narrow columnar form with rich green foliage called 'Leighton Green'.
Other varieties include 'Naylor's Blue' which has bluish foliage and the colourful 'Castlewellan'
whose new growth is bright yellow.
Highly recommend for its beauty, ruggedness and resistance to pests and disease. It is
very tolerant of drought once established and has some salt tolerance. It is also inexpensive
and fast growing - I have had young specimens grow more than 4 ft (1.2 m) in one year! Plants
that combine all of these traits with a fast growth rate are rare and much appreciated.
This fast growing evergreen is as versatile as it is useful - especially when you're
confronted with large areas of bare earth (a situation frequently encountered by new home
buyers). This tree is the solution to quickly creating cool areas of greenery. The dense foliage of
Leyland's cypress and its habit of retaining branches to ground level make it the perfect
candidate for screens and windbreaks. It is great for informal hedges or can be sheared to
create a more formal look. If you do use Leyland cypress for hedges be aware that this is a high
maintenance relationship as this fast grower must be trimmed or sheared at least once a year.
Neglected hedges of Leyland are overgrowing Great Britain! Some hedges reach over 80 feet
shading out neighbouring vegetation and occasionally falling with sometimes disastrous effects
on property.
Leyland's cypress is often sold in containers as "live" Christmas trees. These are
especially popular in the southeastern U.S. where more traditional cut trees are either
unavailable or too expensive. If you have the space, buy a live Leyland cypress Christmas tree
each year to plant outdoors. In just a few years you will have a beautiful grove of evergreens.
For a natural looking grove, start in the middle and make successive plantings in a pattern
radiating out from the original tree. Leyland's cypress is also great for containers - at Disney
World these are shuffled about to provide "instant green" and to screen unsightly views.
Cupressus – the Cypress
A genus of 12-24 Cypress species depending on opinion, the species generally occur in
small isolated populations distinguished by small differences.
The species naturally grow in warm north temperate regions, in W America, Mexico,
Central America, NW Africa, Middle East and eastward along the Himalayas to SW and Central
China and N. Vietnam.
Several species are of horticultural importance.
The wood is valued for its sweet scent and resistance to decay. The famous uses of the
wood of C. sempervierns include Noah’s Ark and the doors of St. Peter’s, Rome that are still in
use 1,100 years later.
Cupressus arizonica
(also see Cupressus glabra)
Known as Roughback Arizona Cypress. Syn: C. glabra. Five varieties:
arizonica, glabra, montana, nevadensis and stephensonii. The varieties are recognized on the
basis of distribution and foliage, cone and bark characters. The recent Flora of North America
does not recognize any varieties; at the other extreme, each of the varieties was first
described as a distinct species
USA: S California, SE and C Arizona, SW New Mexico, Texas; Mexico: Baja California
Norte and Sonora; at 750 to 2450 metres in canyons, mountains, piñon-juniper woodland, and
chaparral The wood of Arizona cypress is light, moderately soft, close-grained, and has a
specific gravity of 0.48. The wood is durable when seasoned properly. It is suitable for sashes,
doors, and blinds.
There are not enough large, accessible populations of Arizona cypress to make it
commercially important, though it is sometimes cut locally for rough construction and fence
posts. Arizona cypress is valued as an ornamental. It is also planted for windbreaks and is
cultivated for Christmas trees
Cupressus lusitanica var. benthamii
The Mexican Cypress or Cedar of Goa is native to the mountains of western
Mexico and Guatemala. It was introduced to Portugal by early travellers, where it is now quite
common. (Portugal is Lusitanica in Latin).
In warm climates it grows quite vigorously but it will also tolerate cold and dry
conditions. It is an excellent wind break and shelter tree and grows to 10 m (30 feet) or more in
15 years.
Cupressus macrocarpa
The Monterey Cypress is native of northern coastal California, confined to two
small sites on the Monterey County. It is known from fossil records to have covered a much
wider area. With urban encroachment and the construction of golf courses in its habitat, it is
now considered an endangered plant. It has, however, been subsequently widely planted as an
ornamental and for shelter in this country. The Garden population was obtained from wild
unselected stock from its
natural habitat, and
therefore represents an
important reservoir of the
original genotype.
It is a fire adapted
species. When cones are
affected by a fire the
resin melts and boils.
Rapid charring of the
thick cone scales
extinguishes the fires,
leaving the seeds
unburned. The seeds are
released copiously onto
exposed mineral soils
within the first few
months following the fire
and quickly re-establish.
The trees are usually killed by fire. With fires occurring over the late summer and autumn, the
winter rains ensures moisture of seedling survival and establishment.
Its wood is heavy durable, close-grained 10-15 years life in ground, and over 15 years
above ground.
It is suitable for many exterior uses including joinery, shingles and boats. It is used for
mouldings and panelling inside.
It was widely planted throughout the colony as a shelter and firewood tree as it dries
and splits well, although is
Cupressus macrocarpa in natural habitat, beach is behind photographer
prone to sparking.
With Pinus radiata
this was one of the most successful trees trialed in the Wellington Botanic Garden during he
period 1870 to 1890. Plants were subsequently distributed and established throughout New
Zealand. Seed was first imported in 1870 with further importations over the next 10 years. In
the period 1871/72 a total of 239 trees were planted within the Garden, and many old
specimens can still be seen in Canterbury, Hawles Bay and the Wairarapa, from seed and plants
distributed from Wellington.
A good fast growing hedge it can be trimmed so long as it is not cut back into old wood.
Cupressus glabra
(also see C. arizonica)
A member of the Cupressaceae (cypress family) it is also known as the Smooth
Cypress, and Smooth Arizona Cypress Some authorities consider smooth cypress to be
a variety of the wider-ranging Arizona cypress, C. arizonica, rather than a species of its own. In
fact, some of the cultivars of Arizona cypress are no doubt actually selections of smooth
cypress.
Smooth cypress grows naturally in the mountains of central-western Arizona. It grows on
rocky or gravely soils in canyons from 3200 to 8700 feet above sea level
Smooth cypress is a handsome, steeple-shaped evergreen that can get 30-50' tall and
usually stays only 12-15' wide. It has compact, beautiful blue-green foliage. The small scale-like
leaves are dotted with tiny white flecks that actually are resin glands that produce a turpentine
fragrance. The outer bark continually flakes away, revealing the very attractive smooth, cherryred inner bark. The spherical cones are reddish brown, about an inch in diameter, have 6-8
shield-shaped scales, and remain on the tree for 2 or more years, even after the seeds are
shed.
The popular cultivar 'Blue Ice' is even more compact and cone-shaped, and has unique
steely-blue foliage. The growing tips of 'Arctic' are white. 'Blue Pyramid' has a slightly weeping
shape.
Cyathea genus
There are some 10,000 ferns throughout the world, with 7 species of Cyathea in NZ out
of some 350 evergreen tree ferns worldwide.
Cyathea medullaris, Mamaku or Black Fern, is the largest with 20-30
fronds and trunk growing 20 m high. Old ferns have their trunks buttressed at the bases with
matted aerial roots. It has black frond stalks and the fallen fronds leave a pattern of armour
like scars. In young plants the dead fronds hang down untidily, but in taller specimens they
separate more readily. It is widely distributed in lowland forests throughout the country. .
Cyathea smithii Katote or Soft Tree Fern is delicate and beautiful., growing 8
m tall. Old fronds persist when they die as a skirt beneath the new leaves. It is found in damp
places throughout the country.
Cyathea dealbata Ponga or Silver Fern is easily recognised by the silvery
white undersides to the fronds. Its trunk reaches 10 m tall, the bases of the fronds persisting
for a ling time. The ends of the fronds appear ‘blunt’
Cyathea colensoi or Creeping Tree Fern is small; its short trunk lied along
the ground under leaf litter. The frond stalks have distinctive straw coloured scales.
Also Cyathea brownii from Lord Howe Island (in Nursery Glen)
Dicksonia fronds are sheathed by hairs, while those of Cyathea by scales.
Dicksonia squarrosa Wheki is medium sized to 6 m high with a slender trunk,
Its fronds spread more or less horizontally. The brown colour of the persistent dead fronds and
their bases which persist after the leaves break away is characteristic.
Dicksonia fibrosa or Wheik ponga is variable growing to 6 m tall, with a heavy
trunk up to 600 mm in diameter. The trunk is usually densely coated with matted aerial roots
at the base. The fronds are not as harsh to the touch as squarrosa, and there are up to 30 or
more. The species is easily recognised by the skirt of persistent whole dead fronds surrounding
the trunk below the crown.
Cycads
Often considered as palms, they are not palms, but a primitive group of cone bearing
plants related to conifers.
Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants. They first approximately 300 million years
ago, appearing before there were dinosaurs, existing alongside them, and perhaps being eaten
by them. Unlike the dinosaurs, however, the cycads never became extinct; they are still with
us, although they are not now as abundant or diverse as in their Mesozoic hey-day. The ginkgo
occurred at the same time
In the Mesozoic, cycads were an abundant component of the flora. During the
Triassic and Jurassic, the time of their greatest diversity, cycads made up 20% of the world
flora. During this time, they were an important component of the vegetation, not simply in
numbers of species, but in size and number of individuals. Cycads were the trees and shrubs
that, along with the conifers and Ginkgoales, dominated the Mesozoic forest. Cycads attained a
global distribution, extending over the Earth from Alaska and Siberia to the Antarctic. Fossils
are known from every continent, a feat that was possible because of the generally warmer
climate of the Mesozoic, and higher moisture than today
The very large divided leaves mean that cycad plants resemble palms or tree ferns in
overall appearance. Cycads, however, differ greatly in almost all aspects of detailed structure
and reproductive behaviour. Cycad plants are dioecious (i.e. male and female reproductive
structures are borne on separate plants), and reproduction is by seeds, which are produced on
open carpophylls or seed bearing leaves. Although technically woody plants, unlike other woody
plants, cycads possess a pachycaul stem. This is a thick, soft stem or trunk made up of mostly
storage tissue with very little true wood. Within the trunk, leaf traces or veins leading to leaves
arise at a point opposite the attachment of the leaf, and circle the trunk within the storage
tissue. These are known as with girdling leaf traces, and occur in some ferns but no other seed
plants. The coralloid roots of cycads are also characteristics not seen in other seed plants, and
the cycads lack the axillary buds seen in other seed plants.
The seeds of Macrozamia species (Burrawangs) and other cycads are borne in a large
cone and have an orange outer coat. They are poisonous, but the Aborigines knew how to treat
them to remove the poison, and so take advantage of the large amount of food provided by a
single plant. One of the ways was to cook the seed, break it up, and then soak it for up to three
weeks in running water, similar to the method used by the Maori for treating karaka seeds to
render them safe to eat. In Western Australia, only the red outer part was eaten, after
treatment by washing and burying. Early European explorers in Australia were attracted to
eating the fresh fruits of Macrozamia and other cycads, with dire results. As they tended to not
read each other’s accounts and journals, they continued to suffer from cycad poisoning.
Members of virtually every party, which explored Australia, from 1696 until 1864, suffered from
eating fresh cycad nuts. Cycads are toxic to cattle too, causing a fatal nervous disease,
associated with degeneration of the spinal cord and tumours of the liver, kidney, intestine and
brain after a latent period of a year or more. That the Aboriginal people should have learned to
use such an extremely dangerous food source is remarkable. In every one of the tropical
countries in which they occur, cycad fruits have been used at one time or other as a staple food
and similar techniques have been used to remove their toxicity. The productivity of cycads,
which often occur in groves, is prodigious. A 200 square metre plot of Cycas media in North
Queensland can yield 13 kg of kernels. The process of detoxifying by fermentation instead of
leaching was also used, perhaps where running water was in short supply. The nuts were
pounded or crushed and immersed in 1m of water in a 2m- hole dug specially for the purpose.
Fermentation produced a seething mass of white froth and bubbles rising almost to the top of
the hole. Apparently it took until after the next wet season for the water from the hole to be
used again for human consumption. After processing, the kernels were dried in the sun, then
pounded in a paste or coarse flour, shaped into loaves, which were baked. A huge fire was lit,
and when it died down, it was scraped aside, and the sand underneath was excavated to make
a hole large enough for ten loaves. The loaves were covered with hot sand, the fire scraped
back over the area, and fresh fuel was added to
the fire. Two hours later the loaves were
removed, turned over, put back in, and baked
again.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen are a genus of plants
containing 20 species, which are part of the
Cyclamen persicum
family of Primulaceae, the Primrose family. In
the wild, their distribution is centred on the
Mediterranean, being natives of parts of Europe,
western Asia and parts of North Africa. They are
tuberous plants and have no obvious affinity
with Primroses, although they do resemble the
North American Dodecatheon in having reflexed
petals.
Their habitats range from Fagus (Beech) woodland, through scrub and rocky areas, to
alpine meadows where they flower in snow melt water.
The genus is notable for the fact that although it is small, there are species that flower in
every month of the year.
In cultivation, there are some species that are definitely hardy, some which are
borderline, and a few species that will not tolerate any frost.
The genus also provides florists plants in the form of cultivars based on Cyclamen
persicum. These are generally winter and spring flowering plants that are available in a wide
range of colours.
The word Cyclamen is derived from the Greek word kyklamenos that means "circle
form". This may refer to the circle at the tip of the flower or to the round shape of the tuber
from which sprouts forth this unusual plant. Cyclamen have been a popular cultivated plant
since Plato’s time, several hundred years B.C.
In its native habitat the Cyclamen is an endangered plant. Centuries of collecting from
the wild have decimated populations and the Cyclamen is now protected by CITES. CITES is the
Congress on International Trade in Endangered Species. It is a worldwide body set up to protect
not only plants, but animals that are in danger of extinction. It is illegal to import or export
Cyclamen to or from any cooperating country without a CITES permit.
Cyclamen were put to many medicinal uses during the first few centuries A.D.
according to Pedacio (or Padanius) Dioscorides, a Greek military surgeon and naturalist of the
first century. He is sometimes referred to as the 'father of the materia medica' and, for more
than 1500 years, was accepted as THE authority in botany and medicine. During the 16th
century, a traveller in Greece came across some manuscripts of Dioscorides and took them
home to Italy to his friend, one Pietro Andrea Mattioli, a prominent physician and writer who
devoted many years to publishing various editions in numerous languages of his translations of
the Discourses of Dioscorides. In his 1559 edition in Italian, Chapter CLI II is devoted to
cyclamen. MATERlA MEDICINAL DISCOURSES FROM DIOSCORIDES BY PIETRO ANDREA
MATTIOLI - 1559 DEL ClCLAMINO - Chap. CLIII
Cyclamen has ivy like leaves, purplish, varied, with some spots on the top and white
underneath. The stem is about four inches long and bare. On top are the flowers, red, rose like.
The root is black, squashed, and similar to a turnip.
Among the prescribed uses of cyclamen were the following:
It is said that pregnant women will abort if they walk over it.
If one wears it on herself, it speeds up delivery.
It can be drunk to counteract any kind of poison, but especially the sea air.
As an ointment, it is good against serpent's bite.
Taken with wine, it makes one drunk.
It should be taken with wine or honey wine
diluted with water for bile overflow in the proportion of
three drams.
It is necessary, however, to put the patient in a warm
place with no drafts and well covered so that he will be able to
sweat and the sweat will come out yellow like bile.
The juice of the root can be absorbed through
the nose to purge the head.
Applied with honey to the eyes, it is good for
cataracts and eye weakness.
The juice of the squeezed roots is cooked until it
thickens like honey. The root purges and cleanses the
skin; it cures and prevents blemishes and boils.
Taken alone or with honey, it heals wounds
As a plaster, it dissolves the spleen; it does well to a
sunburned face; and it makes hair grow again.
The decoction is good for dislocated limbs, gout,
head ulcers, and chilblains. The old oil in which the root
was fried makes ulcers heal. One can make a hole in
the root and fill with oil and cook it on hot ashes.
Sometimes they add Tirrenian wax so that it becomes
similar to an ointment, especially effective with
chilblains Somebody says that mashed into a paste it can be used as a love potion.
Many centuries later Gerard in his Herbal says - 'it is reported to me by men of good
credit, that cyclamen or sow-bread groweth upon the mountains of Wales; on the hills of
Lincolnshire and in Somerset-Shire. Being beaten and made up into trochisches, or little flat
cakes, it is reputed to be a good amorous medicine to make one love, if it be inwardly taken'.
Culture
Cyclamen prefer cool temperatures and bright indirect light. Ideal daytime temperatures
are 16-18 degrees C. with night temperatures around 10 degrees. Higher temperatures may
cause the plant to stop flowering and go into dormancy.An east window provides adequate light.
Plants prefer to be kept moist, but avoid watering the crown or center of the plant, as
this may cause crown rot, or botrytis. Bud blasting or aborting as well as yellowing leaves result
from hot and dry conditions, lack of water or insufficient light.
After the flowers have finished,
gradually withhold water. When the foliage
has withered, stop the water completely
and put the pot outside, in a sheltered spot,
for the summer. In late summer when the
tuber is showing new shoots it can be
repotted with fresh potting mix, covering
only the lower half of the tuber, and
gradually increase the watering. The pot
should remain outside in a cool sheltered
spot until it is in full flower, when it may be
taken indoors again.
Alternately the dormant tuber may
be planted in a well drained, sheltered area
of the garden, where it will flower in the
following winter and spring, and may
persist for several years.
Cyclamen hederifolium
Wrongly known as Cyclamen neapolitanum
Cyclamen hederifolium
Cyclamen hederifolium has a wide distribution stretching from southeastern France,
through Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece,
(including Crete and many of the Aegean Islands) and western Turkey. It inhabits woodland,
garigue, maquis, scrub, and rocky hillsides from sea level to 1300m (4,262 ft).
C. hederifolium has pink flowers with a purple-magenta V-shaped blotch at the base of
each petal, which appears between August and October in the northern hemisphere. There is
also a white flowered form that is now common in cultivation, but scarce in the wild. The
flowers appear either before, or with, the young leaves that are often ivy-like as suggested by
the specific epithet. However, the plant is very variable and the leaves can be every shape from
almost orbicular to lanceolate. Leaves vary from dull or bright plain green to plain silver with
various forms of hastate pattern in between, with the pattern in silver, grey, cream or merely a
different colour green. The tuber roots from its top surface and sides. Chromosome count:
2n=34, 2n=68 or=102.
Although the name Cyclamen hederifolium Aiton (1789) has prior claim, the plant was
for many years known in horticulture as Cyclamen neapolitanum Ten. (1813), and this name
erroneously persists today in some nurseries.
In 1997, Grey-Wilson revised the classification of the species, identifying two varieties.
This recognised that populations in the southern parts of its range, particularly Sicily, Crete and
the Mani Peninsula of the Peloponnese differ from other forms and also appear to be tetraploid.
This gave us:
1. Leaves generally rather deep green or grey-green with a well-marked hastate
patternm scarcely shiny above and beneath; lamina longer than wide, angled or shallowly lobed
and finely toothed; petioles mostly 1.5-2.5 mm (0.06-0.1 inches) in diameter: C. hederifolium
var. hederifolium ........................................................ 2
... Leaves bright green with a poorly defined hastate pattern, thicker and fleshier, shiny,
particularly beneath; lamina often as long as wide, sometimes wider than long, and generally
broadest at or close to the middle, shallowly 5(-7)-lobed with rather obscure, blunt marginal
teeth; petioles 2.5-4mm (0.1-0.16 inches) in diameter .....C. hederifolium var. confusum
2. Flowers pale to deep pink to reddish-purple, with deep purple-magenta markings at
the base of each petal lobe ................................................................................ C.
hederifolium var. hederifolium forma hederifolium
... Flowers pure white, sometimes with pale pink in the throat, petals unmarked ... C.
hederifolium var. hederifolium forma albiflorum
Cultivation
C. hederifolium is the most reliably hardy of all the Cyclamen species, flowering well in
the garden and seeding around. It grows well both in full sun and partial shade or beneath
deciduous trees. It particularly enjoys growing in soil that contains a good proportion of leaf
mould (leaf litter). It easily survives low temperatures.
Cyclamen persicum
Cyclamen persicum grows wild in south western Turkey, The Hatay and Adana Provinces
of southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos and
Crete, Algeria and Tunisia. There is no doubt that the populations through the Hatay, Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan and Israel are natural, but there are theories that those in the various islands
and North Africa may be plants which were introduced by monks or other religious orders as
there appears to be a relationship between these populations and monasteries or at least
cemeteries. C. persicum grows in a variety of habitats: maquis, garigue, open scrub, rocky
hillsides, abandoned olive groves, or in woodland. It grows from Sea Level to 1200m (3,940 ft).
It is found growing on graves in the old Turkish Cemetery in Rhodes Town, and in snow on the
top of the Golan Heights in Israel.
Cyclamen persicum is the parent species of the florists Cyclamen, however, the
description that follows is concerned with the natural species as found in the wild.
The flowers are generally white (sometimes a soft pink, or with a pink flush) with a deep
pink or crimson-magenta zone at the base of each petal, however there is an albino form, which
is found in the east of its range, and a form with deeper pink or almost cerise flowers is found in
two populations on the island of Karpathos. The petals vary between 20-37 mm (0.8 - 1.5
inches) long and 10-18 mm (0.4 - 0.75 inches) wide.
The flowers appear between December and early May, but there is a single population
near Jericho, Israel/Palestine where the plants flower in the autumn.
Grey-Wilson (1997) distinguishes various taxa based on flowering period and petal
colour:
1. Flowers borne in the
autumn ................................................................................................C. persicum var.
autumnale
... Flowers borne in the late winter and spring: C. persicum var.
persicum ............................................................. 2
2. Flowers white or very pale pink, with deep pink round the base ............. C.
persicum var. persicum forma persicum
... Flowers pure white ............................................................................... C. persicum
var. persicum forma albidum
... Flowers mid- to deep rose-pink, uniformly coloured or rather deeper around the
nose ................................................................................................................. C.
persicum var. persicum forma roseum
... Flowers red to carmine ......................................................................... C. persicum
var. persicum forma puniceum
The leaves are cordate, up to 14 cm (5.6 inches) long and up to 13.5 cm (5.4 inches)
wide, and green, often with marbling on the upper surface. A silver-leafed form also exists.
Chromosome count: 2n=48.
Cultivation
Cyclamen persicum is principally a tender plant that will not tolerate frost. However
when grown under glass it will survive temperatures as low as -2ºC provided the leaves are dry.
In this case, the leaves will darken and go limp, but will recover when the temperature rises.
The Cyclamen Society 1990 expedition to Israel found C. persicum growing in snow on the
Golan Heights, and the progeny of collected plants have proved able to survive lower
temperatures in cultivation, and in a sheltered, well-drained spot, are suitable for growing in the
open garden.
In pots, the tubers will grow in size quickly and it is common for them to reach a
diameter of over 15 cm (6 inches). They appreciate some pine needle litter incorporated in the
compost and respond positively. However, C. persicum must not be grown in too rich a compost
otherwise it will produce a large quantity of foliage and will look 'cabbagy'. This lush growth is
also very susceptible to botrytis and other rots and moulds and it is essential that there is
adequate ventilation so as to maintain a good flow of air around the plants.
Although there are a small number of inter-specific hybrids, the common usage of the
term 'Cyclamen Hybrids' or 'Florists Cultivars' refers to intra-specific hybrids of Cyclamen
persicum origin.
These cultivars have been bred in a large range of flower colours, including 'double
flowers', picotee forms and frilly petals. There are also two basic plant sizes, generally referred
to as 'large' and 'small' (or 'mini') forms.
The breeding of persicum cultivars began seriously in the mid-nineteenth century
through selection and back-crossing, and resulting in flowers several times larger than the wild
species. Much of this work took place in England and the Netherlands and many named forms
were produced.
In the 1960's a breeding program at Wye College, University of London, crossed existing
large flowered plants with wild forms, producing smaller plants with more refined, scented
flowers and attractively marked foliage. These became known as the 'Wye College Hybrids'.
Today, Cyclamen persicum cultivars are mass produced as pot-plants particularly in the
Netherlands and Germany, using F1 hybrid seed strains
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides
Pines are a Northern Hemisphere group of conifers, and in the Southern Hemisphere we
have podocarps instead of pines, of which Kahikatea or White Pine is one, and also rimu,
totara, matai, and miro.
The Kahikatea White Pine is our tallest native tree, with mature specimens as tall as 60
m (200 feet). It is often the dominant tree in swampy areas, but also grows well on drier sites.
Only a few stands of pure Kahikatea forest remain today, and these are mainly on the West
Coast of the South Island. Juvenile foliage differs from adult.
Podocarp trees do not have woody cones like the pine trees. Kahikatea has, instead, a
small black seed on a fleshy orange-red base, which is eaten and dispersed by birds.
From 1885 to the 1940’s Kahikatea timber was used to make parchment-lined butter
boxes. The timber is odourless, clean looking and lightweight, and ideal for the purpose. We not
only exported butter in large quantities, but also the vast majority of our kahikatea stands.
Used also to make masts and spars for sailing ships.
The juicy, orange-red base that holds the kahikatea seed was an important food of early
Maori. They are sweet, with a slight piney aftertaste. Pigeon, kaka and tui also eat the fruit.
Bees collect the pollen from the catkins in September and October.
A tonic medicine was made by leaving chips of wood to steep in boiling water and
drinking the liquid.
Kahikatea was a favoured wood for making bird spears.
The soot obtained from heartwood provided a pigment for tattooing.
Dacrydium cupressinum
Rimu/Red Pine grows very tall, usually 25-30 m tall, sometimes reaching 60 m.
Next to kauri it is the best knows of the NZ timber trees. Its attractive weeping juvenile foliage
is attractive and distinctive, and the mature trees are beautiful. The genus comprises some 22
species from NZ Australia and northern outlying islands.
This is one of our most ancient trees; fossil pollen has been traced back 70 million years.
It is widely distributed throughout the country.
The heavy wood is deep red in colour, strong and durable, although not as durable as
kauri or totara. The heartwood is nearly always beautifully figured as a result of the grain being
twisted during growth and is regarded as being one of the most beautifully figured woods of the
world. Extensively used for furniture and house finishing, its availability is now becoming more
restricted, and may be confined to veneers and finishing timber.
The astringent gum can bleeding from wounds and an infusion of the leaves used to
treat ulcers and sores.
The heartwood is extremely resinous and is used as a torch. Tannin is obtained from the
bark.
Fruit – eaten raw or cooked. It can be somewhat constipating.
A resinous substance from the young branches has been used to make an alcoholic
beverage resembling spruce beer. Captain Cook, during his 1773 visit to NZ found that a beer
made from young rimu branches was beneficial in relieving scurvy from which most of his crew
was suffering. The resin is bitter but edible
Dates Of Note
See also Garden History
1839 Directors of the New Zealand Company make provision for a Town Belt during the
planning and establishment of Wellington.
1840 Main Garden area of 13 acres shown on early city plan.
1844 Land for Botanic Garden (12 acres, 1 rood, 19 perches) appropriated from the land
set aside for Public Reserves part of the Town Belt Reserve vested in the Crown).
1848 Crown grant of land to the New Zealand Company did not include the Botanic
Garden that remained with the Crown.
The map attached to the Grant clearly shows location of the Garden, the first map to
specifically show this.
1865 Government authorises the Superintendent to purchase adjacent Wesleyan
Reserve land as a recreation park.
1867 Dr. Janes Hector, Government consultant on all matters of scientific interest asked
by the Government to examine the botanic reserve.
Wesleyan Reserve land recorded as still covered with native forest in a "tolerable state of
preservation" unlike. the Botanic Garden Reserve which had virtually been cleared of native
forest by this time.
1868 Reserve declared a Government Domain.
Superintendent appoints Dr. James Hector as Manager of the Garden.
1869 Alfred Ludlam, Member of the House of Representatives introduces the ‘Botanic
Garden Bill' to Parliament. The act is passed and the Botanic Garden is entrusted to the
Governors of New Zealand Institute, the forerunner of the present Royal Society of New
Zealand. Under the name of the Botanic Garden Board, the New Zealand Institute Governors
administer the Garden. James Hector, Manager for both Boards.
The Act provides for use of the Garden for acclimatisation purposes. This causes
problems.
Hector's position as Director of the New Zealand Geological Survey and the Colonial
Museum means that the work in the Garden is closely related to these institutions as well as to
the direction of the Botanic Garden Board.
During the period of administration by the New Zealand Institute the Garden were to
meet three identifiable but overlapping needs.
1. For Government - a trial ground examining the economic potential of plants,
particularly forestry species.
2. For scientists - a garden for the study and collection of indigenous flora and
establishment of exotic plants.
3. For the public - a place .of recreation and enjoyment.
1870 William Bramley appointed first Superintendent.
1871 Wesleyan land brought under the City Reserves Act of 1871 amended to provide
money for the development of the Garden.
1873 First plan of the Garden Shows extent of native forest including kanuka.
Wesleyan Reserves land of 54 acres 1 rood 24 perches conveyed under Wellington City
Reserves Act to bring the total area of the gardens to 68 acres 1 rood 20 perches.
1875 Two reserve areas intended for the cemetery totalling 8 acres 3 roods 30 perches
included under the supervision of the Botanic Garden Board.
First map of the Garden. It shows much of the layout as it is today. Paths are named,
Main Drive is formed, native forest and other features illustrated.
1876 Abolition of the Provinces denies provincial funding of the Garden.
During the 1870's and 1880's the major source of revenue (£300 per annum) came from
central Government for testing the economic potential of plants they introduced. During this
period most of the conifer introductions occurred. Only other income comes from the Town Belt
rents.
. Two cases of ‘immorality’ occurred. One couple entered the new pine plantations and
damaged a tree. Charged, they were sentenced to one month’s hard labour, subsequently
reduced to 1 week after a public outcry. The other couple also charged fled the colony.
Cottage built. This is now the Caretaker's house.
1880 The Botanic Garden constabulary established and the cottage occupied by a
constable
1885 No Government financial Grant given this year. (A nationwide downturn in the
economy in the 1880's reflected in a progressive reduction in funds for the Garden).
1886 Hector establishes the Teaching. Garden on the site of the present Sound Shell
Lawn. It is the first such development in the Garden.
1887 Wellington City Council recognises the problem with funding and although it is able
to increase the City's contribution they are unwilling to do so through another authority.
1889 A deputation from the Wellington City Council goes to he Premier with a proposal
to transfer management of the garden to the council. The Botanic Garden records unanimous
opposition to this proposal.
1891 The Botanic Garden Vesting Bill introduced into the House of Representatives
proposing a change in management to the Wellington City Council. The Botanic Garden Board
argues the importance of the original 13 acres and the need to safeguard this area for the
purposes of botany for all time. The need for an observatory site was also pressed for at this
time.
The Wellington Botanic Garden Vesting Act passed with the provision made, for a 6 acre
site for a future observatory and the requirement that the original 13 acres he maintained as a
Botanic Garden in perpetuity.
At the time of the Vesting Act three major issues were facing the Garden:
1 The spread of gorse in the Garden.
2. Broken fences and consequently problems with wandering stock causing
damage.
3. Lack of funds.
1895 Demand grows for the Garden to be developed as a "pleasure ground" rather than
a “scientific reserve".
1896 Gun Battery on Observatory Reserve site constructed. It involves 4.5 acres
enclosed by barbed wire and is regarded as a significant physical and visual intrusion on the
Garden.
1901 George Glen becomes Head Gardener.
1902 Cable Car opens and thus provides a new and important access to the Garden. In
the first year of operation 425,000 people used the Cable Car.
Main Garden from Main Gates to the first ridge cleared of pines and replanted (between
1902 - 06).
1904 George Glen appointed Superintendent of Baths and Reserves.
Tea Kiosk at the top of the Cable Car opens on land leased to the Kelburn and Karori
Tramway Company.
The City's trams electrified and extended up to the Main Gate of the Garden in Glenmore
Street.
Gun Battery dismantled.
Nucleus of alpine rockery established. Position unknown.
1905 Children’s play area established.
Provision for women's public toilets.
1906 Hector Observatory started on Observatory site.
Work starts on the clearing and earthworks for the recreation around (which later
becomes Anderson Park). The scale of the earthworks causes considerable physical and visual
damage. A large dark gully results that ends abruptly in a wall of fill making up the Park. This
gully becomes a rubbish tip until the 1930's.
Newtown Park Zoo established and the small zoo at the Garden closed down.
1907 Band rotunda built near Duck Pond.
Hector observatory finished.
Entrance to Garden from Mariri Road and Mariri Road lawn formed.
1910 Anderson Park ready for use.
1911 Fernery completed and opened to the public for viewing.
1912 An extension to the alpine garden opposite the band rotunda built. Other
rockeries developed later.
1913 Pines removed from lower slopes of Druid Hill.
1914 Stables and mess room built. Potting shed and nursery built soon after.
Summerhouse/gazebo on Main Drive erected.. It was originally built by the Carpenters' Union
for their float in the Labor Day procession.
1915 Provision of men's public toilets and also for staff in the new stables and mess
room
1918 J G Mackenzie appointed the first Director of Parks and Reserves.
Start of many new plantings, particularly flowering trees.
More pines removed from Druid Hill slope.
1925 Brick piers and iron gates (ex Hospital Board) erected, a project that had
languished since 1905.
Mackenzie proposes the idea of a Winter Garden, forerunner of the Begonia House.
Cockayne writes of the importance of native forest in the Garden.
Moves by Cockayne and Mackenzie to establish Otari.
1927 Start of remodelling of entire frontage of Garden as a result of the widening of
Glenmore Street and Tinakori Road.
Formation of Magpie Lawn above Glenmore Street started. This involves cutting part of
the ridge and filling the Glenmore Gully below.
1930 Remodelling of frontage of Garden completed.
1931 Anderson Park extension started. This involves filling in the remains of the valley
left over from the formation of Anderson Park.
1934 Anderson Park extension completed.
1938 Carter Observatory Act passed.
1941 Carter Observatory opened.
1947 Mackenzie retires and Edward Hutt appointed Director.
1948 Berhampore Nursery opened as central propagating area for the Parks and
Reserves Department but the nursery in the Garden continues to produce plants.
Suggestion for a rose garden made (on the present site).
1950 Work starts on Lady Norwood Rose Garden.
1953 Lady Norwood Rose Garden opened.
1956 Lady Norwood donates fountain to the Rose Garden. (This was replaced by the
Norwood family in 1977).
1960 Begonia House built.
Peace Garden established.
1965 Ian Galloway appointed Director of Parks and -Reserves.
1968 Wahine Storm in April and a great deal old growth felled.
Period of redevelopment of the Garden begins subsequent to the storm under the
supervision of Ray Mole curator of Otari Native Plant Museum who is also appointed
Curator of the Botanic Garden.
1970 Herb Garden established with support from the Wellington Herb Society.
1979 Annual Summer Festival begins.
1981 Tea House built.
First Management Plan for the Garden is produced by Parks and Reserves Department.
1983 Interpretive Centre established in the shed that housed the engine for the Cable
Car.
1985 First part of the additions to the Herb Garden completed.
1986 Ian Galloway dies suddenly. Richard Nanson appointed Director of Parks and
Reserves and Recreation.
1987 Interpretive Centre closed. Now used for Polytechnic.
1988 Comprehensive Draft Management Plan for the Garden produced.
History of the Botanic Garden 1840-1987 by Winsome Shepherd and Walter Cook
published.
1989 The Lily House added to the Tea and Begonia complex in he Rose Garden.
1990 Friends Organisation started.
Mike Oates appointed Curator.
Opening of the Tree House and WWF Headquarters.
Centennial Celebrations.
1992 First planting - James Hector Pinetum.
1994 Peace Flame installed.
1996 Duck Pond was redesigned and the old macrocarpa removed
2000 The Cable Car Museum was opened
2001 The Children’s Playground redesigned Tony Williams appointed curator
2003 Redevelopment of Begonia House, shop and facilities.
Williams resigns. David Sole appointed Manager (Curator).
Krupp gun installed by Battery.
2004 Centennial entrance walkway
Bush remnants study
Propagation of historic trees commenced.
Registration by Historic Places Trust as historic garden
2005 Bolton walkway completed
Dell; The
Unemployed relief workers filled in the Dell area in 1934.
During World War II, it was part of the American Marines’ Camp.
Today it is a popular recreation area, and is used in the Summer Festival for concerts,
Shakespeare, the Teddy Bears Picnic, etc. Material salvaged from the Marine Camp was used to
build the Foreman’s House that used to stand near the Herb Garden. It was demolished in 1997.
Divaricating shrubs
A puzzling feature of the New Zealand flora is the widespread occurrence of an unusual
type of shrub that has very small leaves and densely interlaced twigs. These are often
profusely branched and spread apart at wide angles. They are generally termed 'divaricating
shrubs' and include the juvenile stages of several small trees. There are more than 60 species
that have this form.
There is much theorising and some argument about what led to the evolution of this
distinctive growth habit in so many New Zealand plants. One suggestion is that the divaricates
are hardy forms that evolved from less-hardy larger-leaved forest species during the
geologically recent Ice Age. An opposing view is that they are browse-resistant, enabling them
to survive the onslaught of the large, only recently extinct, herbivorous moa. For one thing the
small leaves of the divaricates would not have provided a decent meal for such large birds and
secondly the many growing points on the many twigs would have enabled quick recovery from
any browsing that might have occurred.
Divaricating shrubs are found elsewhere in the world, particularly in deserts, but they
are a particularly notable feature of New Zealand vegetation. They mostly grow in moist
habitats
Dominion Observatory
The Dominion Observatory was built in 1907 with additions in 1926. It was used
to determine accurate time using astronomical observations. Note the slit (now closed over) in
the roof. This allowed stars to be observed along a north-south axis enabling time to be
determined to an accuracy of a quarter of a second. This information was disseminated using
coloured lights on a mast.
Later, radio signals were used as a check, and signals sent out by radio, but
astronomical determinations of time continued into the 1950s. The building is currently used as
a technical workshop by the Seismological Observatory of the Institute of Geological and
Nuclear Sciences. Dragonfly (Uropetala carovei) See also ‘insects’
Maori generally knew the dragonflies as ‘kapowai’
They were first identified by Adam While, zoologist on the voyage of HMS Erebus and
Terror in 1839-43. This is a representative of archaic and primitive insects with a discontinuous
world distribution. There are two sub-species Uropetala carovei carovei of the North Island and
Uropetala carovei chiltoni primarily from the South Island.
The dragonflies emerge in the summer, the adults living for 1 to 2 months, although
males can live longer, the life influenced by the degree of exposure and climate. They have a
wingspan of some 125 mm.
Males are the most frequently seen
because they emerge before the females, the
females disappear for laying of the eggs, and
because the females are damaged during egg
laying, they die sooner. The insects do not
migrate far from their feeding grounds (wet or
swampy places). The females deposit their eggs
just below the water level amongst moss,
liverwort and other bog vegetation. 6 to 10
elongated eggs are attached separately to
subterranean stems approx. 25 mm below the
surface of the water. Each egg is some 1.4 mm
long and 0.55 mm wide, white when laid, but
quickly turning brown. They take 2125 days to hatch.
The pronymph (1st instar) is
contained within the egg. The
nymph must emerge within some 30
seconds of the egg rupture as it
cannot walk, breathe or feed in this
stage. 1.7 mm long at emergence,
it grows through 15 instars to 40-50
mm long over a period of 5 to 7
years. Before emergence the
nymphs go to the tops of the
burrows above the water line. They
emerge around dawn and move a
short distance from the burrow
entrance and ascend a tree trunk or
suitable vegetation, the exuviae
(exoskeleton) being often found
clinging to vegetation
The nymphs live in spring fed
swampy or boggy areas where there
is constant and permanent seepages
of clear water. Water flow is never quick. The last
instar has burrows down 300 to 700 mm deep and 30
mm in diameter. A chamber exists with the nympha
embedded in fine silt and partly in the clear water
above.. The earliest instars are found just below water
level. Burrows were always kept clear and soil from
collapsed sections and expanded burrows is excavated
into a small pile at the tunnel entrance. Only one
nymph is found in each burrow.
The shape of the burrow is thought to be a
response to kiwi predation. The burrow turns up,
whereas the kiwi beak turns down – a response to
natural selection
Nymphs move sluggishly. They emerge in the evening after clearing obstructions from
the burrow, and remain still at the entrance, waiting for nocturnal insects to come within
catching distance. They never move far from the entrance.
Their main enemies are other nymphs. Early instars feed on soil organisms, worms,
nematodes etc. Later instars feed on ground insects.
There is a major habitat in Nursery Glen and probably along Puketea Stream. Glow
worms probably form part of their diet.
The definitive reference is L. S. Woolfe (1953) ‘A Study of the Genus Uropetala Selys’
from the Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 80:245-275. Bill Winstanley Victoria
University (Otari guide) has also completed specialised studies (partly in the Garden).
Duck Pond
The Pond at the Wellington Botanic Garden has been through many transformations over
the years, and is currently a focal point of the Main Drive. Those who promenaded up and down
this walk, inevitably ended up at the side of the Pond. Usually the Pond was the centre of a
green tranquil scene, but on occasions the water was not as attractive as it might have been. It
would seem that this junction of Pipitea Stream and another little stream coming down from
The Glen had always been a marshy depression, and the early gardeners simply cleared it out
to make an ornamental pond.
In the book "The Botanic Garden: Wellington" by Winsome Shepherd and Walter Cook,
there are three lovely photos of the pond C1880. The photo (above top) shows five children not
sure whether to look into the murky water or smile at the photographer. It would seem that in
1880, as in 1995, there was concern for small children drowning in the deeper water, as the
Pond is ringed by a seven strand wire fence topped with barbed wire. The Pond clearly shows
through the black and white photo as little more than a slough. One suspects that the waters
have recently been muddied by small boys in search of frogs, kura, eels or whatever. The
grassy banks indicate that the rise and fall was not nearly as great as it is today. This can be
accounted for by the development of Kelburn and Northland as residential suburbs. In particular
the tar sealing of roads meant a rapid run off of rainwater through the storm water drains and
into the Pond. These days it can be quite alarming to watch the Pond rapidly rise after a sudden
downpour. There is a great surge of dirty water bringing forth much of the debris associated
with roadside gutters.
The Pond has had numerous name changes over the years, and has been variously called
"Lily Pond", "Frog Pond", "Swan Pond" and "Duck Pond". The great photographer, F.G. Barker,
always called it "The Lake" on his postcards. Today it is generally referred to as just "The Pond".
Around I910 The Pond had a small landscaped island complete with a shower fountain. The hill
in the background had a number of Agave with neat rock banks.
In the 1920's a high stone wall built in association with the dam, raised the water level and
made a better viewing area. A small island, different from the "fountain" one, had several nice
Mamuku ferns.In the 1940's card during the "Swan Pond" era, Mamaku ferns on the island had
grown considerably. F.G. Barker who photographed this tranquil called it "The Lake". The banks
were covered in lush growth giant Gunnera are growing well with their roots in water, and the
huge leaves revelling in the afternoon sun. At times like this, The Pond is a beautiful sight. The
Wilson photo above looks down on the viewing area, showing the rock wall and the dam in the
foreground. Abyssinian bananas were very much in vogue throughout the Garden at this time,
and two can be seen in the background.
In the July 1995 Friends Newsletter, the following announcement appeared NEW LOOK FOR GARDENS POND
One of the Botanic Garden's most popular areas is to get a facelift. The duck pond is to be
redeveloped over a three month period this spring - with an exciting result in store for the
Garden's summer visitors.
Wellington landscape architects Boffa Miskell came up with the new look pond in a country wide
competition, which called for plans to redesign the area, held last year. Wellington City Council
and The Friends of Wellington Botanic Gardens ran the competition as a way of getting a range
of different design ideas for the redevelopment of the pond. "We were looking for a proposal
that incorporated both educational and recreational elements and this design does exactly that"
says Botanic Garden curator Mike Oates.
The redevelopment project will involve enlarging and partially reshaping the existing pond,
developing a variety of water related garden settings near it and a series of trails and lookouts
above it. A promenade complete with columns and a pavilion will be key features in the finished
design and wetland gardens will be planted along the stream that feeds the pond.
The duck pond redesign project is estimated to cost $300,000 and will be funded largely
by the Charles Plimmer bequest - with contributions from the Friends of Wellington Botanic
Gardens and Wellington City Council.
Today we enjoy the result of the largest ever transformation at the Pond. This is the first
time that any development has been done in a planned manner as opposed to an informal ad
hoc basis as in the past. An out of town gardening correspondent has been highly critical of
Pond developments, but appears to be a lone voice as it is obvious that the local community
was highly enthusiastic. The Council have done a splendid exercise in relation to concerns
expressed at the danger to young children toddling out into deep water while feeding ducks. A
thorough investigation was done, submissions called and an independent assessor was assigned
to arbitrate. The outcome will see a low barrier to protect children without impairing the vista
down the Main Drive.
The pavilion was funded to th extent of $20,000 by the Friends of the Wellington Botanic
Garden.
In the magazine Landscape New Zealand (issue January/February 1997) it is noted that the design of
the pavilion, instead of using the wooden bandstand which once overlooked the pond as a design reference
, the 1875 tower building on the jetty of the nearby Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Reservoir provided a basis
for the design of the new building, providing a strong visual feature from William Bramley Drive. In
keeping with historical associations, benches with iron castings from original seat designs found elsewhere
in the garden were reproduced in the seating around the promenade walls.
Curator Mike Oates expressed pleasure at the new feature as he saw the pavilion not just as
a focal point at the end of the Main Drive but also as a feature between the formal aspects of
the Main Garden and the informal trees and native bush of the Glen.
The October 1996 Friends Newsletter contained the following report on the official opening
of the area "THE REFURBISHED DUCK POND AREA
After over two years of planning, designing then re-building, the Duck Pond area was
formally opened by Mayor Blumsky on a beautiful spring morning, Saturday, September 21
1996. The scene was a happy one indeed for all those involved in this project, with many
families attending and children enjoying the lovely day and the gas filled balloons issued to
them. The calmness of the day was such that escaping balloons climbed high up into the sky
with no change of direction!
In introducing the Mayor and accompanying dignitaries, Lady Holmes, President of the
Friends of the Botanic Garden, paid tribute to all those involved - designers, builders, the
curator Mike Oates and the Garden staff, and those who provided the finance for this project.
Special mention was made of the contributions from the Plimmer Family Trust, Sir Walter &
Lady Norwood, the BNZ North End Branch, along with donations and fund raising from the
Friends of the Garden.
Lady Holmes touched on the set backs that were encountered and the problems of resource
consents, and the necessity to have safety steps included into the initial design. Advice was
sought from many experts on a suitable design and a nation wide competition was set up in
1994 for members of the National Institute of Landscape Architects to submit ideas. The
finished project was not to cost more than $250,000, and the successful winner of the
competition was the Wellington company, Boffa Miskell & Co.
To complete the design, the Friends of the Garden decided that they would provide a
pavilion to complement the finished area, and $20,000 was raised through fund raising with
plant sales, book launches and activities in the Spring Festival. It was a proud moment for the
Friends when Lady Holmes unveiled a plaque on the pavilion.
Comments heard at the opening were that this area now enhanced the total Garden area
and was a very worthwhile project. The planting of irises and other water plants has now been
carried out, and as soon as these have established the water in the pond will be raised, much to
the delight of the duck inhabitants, to complete a very pleasant visual effect."
The redevelopment of this area has been very successful and it remains a focal point of the
Main Garden. On a nice summer day the seats surrounding the pool are all occupied, and
children delight in feeding the ducks who make their home here. During school holidays bread
can cover the pond as she ducks cannot keep up with the supply, and to avoid attracting
vermin, a grain vending machine is to be installed with the aim to rationalise bird feeding.
Dysoxylum spectabile
Kohekohe is a member of the same family as mahogany (Meliaceae) and other
tropical trees.
Kohekohe once formed large areas of coastal and lowland forest in damp areas, from
Northland to Nelson, as it once did in Wellington from the shores of the harbour to three
kilometres inland. In Wellington and elsewhere in NZ it was cleared from land for settlement.
Kohekohe forest has also suffered a lot of damage from possums. Today, only a few trees
remain in a few reserves. It has large, glossy compound leaves and is a handsome tree, which
grows to 15 m (45 feet).
Kohekohe wood, which is now scarce, was used by Maori for canoes, and later by
furniture makers as is wood takes a high polish. Wood from the occasional wind-fallen tree is
highly valued for carving. The fruit, bark and leaves were used medicinally by Maori and have a
long list of healing properties. The young bark is also reputed to contain a bitter derivative with
similar remedial properties to those of quinine. Various decoctions of the bark and leaves were
used in early NZ for the treatment of colds, coughing and stomach disorders.
One of Kohekohe’s most interesting features is its long drooping panicles of greenishwhite, waxy flowers, which sprout from its trunk and branches in early winter. This is called
cauliflory, and is a feature found in tropical trees. Individual trees flower in alternate years, as
there are no flowers in the year that the tree is maturing its fruit capsules.
Earthquakes
Scientists are rethinking
Wellington's earthquake risk
after detecting unusual land
movements on the Kapiti Coast.
A change in land movements at
Paekakariki is apparently linked
to a recent swarm of
earthquakes in Upper Hutt.
In recent times,
Paekakariki — 42 kilometers
northwest of Wellington — has
been gently moving west about
25 millimeters a year, as has
Wellington. But in May last year,
Paekakariki's travel dropped to
15 mm a year, and the area
began rising by about 10 mm a
year, while Wellington kept
creeping west at the 25 mm-ayear rate observed since 2000.
At about the same time,
18 km to the southwest, Upper
Hutt began experiencing an
earthquake swarm — a rare
event in the Wellington region.
The discovery may lead
to a breakthrough in
understanding the risk of earthquakes on fault lines around Wellington. Some local fault lines
may have quakes earlier than previously expected, and others may be less likely to have a
quake, scientists said yesterday.Research into which fault lines are affected, and how, may be
important to Wellington's population: the big Wellington fault has a recurrence interval of 500 to
800 years for big earthquakes and last ruptured about 600 years ago. An eventual force-eight
quake on it is expected to cause widespread devastation.
"The swarm of earthquakes near Upper Hutt and the change in motion near Paekakariki
both began at the same time," Geological and Nuclear Sciences geophysicist John Beavan said.
"Our modeling suggests the swarm and the relatively sudden change of movement near
Paekakariki are linked."
GNS scientists suspect the two tectonic plates - the Australian plate riding up over the
Pacific plate — had been locked together under the Kapiti Coast. But, in the past year, they had
undergone a "slow earthquake", in which the plate boundaries slipped past each other by 50
centimeters, much slower than a normal tremor. The boundary between the Pacific and
Australian plates is 26 km below Upper Hutt.
"Slow earthquakes" are a phenomenon that has been observed only recently. The 50 cm
slippage — possibly because of water under tremendous pressure moving up the interface —
would have been enough to produce the 10 mm a year change at Paekakariki, Dr Beavan said.
And it would have increased the tectonic stress under Upper Hutt by the right amount to trigger
a swarm of small to moderate quakes — about 36 have been recorded in a year.
The earth deformation at Paekakariki was detected by global positioning satellite
markers. The data is recorded on the Geonet information systems run by GNS, with help from
the Earthquake Commission and Land Information New Zealand.
EQC has provided $5 million a year till 2011 for GNS to design, install and run hi-tech
surveillance of seismic and volcanic activity, while LINZ has provided GPS monitors.
Extra information on what is happening under the Kapiti Coast is expected to become
available with the installation of two more GPS stations in Wellington region this year
Edgeworthia chrysantha :
A member of the family that includes the daphnes.
The genus comprises three very similar species from China and Japan. It is named after
Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812-81), a part-time botanist, plant collector and employee of
the East India Company.
Edgeworthia's common name, paper bush, comes from its utilitarian bark, which is
processed into a high-grade paper product in Japan and China. A high-class paper is made
from the bark[1][2][3][4]. The bark fibres are used[4]. The stems are harvested in spring or
early summer, the leaves are removed and the stems steamed until the fibres can be stripped.
The outer bark is removed from the inner by peeling or scraping. The fibres are cooked for 2
hours with soda ash and then beaten with mallets or put through a blender. The paper is off
white in colour[5]. The stems are extremely supple and can be tied in knots .
The first person to make paper by “felting” wood fibres was Ts’ai-Lun nearly 2,000
years ago in China.(Felting is the interlocking or matting of loose fibres to form a sheet of
paper.) made paper by grinding up plants - mulberry bark, linen and hemp, producing a wet
mush of separate fibres, then spreads it all out in a mat made of coarse cloth and a frame and
the sun dries the matted material. However, before this modern material, other materials were
used.
Paper spread slowly outside of China; other East Asian cultures, even after seeing
paper, could not make it themselves. Instruction in the manufacturing process was required,
and the Chinese were reluctant to share their secrets. The paper was thin and translucent, not
like modern western paper, and thus only written on one side.
It wasn't until the 3rd century that the secret art of papermaking began to creep out of
China, first to Vietnam and then Tibet. The technology was first transferred to Korea in 604 and
then imported to Japan by Buddhist priests, around 610, where fibres (called bast) from the
mulberry tree were used.
Paper making spread slowly throughout Asia to Nepal and later to India. It made its
true push westward in 751 AD when the Tang Dynasty was at war with the Islamic world.
During a battle on the banks of the Tarus river, Islamic warriors captured a Chinese caravan
which happened to include several paper makers. They spirited them away to Samarkand,
which soon became a great centre for paper production.
Gradually paper makers made their way further west through the Muslim world - to
Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo. Production was started in Baghdad, where the Arabs invented a
method to make a thicker sheet of paper. The first paper mills were built in Baghdad from 794,
which helped transform papermaking from an art into a major industry.
The manufacture had spread to Damascus by the time of the First Crusade in 1096; but
the wars interrupted production, and it split into two centres. Cairo continued with the thicker
paper. Iran became the centre of the thinner papers. It was also adopted in India.
The first paper mill in Europe was in Spain, at Xátiva (modern Valencia) in 1120. More
mills appeared in Fabriano Italy in about the 13th century, as an import from Islamic Spain.
They used hemp and linen rags as a source of fibre.
The oldest known paper document in the West is the Mozarab Missal of Silos from the
11th century, probably written in the Islamic part of Spain.
Paper is recorded as being manufactured in both Italy and Germany by 1400, just
about the time when the woodcut print making technique was transferred from fabric to paper
in the old master print and popular prints.
The first commercially successful paper mill in England was opened by John Spilman in
1588 near Dartford in Kent and was initially reliant on German papermaking expertise.
Rene de Réaumur a French physicist in the 1700s, watched a species of wasp we now
call the paper wasp. These insects were munching on wood. Not eating it but chewing it up,
spitting the mush back out and forming nests with it. It seemed to him that the wasps were
making paper out of wood. Somehow, Réaumur never got around to trying to imitate the wasps
by making paper himself, but had stumbled upon the secret of practical papermaking: wood
could be broken apart, like the other organic materials, and crafted into paper. We still follow
Réaumur's advice and the wasps' example, although papermaking has become a more complex
and efficient process, and its products incredibly varied and advanced.
In 1750 paper was made from the bark, leaves, and wood of various trees in France.
Paper remained expensive, at least in book-sized quantities, through the centuries, until
the advent of steam-driven paper making machines in the 19th century, which could make
paper with fibres from wood pulp. During the 19th century much progress was made in the
production of wood pulp for paper. Previously, paper had been made almost entirely from
cotton and linen rags.
Nicholas Louis Robert of Essonnes, France, was granted a patent for a continuous paper
making machine in 1799. At the time he was working for Leger Didot with whom he quarrelled
over the ownership of the invention. Didot sent his brother-in-law, John Gamble, to meet Henry
and Sealy Fourdrinier, stationers of London, who agreed to finance the project. Gamble was
granted British patent 2487 on 20 October 1801.
With the help particularly of Bryan Donkin, a skilled and ingenious mechanic, an
improved version of the Robert original was installed at Frogmore, Hertfordshire, in 1803,
followed by another in 1804. A third machine was installed at the Fourdriniers' own mill at Two
Waters. The Fourdriniers also bought a mill at St Neots intending to install two machines there
and the process and machines continued to develop.
People picked up the paper challenge. One person, a man named Kellar, learned how to
grind wood efficiently. Others invented new ways to separate wood fibres.
If Réaumur had written down his paper recipe - or more accurately, the wasps' recipe - it
might have looked like this:
wood fibre + water + energy = paper.
We still make paper using that same basic formula. We just vary the kinds of wood fibre
and energy, and the techniques of bringing it all together, to get just the kinds of paper we
want.
Together with the invention of the practical fountain pen and the mass produced pencil
of the same period, and in conjunction with the advent of the steam driven rotary printing
press, wood based paper caused a major transformation of the 19th century economy and
society in industrialized countries. With the introduction of cheaper paper, schoolbooks, fiction,
non-fiction, and newspapers became gradually available by 1900. Cheap wood based paper also
meant that keeping personal diaries or writing letters became possible and so, by 1850, the
clerk, or writer, ceased to be a high-status job.
Wood pulp was first made in the United States in 1869
Early paper was made of rags, and rags were hard to come by. Ironically, when the
disease called the Plague or Black Death killed millions of people in Europe, tons of clothing and
rags became available - at just about the time the printing press was invented.
Some historians speculate that paper was a key element in cultural advancement.
According to this theory, Chinese culture was less developed than the West in ancient
times prior to the Han Dynasty because bamboo, while abundant, was a clumsier
writing material than papyrus; Chinese culture advanced during the Han Dynasty and
subsequent centuries due to the invention of paper; and Europe advanced during the
Renaissance due to the introduction of paper and the printing press.
But papermaking today, creating all the kinds of paper we use in such huge
quantities, is a science as well as an art. Engineers and technicians speed things up,
using computers to help guide factory machines that can produce huge rolls of paper at
more than 45 miles an hour.
Eleaocarpus dentatus
A genus of some 60 species of handsome shrubs mostly natives of Australia and NZ and
the tropical Pacific.
The bark of the Hinau provided Maori with their main source of black dye for dyeing
flax and for tattooing. A decotion of the bark was also said to cure even the worst cases of skin
disease. Maori also used the thin flesh of the berries as food. The fruit was pounded to remove
the flesh from the quite large stones and shaped into pudding-like cakes and cooked in an umu
(like a hangi) for two hours or more.
Hinau has attractive flowers like lily-of-the-valley. It makes an attractive garden tree
that grows to 15 m (45 feet). It has vertical grooves in the trunk, especially when old, which
encourages the presence of epiphytes.
The Hinau in Nursery Glen is believed to be the oldest tree in the garden, predating
European settlement.
Elingamita johnsonii
Elingamita johnsonii is an endangered species known only from West Island of the Three
Kings, in a small and inaccessible islet that preserves a fragment of the pristine forest that once
covered much of the Island. It was not until January 1950 that the enterprising Major Magnus
Johnson landed alone and made the first botanical collections. The following year Dr Baylis
accompanied Major Johnson and found that the islet harboured a relatively rich flora, although
Thomas Cheeseman, in sailing past West Island described it as,"... on the whole presenting a
barren appearance and little more than bare rock". One product of the fieldwork by Johnson and
Baylis was the discovery of Elingamita johnsonii a previously undescribed species and genus of
the family Myrsinaceae.
Only about 12 trees are known and they are all confined to windswept scrub near the top
of cliffs below where the steamer Elingamita foundered in 1900 with great loss of life. Seed
germinates well and the species is growing in several parts of New Zealand so that the
opportunity exists to raise young plants and take these back to West Island to replenish the
small population there.
Erythrina cristi-gallii
The
Coral Tree was brought to the garden in 1872 by Alfred Ludlam, from the
Camden Nursery. It is said that they were only heeled in temporally, but were never finally
planted. There were two planted in the Garden.
It is a real curiosity particularly in the winter when it is pruned back hard to keep it from
being damaged by frost. In the spring when the green growth comes out it is not very
noticeable, but when it blooms the flowers make the wait worthwhile.
A genus of some 30 tropical species.
Eucalypts
Eucalyptus is a large genus of some 700 to 800 species, all but 12 of which are
endemic to Australia and 236 species of which occur in New South Wales. Of similar diversity is
the genus Acacia. They are much prized for their timber, oils, shade, shelter, fuel, beauty and
honey.
They are one of the world’s most planted trees, especially in the drier areas, and they
are tolerant of poor soils. They grow rapidly, and even young trees provide dry leaves, bark and
twigs for fuel in countries where other forms of fuel are scarce. However in India there are
complaints that extensive planting of eucalypts creates an environment hostile to other plants
and animals.
The name Eucalyptus comes from the Greek, from “eu” meaning “well”, and
“Kalyptos” meaning “covered”, referring to the cup or lid that covers the stamens in the
flower bud. The sepals and petals are fused into two superimposed caps, the outer one being
shed early in the development of the flower, and the inner one shed as the flower blooms. One
section of the genus has a single cap or operculum, formed by the fusion of both calyx and
corolla.
Eucalypts are the most conspicuous element of the Australian vegetation. Ninety
five percent of the trees in the forests are eucalypts, and they dominate the forests from north
to south and east to west. A few extend to New Guinea and Timor, the Celebes and the
Philippines, but there are none native to NZ. They range from semi-arid sand plains to tree line
in the Snowy Mountains. The ability of Eucalypts to seek moisture at great depths in the
soil is a major attribute ensuring their dominance in the tree layer. Several Eucalypts are able
to lose their leaves and remain dormant for an extended period and it is these species that can
compete most effectively on the shallower soils.
They have several features that contribute to their success.
 Their leaves are long and tapering, usually right at the ends of the branches.
They have twisted petioles, so that the leaves hang vertically, so as not to
receive the full intensity of the midday sun, yet are able to intercept light to
photosynthesize on both sides of the leaf, which are usually equally green.
 The leaves are leathery and tough and resist wilting.
 The leaves are rich in various oils, making them unpalatable or even toxic to
most large animals. The koala, however, has adapted to live almost exclusive on
a diet of the young leaves of just a few species.
 The oils are quite flammable and help to promote fire, enabling the eucalypt to
benefit from fire to eliminate competition from other species.
 Eucalypts can seek moisture at great depths in the soil.
 Eucalypts produce a lot of small seeds, which are easily dispersed by the wind.
 The seeds are produced in a woody capsule, which protects the seeds from heat
and desiccation.
 Eucalyptus bark is usually either of the thin, moist, live ‘gum’ type, which is
usually non-combustible, or a thicker type, as in stringybarks, in which only the
dead, outer bark burns.
 Many species, if the crowns are burnt, can quickly produce new shoots from
epicormic buds under the bark, some of which become new branches.
 Another means of survival after a fire is the production of new stems at ground
level from a lignotuber, a swelling at the base of the trunk, with food reserves
and dormant growth buds.
The leaves of Eucalyptus have oil glands. Several different types of oils are
produced, and various combinations are characteristic of particular species, or even local
populations. Minor industries have developed in various parts of Australia based on the
distillation of these oils for commercial purposes. The chief constituent of oil of Eucalyptus is
eucalyptol, which is used medicinally as an antiseptic and for the relief of cold symptoms. The
leaves of Eucalyptus globulus, the Tasmanian blue gum, are the most important source of
Eucalyptus oil. The phellandrene oils are used in mining. The oil of Eucalyptus dives and many
other species is used to concentrate ores by the flotation method, in which various mineral
particles are floated while other matter sinks. Eucalyptus oils are also used for perfumes (citral,
citronellal, geranyl acetate). A number of species also yield kino, a medicinal juice that is
collected by cutting the bark.
The Aborigines used the oils of Eucalyptus to treat respiratory illnesses. They inhaled
the vapour from crushed Eucalyptus leaves to clear their heads when they had a cold.
The gum of any Eucalyptus species is useful for treating diarrhea and dysentery. Gum,
which is rich in tannin, was also used to treat burns. The Aboriginal people also used the gum as
an adhesive to bind handles to their tools, but it was not as useful as plant resins as gum swells
and shrinks depending on the humidity.
The Aborigines made wooden bowls (coolamons) from the wood of some eucalypts, such
as Manna Gum (E. viminalis). Wooden bowls were used for collecting, transporting and storing
food and water. Some had rope handles. Some had a sharpened end for digging. Women used
head rings made of human hair to balance these bowls on their heads. Bowls and dishes were
also made from the heavy bark of some eucalypts. The knarled round growths on the trunk of
some eucalypts were used as well.
People along the Murray River made canoes from the bark of River Red Gum, Eucalyptus
camaldulensis. They cut the bark to shape about 3m long, then held it over a fire, so that the
sides would curl. Both ends were tied with inner-bark fiber rope and wooden stretchers were
used to prevent the sides collapsing. Many Aboriginal peoples made shields, spear throwers,
boomerangs, and didjeridus from the fine hard wood of eucalypts.
Eucalyptus trees have features that aid their survival in conditions of poor soil and
long periods of drought.
1. The adult leaves are long and tapering, and are usually clumped right at the end of
the branches.
2. Their leaves have twisted petioles, so that the leaves hang vertically so that they
do not receive the full intensity of the midday sun, yet are able to intercept light to
photosynthesise on both surfaces, which are usually equally green. They cast little shade, but
allow moisture to drip freely.
3. The leaves are a leathery, sclerophyllous texture, which resists wilting.
4. The leaves are rich in various oils, which give most species a characteristic
individual odour, which can be very volatile in hot dry conditions. The tiny oil glands are visible
in most species when held up to the light. Although the adult leaves can be susceptible to insect
attack, they are unpalatable or even toxic to most larger animals. The koala, however, has
adapted to live almost exclusively on a diet of young eucalyptus leaves.
5. Several Eucalypts are able to lose their leaves and remain dormant for an
extended period, which enable them to compete effectively on the shallower soils.
6. They can seek moisture at great depths in the soil, an attribute that ensures their
dominance in the tree layer.
7. Eucalypts, and other indigenous plant groups, have an evolutionary relationship
with fire, which must have been a natural element in the Australian environment for millions of
years, ever since climatic conditions have produced hot dry seasons. Everything about
eucalyptus seems to contribute to a fire-favouring environment.
a) The constant dropping of dry leaves and bark flakes.
b) The volatile, flammable oils in the leaves.
c) The nature of the wood itself.
Like other Australian native plants, all eucalypts have mechanisms for survival,
varying to some extent between the species.
1) Initially, survival will depend largely on the insulating properties of the bark,
whether this is of the thin but moist live ‘gum’ type which is usually non-combustible, or a
thicker persistent type, as in stringybarks, in which only the dead outer bark burns.
2) In many species, trees whose crowns are completely burnt can quickly produce new
shoots from the epicormic buds under the bark, some of which become new branches.
3) Another common means of survival, particularly in mallees, is the production of new
stems at ground level from a lignotuber, a swelling at the base of the trunk, with food
reserves and dormant growth buds.
4) A few forest species of Eucalyptus, including the mountain ash and alpine ash, do not
possess epicormic shoots or lignotubers, and an intense bush fire can kill the trees. However if
there are mature woody fruit capsules, the heat of the fire causes them to open and drop
large quantities of seed on to the open ground in conditions conducive to germination following
the next rain. Ultimately, a new forest of even height and age is produced.
Classification: Eucalypts tend to be classified by the type of bark they have, whether
it is thin and smooth on much of the trunk and branches, as it is in the gums, because it is shed
annually in large flakes, strips, or ribbons, or whether it is thicker and persistent, as it is in the
stringybarks, ironbarks and others. Some species are half barks, eg alpine ash, with persistent
bark on the lower trunk, and smooth decorticating bark on the upper trunk and limbs. Leaves
are also useful for identification, as the length, width, shape, and the arrangement of the veins
varies from species to species. Buds are very important for identification. The number of buds in
a cluster varies from solitary, to three, seven, eleven etc. Each bud has a ‘cap’ or calyptera. The
subgenus monocalyptera has one cap, and other subgenera have two closely fitting caps, the
outer one consisting of fused sepals, and the inner of fused petals. These are shed together in
some species, and separately in others. The woody fruit capsule is also useful for identification.
Identification of eucalypts in the field is based primarily on bark, buds, and fruit.
Eucalypts can be broken into 7 broad groups based on their bark and fruit
characteristics: bloodwoods, stringybarks, peppermints, ashes, boxes, iron barks and
gums/mahoganys.
Bloodwoods: E. gummifera, E. maculata
In this group the bark is commonly flaky and the inflorescences comprise large terminal
panicles that result in woody urceolate fruits. This group contains a wide diversity of eucalypt
species, from E. gummifera with flaky (typical) bloodwood bark and timber strongly veined with
resinous kino and of little commercial value to E. maculata, with a spotted smooth trunk and
timber of high commercial value.
Stringybarks: E. mulleriana, E. agglomerata, E. globoidea and E. pilularis
Within this group the bark is rough and persistent over most or all of the trunk and
deeply fissured or grooved but is fibrous when broken. Aggregations of fruit are often distinctive
and many species produce tight clusters of sessile or shortly pedicellate fruit. Most of these
species are of high commercial value, particularly E. mulleriana and E. pilularis. E. pilularis is
unusual in this group in that it has a half bark with a rough base and a smooth upper trunk.
Peppermints: E. radiata, E. elata, E. piperita
Most species within this group have persistent short fibered moderately thin bark except
for E. elata that, like E. pilularis is a half bark tree. The inflorescences are axillary and multi
flowered producing distinctive clusters of pedicellate fruit and the leaves smell strongly of
peppermint. These species are of lesser commercial value.
Ashes: E. fastigata, E. obliqua, E. pauciflora, E. sieberi, E. consideniana, and E.
fraxinoides
The proportion of rough to smooth bark on trees in this group varies considerably
between species and so the ashes are mainly characterised by features in the seedlings. This
group includes some of the most important timber trees in Australia including the Victorian E.
regnans that is the tallest hardwood in the world.
Iron Barks E. paniculata
The bark in the group is deeply fissured, rough and hard. These species produce strong
hard durable timber.
Gums: E. smithii, E. rubida, E. cypellocarpa, E. saligna, E. scias ssp. calismatha.
Within this group the bark is variable from species to species. Some species shed their
bark in ribbons that often hang from the tree for long periods. This groups' timber has moderate
commercial value based primarily on E. cypellocarpa and other species not sampled.
Leaves: A characteristic of Eucalyptus is that the leaves pass through marked stages
of change with the growth of the plant, from seedling to juvenile to intermediate to
adult.
The juvenile leaves are opposite, but the adult leaves are alternate on the branch.
The adult leaves have petioles, but the juvenile leaves are stalkless (sessile), or even stem
clasping). The adult leaves are green, and the same colour on both sides, but the juvenile
leaves are bluish-green with a waxy coating that can sometimes be rubbed off. The two
surfaces can be distinctly different in colour. Some species have an intermediate form, similar
to the adult, but larger (more than 50 cm in E. bicostata (Blue Gum)).
The juvenile form occurs on growth from epicormic shoots, and when the plant is 50-150
cm tall.
Flowers: After the bud cap is shed, the numerous stamens encircling the stigma open
out, giving the blossom its colour, which is usually cream, but occasionally pink or red, as in
some iron barks, eg. E. leucoxylon, which is growing along the north side of Anderson’s Park.
Insects and birds are attracted to the nectar, and are important for pollination. After
fertilisation, the basal part of the bud (hypanthium) expands into a woody capsule, and the
enclosed ovules develop into seeds. Eucalypts produce large quantities of seed, most of which is
harvested by ants after it falls.
Uses of Eucalyptus: Many species have strong durable timber that was used
traditionally by the Aboriginal people. Eucalyptus is widely grown throughout the world today in
large-scale plantations for wood fibre for industry, in areas with suitable climate and soil, in the
USA, South America, India, Pakistan, the North, East and South of Africa, Cyprus, Russia,
Spain, Portugal, Italy, Israel, and Papua-New Guinea. It has been used in Israel and near Rome
to drain swamps to eliminate malaria-carrying mosquitos.
The leaves of Eucalyptus have oil glands. Several different types of oils are produced,
various combinations are characteristic of particular species, or even local populations. Minor
industries have developed in various parts of Australia based on the distillation of these oils for
commercial purposes. The chief constituent of oil of Eucalyptus is eucalyptol, which is used
medicinally as a local stimulant, antiseptic, expectorant, and anti-spasmodic. The leaves of
Eucalyptus globulus, the Tasmanian Blue Gum, are the most important source of
essential oil. The oil is used medicinally in the pharmaceutical industry, in toothpaste and
inhalations etc (cineole oils), and in industry (phellandrene oils). The oil of Eucalyptus dives and
many other species is used in the concentration of ores by the flotation method, in which
various mineral particles are floated while other matter sinks. A number of species also yield
kino, a medicinal juice that is collected by cutting the bark. Eucalyptus oils are also used for
perfumes (citral, citronellal, and geranyl acetate).
The Aborigines used the oils of eucalypts to treat respiratory illnesses. They inhaled the
vapour from crushed Eucalyptus leaves to clear their heads when they had a cold.
The gum of any Eucalyptus species is useful for treating diarrhoea and dysentry. Gum,
which is rich in tannin, was also used to treat burns. The Aboriginal people also used the gum as
an adhesive to bind handles to their tools, but it was not as useful as plant resins as gum swells
and shrinks depending on the humidity.
The Aborigines made wooden bowls (coolamons) from the wood of some eucalypts, such
as Manna Gum (E. viminalis). Wooden bowls were used for collecting, transporting and storing
food and water. Some had rope handles. Some had a sharpened end for digging. Women used
head rings made of human hair to balance these bowls on their heads. Bowls and dishes were
also made from the heavy bark of some eucalypts. The knarled round growths on the trunk of
some eucalypts were used as well.
People along the Murray River made canoes from the bark of eucalypts, e.g. River Red
Gum, Eucalyptus camaldulensis. They cut the bark to shape about 3m long, then held it over a
fire, so that the sides would curl. Both ends were tied with inner-bark fibre rope and wooden
stretchers were used to prevent the sides collapsing. Many Aboriginal peoples made shields,
spear throwers, boomerangs, and didjeridus from the fine hard wood of eucalypts.
Excluding Antarctica, Australia is the driest of the continents with two-thirds of its area
classified as arid or semi-arid. The indirect consequences of this dryness can be seen in the
prevalent occurrence of fire and the adaptations of plant species in relation to it.
Epicormic shoots on a eucalypt: Most eucalypt species of the ridge tops and upper
slopes possess lignotubers, a woody swelling at the base of the stem that contains buds and
food reserves. These are visible in young saplings, becoming buried as the plant increases in
size. The lignotuber develops new shoots rapidly after fire, and or drought. (Lignotubers are
also evident in many shrubs and small trees of the Proteaceae, Casuarinaceae and Leguminosae
- to name but a few.) Lignotubers are usually accompanied by epicormic buds located within the
bark; hence the familiar sight of red tips springing from a black trunk.
The Sydney Peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita), Black Ash (E. sieberi) association of the
upper mountains are in this group, having evolved lignotubers to cope with the poorer soils and
conditions.
Fire Sensitive Eucalypts: Occurring on the better soils of the lower slopes and gullies
- the White Ash (E. oreades), Deanes Gum (E. deanei) and the Sydney Blue Gum (E. saligna)
are 3 examples of eucalypts that lack lignotubers. They rely on bark thickness to resist fire. As a
protective measure, pale barked gums have been shown to reflect considerable amounts of
radiation in a fire. The darker barks on the other hand, although efficient at absorbing heat are
usually too dry to conduct it satisfactorily and thereby help prevent damage.
Paradoxically perhaps, there is little or no regeneration of these trees without fire. The
death of the tree induces an accelerated seed shed. Seeds fall each year and germinate without
fire, but are lost due to a variety of factors; predation fungal attack and low light intensity being
among the most pronounced. (In relation to Blue Gum Forest, add footsteps here) With the
advent of fire, the chances of fungal infection are reduced, light is increased and the seed bed
enhanced nutritionally.
This, combined with the rapid and heavy seed fall after fire, almost always then results
in the initiation of an even aged eucalypt stand. Seedling growth is rapid but seed production
does not apparently begin until the stand is approximately 15 - 20 years old. As the species
relies on the current seed crop (and not seed stored in the soil as is the case with some
legumes) these stands of young trees (up to 20 years) are very vulnerable.
Many produce volatile turpines or oils which are valuable, but which also encourage
fires and thus are a benefit and danger to man. Some 25 species used for oil production.
These oils fall into 3 groups
1.
Medicinal oils – containing substantial amounts of eucalyptol, (also
known as cineol), usually extracted from leaves. These are used as a stimulant,
antiseptic gargle, and as aromatics, the antiseptic considered one of the most powerful
of its class.
2.
Industrial oils – containing turpines, which, for example, are used for
flotation purposes in mining operations
3.
Aromatic oils – such as E. citriodora, which are all characterised by their
aroma. The oils are often used in soaps.
Eucalyptus trees are the most important forest canopy species in Australia.
In New Zealand we regard forest fire as a disaster. But we forget that fire in many
areas is a natural fact of life. And that many plants have become adapted to the effects of fire.
In fact the continued existence and life cycle of some trees and shrubs is dependent on
fire.
Fire is part of nature in countries such as Australia, Africa and America. Australia is
regarded as a fire adapted landscape. Fire as an evolutionary factor - plants have clear
adaptations to fire some of which we will discuss..
Fire plays an important role in many Australian ecosystems. On the east coast of
Australia the open forests and heaths have adapted to a variety of fire regimes. In the case of
heaths, fire frequency may vary between 8 and 25 years and in open forest environments
between 12 and 50 years on average. The wetter eucalypt forests in gully environments on the
South Coast of New South Wales may have fire free intervals up to 150 years. In the wettest
eucalypt forest types such as occur in Tasmania and Victoria and occasionally within the gully
environments of the South Coast of N.S.W., fire free intervals of greater than 300 years may
occur in which case a rainforest understorey often predominates.
Fire and Plant Responses: Most eucalypt species have adaptive traits ensuring their
survival-even after very intense fires. Following the recovery of tree crowns, eucalypts
may grow, for a number of years, more vigorously than they did before the fire. Adaptation of
some trees to fire may be seen primarily as a by-product of its evolutionary
adaptation to declining soil fertility and a drying climate.
Features to ensure survival after fire etc.
A Crown leaf buds: In the crown are many buds that can develop if there is
destruction by fire. Dormant buds can become active quickly once photosynthetic areas are
lost, but serious fire will destroy all available leaf buds.
B The Role of Bark: As a rule, bark does not conduct heat very well, making it an
important insulator to protect the tree from heat caused by fires. Some types of bark are
resistant to fire making them favourable for forest trees while others are dangerous in fire and
easily killed by it. Small fires can thin the bark on trees while larger fires can completely
defoliate a tree.
Some trees rely on bark thickness to resist fire. As a protective measure, pale barked
gums have been shown to reflect considerable amounts of radiation in a fire. The darker barks
on the other hand, although efficient at absorbing heat are usually too dry to conduct it
satisfactorily and thereby help prevent damage.
The bark of many eucalypts will also thicken when damaged by fire making it more
resistant to heat in the future. If the trunk can’t recover between fires the tree will die. Fire
resistant bark of Ponderosa pine, Douglas Fir, western larch, redwood and giant sequoia can
survive surprisingly severe ground fires by virtue of thick insulating bark that is a poor
conductor heat. The vascular cambium of all species is sensitive and when damaged results in
fire scars.
The bark catches fire readily, and deciduous bark streamers and lichen epiphytes
tend to carry fire into the canopy and to disseminate fire ahead of the main front. Flaming bark
can travel considerable distances – several kilometre under good conditions. Other features of
eucalyptus that promote fire spread include heavy litter fall, flammable oils in the foliage,
and open crowns bearing pendulous branches, which encourages maximum updraft.
Despite the presence of volatile oils that produce a hot fire, leaves of bluegum eucalyptus are
classed as intermediate in their resistance to combustion, and juvenile leaves are highly
resistant to flaming
C Epicormic Buds: Beneath the bark of many trees, including Eucalyptus species are
specialised ‘epicormic’ buds which lie dormant until the canopy of the tree is either removed
or scorched by fire, stimulated by loss of photosynthetic area. The loss of leaves triggers a
burst of growth from these buds (epicormic shoots) that provides an almost immediate leaf
growth to sustain life and aid the recovery of the plant. Eucalyptus trunks clothed in fresh,
green foliage are a common sight after a bushfire. These buds provide for the trees immediate
needs, when the crown is restored, they will die and drop off.
D Shoots From protected subterranean buds - Lignotubers and Root Swellings:
Plants with reserve buds protected by soil will normally survive fires that destroy the
aerial parts of the plant. The amount of heat partitioned to the soil from fire is low, being of the
order of 5% - 10% of the total released by the fire. In addition, the soil is a very effective
insulator so that high temperatures are confined to shallow depths of soil. The actual lignotuber
is most apparent at the seedling stage and young sapling stage and, usually, will be
incorporated in the stem as it develops. In the case of the multi-stemmed mallees, the mature
stage is characterised by a massive buried lignotuber.
The lignotuberous habit has been described as a response to a range of
environmental stresses, of which fire is but one. Ecologically it is most significant on drier
or otherwise environmentally harsh sites. Here it may take many years, or a succession of
favourable seasons, for a newly established lignotuberous seedling to reach that stage where it
is capable of growing vigorously through sapling and pole stages. Thus the presence of a more
or less permanent lignotuber pool may be vital to the recovery of woodland or lower quality
forest following a major perturbation. The non-lignotuberous eucalypts are mainly those that
are restricted to sites with good moisture relationships. (E. regnans - alpine ash E. pilularis blackbutt.)
Lignotubers are swellings in the axils of the cotyledons, which form on a seedling. As
the seedling ages these swelling fuse and increase in size forming a bulbous mass which is
called a lignotuber. They tend to fold down the stem and envelop the upper part of the root. As
they increase in age and size they bury themselves in the soil until the greater part if not all of
the lignotuber is below the surface of the ground. The soil makes a wonderful insulator and fires
rarely damage the lignotubers. Lignotubers are a modified stem in the leaf axils, which contain
food and numerous potential dormant bud strands. They are capable of producing leaves and
shoots in profusion. Any second shoots that are produced in this manner will be stronger than
the first shoots and will in turn strengthen the reserves in the lignotubers and roots that will in
turn strengthen again if a third set of shoots need to develop. If the upper part of the lignotuber
is killed by fire, shoots will form lower down and push their way up through the soil.
Lignotuberous shoots are produced from below ground level within a few weeks after the fire.
"Mallee" vegetation (multi stemmed shrubs) is characterised by a very large lignotuber,
which may be larger in size than a human being. The largest recorded lignotuber was
measured from a mallee tree (E. gummifera) that measured ten meters across and carried 301
living stems. Mallee roots can live to be over 200 years old and even the most catastrophic fires
cannot kill these lignotubers!
E Fire protected seeds: Plants that otherwise may be destroyed can often survive by
heat resisting seeds being released, especially after fire, which establishes a new stand of
trees. The Mountain Ashes survive in this way.
Nutrient Scavenging and Hoarding The eucalypts tend to develop extensive, deep
root systems. Once absorbed, eucalypts carefully retain and recycle nutrients. Seedlings
develop lignotubers to store nutrients and ensure that when conditions are right for growth the
tree will have adequate reserves of the nutrients it needs.
The Tough, the Opportunistic: The eucalypt has prevailed over the Australian
continent to an extent unrivalled by any other genus anywhere else in the world. The eucalypt
became a supreme opportunist, ready to seize disturbed and open sites. They could capture
nutrients released by fire far in excess of their immediate needs and store them for
future use. Bark was thick, tough and it shed as it burned. If branches were seared off, new
ones could sprout from epicormic buds hidden safely beneath the bark. If the bole burned, new
trunks could spring from the lignotuber. Fire helped purge hostile microbes from the soil,
encouraged better percolation of water and opened areas to sunlight allowing the eucalypt
seedlings to out compete more shade tolerant rivals. For most eucalypts, fire was not a
destroyer but a liberator.
Growth Habits of Eucalypts
This analysis of the bud system and the leaves of eucalypts detail the potential
responses of trees to silvicultural manipulations and changing environmental conditions.
The bud systems of eucalypts: The capacity to grow rapidly whenever
environmental conditions are suitable, and to survive and recover rapidly from fire
and other damaging agencies is largely due to the functioning of the bud systems
found in the eucalypts. Four bud types may be recognised.
1 Naked buds: A bud on a fairly thin stalk may be observed in the axil of every
eucalypt leaf as the leaf unfolds from its parent growing tip. These are called 'naked buds'. In
most cases there is only one naked bud in a leaf axil, but occasionally there are as many as
three. The naked buds are inherently capable of rapid development as soon as a parent leaf
unfolds. Those situated near the apex of the major branches of the tree tend to develop
concurrently with their parent shoot, and to produce new leaves until conditions are unsuitable
for growth. The eucalypt crown may develop very rapidly in this way where it is free from attach
by leaf-eating insects or abrasion from neighbouring trees. In most parts of Australia the growth
potential of trees is reduced by insect damage to the foliage.
2 Shoots from accessory buds: At the base of the naked bud there is a meristematic
region that may or may not be organised into a recognisable growing tip. As long as naked buds
and leaves of the crown are undisturbed, these meristematic regions are inhibited from
developing. Where leaves and naked buds are destroyed, one or more of the accessory growing
tips will appear in some or all of the leaf axils. Should the new shoots be destroyed, further
shoots will develop, and the replacement process may be repeated several times in a growing
season. The accessory shoots are one of the reasons for the persistence of the trees, despite
repeated grazing by insects and other unfavourable factors.
3 Epicormic bud strands: When a parent leaf falls, the accessory bud-producing tissue
in the leaf axil is not occluded by the diameter growth of the stem on which it lies. A small shaft
of tissue with bud-producing properties grows radially outwards from the old leaf axil at a rate
that corresponds with the growth in diameter of the mother stem. Sometimes two or three of
these shafts may develop, with termini at the wood surface or in the live bark. These shafts of
bud-producing tissue are capable of producing leafy shoots, but are normally held in check by
growth substances produced in the leaves and shoots above them. Should these leaves and
shoots be lost through insect attack or fire, this check is removed, and one or several shoots
may develop from the shafts. The shafts are called epicormic bud strands or dormant bud
strands, and the buds and shoots developing from them epicormic, proventitious or
dormant buds and shoots.
4 Lignotubers and related structures: Lignotubers are of great significance in
determining the persistence of eucalypts in a rather harsh environment. Most eucalypts develop
lignotubers. These structures commence as swellings in the cotyledons and axils of the first few
pairs of leaves formed on a seedling. As the seedling ages the swellings in the individual leaf
axils fuse and increase in size, forming a bulbous mass given the name lignotuber.
As the young seedling lignotuber continues to increase in size there is a proliferation of
dormant bud strands within the woody mass, originating from the axillary meristems. The
storage tissue of the woody mass contains nutrient and starch reserves. It is these reserves
together with the dormant buds that facilitate vegetative recovery following fire. In most
species, lignotubers merge gradually into the main stem after the tree attains the young sapling
stage. In other species the lignotuber persists throughout the life of the tree, where it may
attain a very large size and give rise to a number of stems with distinctly separated bases. Such
eucalypts are known as mallees and characteristically occur over large areas of alkaline soils in
semi-arid regions of southern Australia. They also occur within high rainfall zones on the coast
and scarp, but only on relatively infertile siliceous soils and harsh exposed sites.
There are some eucalypt species that are found in a number of growth forms ranging
from tall or short mallees to tall forest or woodland trees. Examples include the dimorphism
expressed in E. gummifera (red bloodwood) on sandstone soils in the high rainfall region near
Sydney, and the multi-stemmed form of E. botryoides (Bangaly or Southern Mahogany) with a
large plate-like lignotuber (up to 6 m wide) on infertile siliceous sands, again in the high rainfall
coastal zone of southeast Australia. In the latter case the lignotuber gives rise to many
generations of stems, mainly from the periphery of the plate. As new roots are also formed in
association with the formation of the lignotuber, the mallee form of E. botryoides is an example
of vegetative reproduction within the genus.
Some woody perennials in the northern monsoonal zone of the continent, including a
number of eucalypts (e.g. E. porrecta, E. ptychocarpa, E. jacobsiana) produce rhizomes.
Rhizomes originate from lignotubers of seedlings, and from mature trees when their aerial parts
are destroyed by fire or severed mechanically. Under repeated burning, the branching and
elongation of rhizomes may result in a network of underground stems. Substantial radial growth
of rhizomes, associated with continuing tree development, can result in large underground
stems that resemble massive lignotubers.
Where rhizomatous shoots emerge above ground level or are otherwise exposed to light,
they undergo morphological changes and become vertical and generally unbranched aerial
stems. These stems may form dense clonal patches or thickets. The production of shoots from
adventitious buds in roots can also give rise to extensive patches of short stems similar in
appearance to those formed from rhizomes. Root suckering in this way is common in E.
tetradonta (Darwin stringybark) from far northern Australia, and in E. pachycalyx (shiny bark
gum) from north Queensland.
The dynamic nature of the annual shoot: Eucalypt buds do not have a resting stage
or resting period (i.e. the buds are classified as having indeterminate growth). Where a tree
(from another genus) has a resting bud, it will contain a complete annual shoot in embryonic
form (i.e. the buds are classified as having determinate growth). Consequently, all components
of the shoot that will develop in the next growing season are represented in the tissue of the
bud that rests over winter.
The development of the annual shoot of a eucalypt is quite a different matter. The
number of leaves that can separate from the growing tip is indefinite, and the naked buds can
expand simultaneously with the mother shoot. Even the accessory and proventitious buds do
not need a resting stage before they can form shoots.
Although the expansion of the crown can proceed in this way for as long as favourable
conditions exist, rapid expansion seems to occur in waves or bursts of growth that are generally
related to favourable growing conditions. Seasonal conditions, the building up of nutrient
reserves, flowering, attack by insects on foliage, and factors connected with the root system
may also play a part in regulating crown expansion.
The leaves of the eucalypt: The leaves of most species of eucalypts change,
sometimes markedly, during the development of the seedling into the mature tree. The
differences between juvenile, intermediate and adult leaves can be important in identifying
species.
Juvenile (including 'seedling' trees): During the first year, pairs of leaves develop
from the growing tip on opposite sides of the stem, and successive pairs are arranged at right
angles to each other, an arrangement know as decussate. By the time four to six pairs of leaves
have developed on a seedling or lignotuberous shoot, they may be spectacularly different from
adult leaves. For example, those of E. globulus (Tasmanian or southern blue gum) are opposite,
sessile, highly glaucous, oblong-acuminate in shape, and dorsiventral, while those of the adult
are alternate, petiolate, non-glaucous, falcate-lanceolate and isobilateral. It is widely believed
that juvenile leaves reproduce ancestral characters of the species. Juvenile leaves may also
develop from epicormic bud strands along the bole and branches of a mature tree where it has
been damaged by fire or other damaging agencies. While most apparent on damaged trees,
these epicormic shoots may be important in enabling a large tree to maintain its crown when
the branches grow too long and become mechanically unstable. The ends of the branches die off
and epicormic shoots develop at positions back along the branch. They are soon replaced by
intermediate and then by mature foliage.
Intermediate leaves: Intermediate leaves are frequently larger than juvenile or adult
leaves, and many pairs of them may be produced by the growing tip after the juvenile stage,
and before the more or less stable adult foliage is produced.
Adult (or mature) leaves: The final or adult form of the eucalypt leaf is usually
coriaceous, thick, stiff, highly cutinised and rich in sclerenchyma. In this sense they are typical
sclerophyll leaves - a term widely used in a general way in describing the Australian eucalypt
vegetation. The adult leaves are usually alternate, only in a few species are they opposite or
sub-opposite. In general, adult leave are petiolate, and falcate-lanceolate in shape. They vary,
however, according to species, from almost linear, to narrowly lanceolate, to broadly lanceolate,
elliptical, oblong, or even oval and orbicular. In the same species, and sometimes on the same
tree, there can be an appreciable variation in the shape and dimensions of the leaves.
Leaf arrangement: Leaf arrangement is eucalypts follows an interesting pattern. In
the adult stage eucalypt leaves are alternate, and might be thought of as having one of the
spiral phylotactic arrangements common in many broad-leaved plants. However, the alternate
condition in the genus has developed as a modification of the basic phylotactic arrangement
displayed by juvenile leaves in which the placement is opposite and decussate.
The basic leaf arrangement of a tree is brought about by happenings in the growing tip
of the shoot. In normal eucalypt shoots, the leaves separate from the growing tips in clearly
defined pairs at points that are referred to as leaf nodes. The leaves of each pair are, at this
early stage, either opposite or sub-opposite, and the successive pairs are disposed at right
angles to each other. This characterises the basic leaf arrangement of eucalypts.
The disposition of leaves on mature eucalypt shoots varies considerably. In some species
and in juvenile leaves there is little change from the arrangement seen in the growing tip, and
sessile leaves remain in opposite pairs decussately arranged. The sub-opposite pairs may
remain sub-opposite or become alternate at an early stage of development. The alternate
pattern is created where twisting takes place in the internode between the leaf pairs, rather
than in the internode within the leaf pairs. Where leaves are arranged alternately, there may
be an appreciable amount of stem between the leaves of each pair, but there is little movement
in this portion, and because of this, leaves of each pair remain on opposite sides of the stem,
irrespective of the nature or orientation of the shoot or the length of stem between them.
The effect of this twisting will vary from species to species. Successive internodes
usually, but not always, twist in opposite directions, reflecting the way leaves unfold from the
growing tip. The most common arrangement of alternate leaves is that where successive twists
of the internodes (in opposite directions) have brought the top leaf of one pair in line with the
bottom leaf of the next pair, and the spaces between the leaves are alternately long and short.
Sometimes, the alternate leaves are evenly spaced on either side of the stem. This is less
common. It means that the twisting of the internodes has brought all the top leaves of
successive pairs on one side of the stem and all bottom leaves on the other.
The characteristic hanging leaf habit of the eucalypt may be a result of the twisting of
the petiole during leaf development. This habit seems to be connected with the development of
the falcate-lanceolate or oblique leaf shapes. Embryonic eucalypt leaves are not falcatelanceolate or oblique, rather the development of the falcate-lanceolate shape, and an
exaggeration of an early tendency to obliqueness, takes place during the rapid, early growth of
the leaves after they separate from the growing tip. As the developing leaf loses its symmetry,
the petioles are subject to an increasing turning movement, causing, in turn, the leaves to hang
following the direction of this movement. The hanging leaves may indicate a higher stage of
evolution within those species that have developed the habit, perhaps associated with shedding
of the 'heat load' and reducing transpiration during the hottest part of the day.
Leaf longevity: Although eucalypts are evergreen trees, the period a leaf remains on
the tree before it is shed is highly variable, and generally short. The average leaf-life of
eucalypts on dry sclerophyll sites was no longer than 18 months. Some leaves remained for 2 or
3 years, a few longer, but the average was surprisingly short. The actual life of any one leaf will
be affected by species, position in the crown, and bursts of growth, insect attack, and
flowering. Eucalypt leaves on saplings and mature trees on the New England Tablelands
average about 12 to 18 months in age. A significant proportion of the mature leaves are shed
during spring flush the following year while some last until the end of that growing season.
Leaves severely damaged by insect attack generally have a much shorter life span and are shed
much earlier.
The tendency of some species to hold leaves longer than others is probably partly a
function of growth rate, and partly a genetic character. The sapling crown of a species of
average vigour (e.g. E. sieberi - silvertop ash) may contain 3-4 years worth of leaves in the
crown unit. In marked contrast to this, an exceptionally fast growing species (E. grandis flooded gum) on a very good site may produce leaves that perform their function and are shed
in a matter of months. Nevertheless, the crown structure of E. grandis will be similar to that of
the other species.
Leaf-fall in eucalypts will be associated with a number of normal growth processes. Many
leaves will fall from branches competing for leadership of a sapling crown or mature crown unit
during the first year, while leaves on lateral branches will generally be more stable. A burst of
growth will normally bring with it an increase in leaf-fall of older leaves from the rapidly
extending leading shoots. This is commonly seen in the characteristic burst of spring growth in
temperate climates or in the burst of growth at the start of the wet season in tropical and subtropical climates. Accelerated leaf-fall will also occur in parts of the crown where fruits are
forming after a heavy flowering.
A large loss of leaves may also be associated with climatic stresses, notably prolonged
drought, or more simply, seasonally dry conditions. Indeed, leaf-fall in this way appears to be
one of the processes of adaptation of the eucalypt to a dry climate. This process is seen in E.
populnea (Poplar or Bimble Box) growing in northwestern NSW where there is a distinct thinning
of the crowns with prolonged dry conditions. When favourable conditions recur, crowns may
experience a rapid development through the accessory buds. Similarly, vigorous extension of
the crown may follow defoliation by insects. The burst of new growth is likely to be followed by
severe leaf-fall among the chewed leaves, and because of this, the average life of leaves in
places exposed to severe insect attach may be less than 1 year. Trees affected by New England
dieback (commonly associated with insect defoliation and leaf damage related to increasing
intensity of agricultural land use) exhibit the development of new secondary crowns from
accessory and epicormic buds in the branches of the
crown followed by the shedding of damaged leaves.
Mallee is a form of growth, not a particular
species, which can occur as a response to stress
conditions, the major ones of which are fire, water
shortage, termites or felling. Mallee also describes areas
where these trees grow.
A mallee tree begins growing like other trees with a single, and sometimes a double,
trunk in low rainfall areas. It grows about 100mm every 100 years to be very strong and so
dense that it will not float even when completely dry. It is usually fire that causes the trunks to
die. A new cycle starts. New shoots begin to grow, gaining nutrients from the underground
lignotuber, from which they emerge. These lignotubers grow to about 1.5m in diameter, but
the largest recorded was measured at 10m across, with 301 living stems. When fire is extra
hot, numerous new shoots grow. Within 20 years half of these trunks will die.
There are over 100 species of mallee eucalypt, 71 of which occur in Western Australia.
Dr Syd Shea of CALM (Department of Conservation and Land Management), said that planting
mallee eucalypts in agricultural areas was a most important strategy for fighting salinity, and
that a key to this strategy working was to develop profitable products from the mallee eucalypt.
Oil from the eucalypt leaves can be used as a commercial solvent, and CSIRO studies have
shown that the wood fibre from the stems could be used for medium density fibreboard. It is
also suitable for use in cement fibre composition products as cladding for homes. Initial studies
have been done which show that cineol, the main part of eucalyptus oil, may have properties
that allow it to replace petrochemical-based lubricants. Dr Shea said that mallee can be used
for landcarc and also for the development of many environmentally friendly
commercial
products in Western Australia.
One particular mallee, Eucalyptus drurrvndii, with its stems hollowed by termites, is
used by Aborigines for making didgeridoos, and a licensing system has been set up by CALM in
WA. to protect this species.
The trees regarded until recently as a menace are now to be nurtured as a means of
saving the wheatbelt.
References:
http://www.wadidge.com.au/ mallee html
http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/news/NewsData/html
THE AUSTRALIAN EUCALYPTUS OIL INDUSTRY: PAST AND PRESENT
The pungent odour of the crushed leaves of many eucalypts has attracted interest from
the earliest days of European settlement in Australia. Indeed, Mr Denis Considen, Surgeon of
the Fist Fleet, appears to have been the first to distil the oil from the leaves of the 'Sydney
peppermint', Eucalyptus piperita, and use it for the treatment of stomach complaints.
Mr John White, Surgeon General to the newly established Colony of New South Wales
and official superior of Surgeon Considen, sent in 1788, only ten months after the establishment
of the Colony, a quarter of a gallon of eucalyptus oil to England for further testing, thus laying
the foundations of a future thriving industry.
Commercial eucalyptus oil production started in earnest to 1852 when Joseph
Bosisto, with Dr Ferdinand Von Mueller (later to become Baron F. von Mueller), commenced
operations at Dandenong Creek near Melbourne in Victoria. From there production spread
north-west to Mt Macedon, Bendigo and district, St Arnaud, Daylesford, Dimboola, etc. east into
Gippsland, as well as further afield into South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and
Queensland.
The industry was well established by the turn of the century and Australia became the
world's largest eucalyptus oil producer, a position it maintained until about the end of World
War II.
Perhaps the greatest problem bedevilling the industry, particularly in its very early
stages, was its inability to produce and market oils of constant quality. The reasons for
this were as follows:
 The unsettled and incomplete state of Eucalyptus taxonomy, a very large
genus numbering well over 600 species with new species being discovered even
now.
 The variability of leaf oil composition within a given species.
 Insufficient knowledge of terpene chemistry. Terpenoids are the most
important eucalyptus oil constituents. May of them are relatively unstable and
thus cause changes in quality during storage.
 A lack of sufficiently accurate analytical techniques, a requisite for
meaningful quality control.
In order to give just one example amongst many of the kind of taxonomic problems
involved one could cite the example of the so-called Eucalyptus amygdalina distilled by Bosisto
at Dandenong Creek: Baker and Smith renamed it Eucalyptus australiana whilst, at the present
time, it is included under Eucalyptus radiata subspecies radiata (1.8 cineole variant). The
commercially produced oil from this variety is still marketed under its old name 'Eucalyptus
australiana'. The real E. amygdalina grows only in Tasmania and whilst botanically close to
E. radiata subsp. radiata is a separate species.
To complicate matters further the so-called Eucalyptus phellandra distilled in the past for
its alpha-phellandrene-rich oil is merely the alpha-phellandrene variant of the same E. radiata
subsp. radiata.
Of the more than 600 species of Eucalyptus probably less than 20 have ever been
exploited commercially, many of them outside Australia (Table 1). Their oils fall into three
categories depending on their end use: medicinal, industrial and perfumery/flavouring.
Medicinal oils are rich in 1.8 cineole (1) and should be practically alpha-phellandrene
(2) free. As the crude leaf oils of some species contain small amounts of the highly irritant
isovaleric aldehyde they have to be rectified by vacuum redistillation which not only improves
their odour but also removes undesirable and often dark coloured high boiling constituents.
The cineole content of the oils is adjusted by blending to the specific requirements of
various pharmacopoeias, usually not less than 70 per cent. Some oils are also used as a raw
material for the production of pure 1.8 cineole. Both eucalyptus oil and cineole are used as
inhalants to alleviate the unpleasant side effects of head colds and as expectorants for bronchial
infections. They are also used for the compounding of soaps and disinfectants, gargles,
dentifrices, liniments, etc.
Table 1. Commercial eucalyptus oil species.
Species
Principal leaf oil
constituents
and (%)
Oil yield; (%)
on fresh weight
basis
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
10-90
40-90
60-75
33-70
60-80
60-85
65-75
45-52
60-93
65-75
0.3-2.8
ca 2.0
3.0-6.0
1.0-2.0
1.5-2.5
0.7-2.4
0.8-2.5
1.0-2.1
0.7-5.0
2.5-3.5
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
coneole,
60-75
70-80
45-45
70-80
0.5-2.5
1.0-2.2
0.9-1.0
1.0-1.5
Medicinal oils
E. camaldulensis
E. cneorifolia
E. dives (cineole variant)*
E. dumosa
E. elaeophora
E. globulus†
E. leucoxylon
E. oleosa
E. ploybractea*
E. radiata subsp. radiata (coneole
variant)*
E. sideroxylon
E. smithii†
E. tereticornis
E. viridis*
Industrial oils
E. dives (phellandrene variant)
E. dives (piperitone variant)*
E. elata (piperitone variant)
E. radiata subsp. radiata
(phellandrene variant)
phellandrene, 60-80
piperitone, 40-56
piperitone, 40-55
phellandrene, 35-40
1.5-5.0
3.0-6.5
2.5-5.0
3.0-4.5
Perfumery and flavouring oils
E.
E.
E.
E.
citriodora (citronellal variant)†
macarthurii
staigerana
sp. nov. aff. campanulata
citronellal, 65-80
0.5-2.0
geranylacetate, 60- 0.2-1.0
70
0.1-0.4‡
‡
60-68
1.2-1.5
citral (a + b), 16-40 1.6-6.1
E. methyl cinnamate,
95
* Main Australian commercial species.
† Main commercial species grown overseas.
‡ Bark oil.
Industrial oils contain piperitone (3) and alpha-phellandrene as their main
constituents. Phellandrene rich oils were once used as flotation agents in the mining industry. At
present they are used exclusively for the scenting of inexpensive disinfectants and industrial
liquid soaps. (-)-Piperitone obtained from Eucalyptus dives piperitone variant) have been used
for the production o the fungicide thymol. At the present time (-)-piperitone is used only for the
production of (-)-menthol, used both as a flavouring agent and as an additive to various
medicinal preparations.
Perfumery and flavouring oils. The lemon scented oil of Eucalyptus citriodora
(citronellal variant) and the somewhat rose scented geranyl acetate rich leaf and bark oils of
Eucalyptus macarthurii were once produced on a relatively limited scale for perfumery purposes.
Whilst E. citriodora oil is still being produced overseas, Australian production of both oils
has now ceased. Commercial production of Eucalyptus staigerana oil, rich in citral and thus
useful in the compounding of lemon flavours, has never been carried out in Australia, only in
Brazil and even there on a very small scale. The E-methyl cinnamate rich leaf oil of a newly
discovered species from New England in NSW, showing affinities to Eucalyptus campanulata, is
being produced on a very small scale as a flavour additive.
The simplest method of eucalyptus oil production favoured by early producers (and by
some small producers even to this very day) involved manual harvesting of natural stands
followed by steam distillation from locally constructed vats of variable shapes and volume.
Steam was raised either in a separate boiler or, particularly in the case of small stills, in the
vats themselves.
As a consequence of rapidly rising labour and production costs the Australian eucalyptus
oil industry introduced over the past 20-25 years a number of important improvements that
resulted in vastly increased efficiency. Instead of harvesting solely natural stands some
producers began to favour the establishment of plantations using superior strains of selected
species. Harvesting and distillation procedures were mechanised in order to minimise the unduly
high manual labour component of the traditional method and at the same time increase
throughput of foliage.
The most significant results have been achieved in the medicinal eucalyptus oil industry
using Eucalyptus polybractea, the 'blue mallee' of the more arid parts of NSW and Victoria. E.
polybractea lends itself extremely well to mechanical harvesting owing to its mallee habit.
Instead of producing a single trunk the shrub-like 'blue mallee' produces multiple, relatively thin
stems originating from the same lignotuber.
Multiple cutting at ground level stimulates coppicing thus favouring production of foliage
over that of wood. Foliage is cut by forage harvester and fed directly into a mobile vat linked to
the forage harvester. The full vat, containing about three tonnes of plant material is hauled into
the distillery where a removal lid, fitted with a flexible outlet connected to an efficient
condenser, is attached to its top. Steam from a separate boiler is passed through the charge by
means of a set of pipes built into the bottom of the mobile vat.
Other species of eucalypts, such as Eucalyptus radiata subsp. radiata and Eucalyptus
dives do not lend themselves nearly as readily to such mechanisation and the production of
their oils is normally left to part-time small scale distillers.
It is difficult to report precise figures on Australian eucalyptus oil production since official
statistics are not available. Data presented in Table 2 are based on information obtained from
industrial sources. They do not discriminate between the different types of oil produced and
they are approximate only.
Table 2. Australian eucalyptus oil
production
Year
Local production
(tonnes)
Imports (in tonnes)
1947-48
1948-49
1949-50
1950-51
1951-52
1952-53
1977
1987
(cineole oils
piperitone
oils
900
560
520
780
775
540
200
140-160
120-140
20
*
*
*
*
*
*
ca 75
ca 270
200
70)
* No figures available.
However, they do show that Australian eucalyptus oil production has been declining since
about 1947. Taking into consideration that the total world production stands now around 3,000
tonnes per annum Australia's present contribution is of the order of five per cent only!
Vast quantities of eucalyptus oils are produced in Portugal, Spain, China, Swaziland,
South Africa, India and elsewhere. In the majority of these countries eucalypts are grown for
their timber and the leaf oils are merely readily saleable by-products. This coupled with much
lower labour costs gives these countries a distinct competitive edge in the market place.
As a result of the high production costs of locally produced eucalyptus oils Australian
producers are limiting themselves to a very small number of species yielding superior oils of
very high cineole content such as Eucalyptus polybractea and Eucalyptus viridis (in NSW, and
NSW and Victoria respectively). Both are mallees and both are amendable to mechanical
harvesting, whilst Eucalyptus dives (both 1.8-cineole variant) requiring more manual handling
are distilled only because of either high oil content (in exceptional cases up to six per cent
based on fresh weight E. dives foliage) or superior olfactory characteristics (1.8-cineole variant
of E. radiata subsp. radiata).
Very large quantities of crude eucalyptus oils of lower 1.8-cineole content or inferior
quality than locally produced oil are imported (see Table 2) from China (Eucalyptus tereticornis
and Eucalyptus globulus, ca 150 tonnes per annum) and Swaziland (Eucalyptus smithii, ca 50
tonnes per annum) for rectification and later blending in order to make our oils conform to
overseas standards and thus facilitate their re-export at a competitive price.
Some cineole rich fractions obtained as a by-product of the camphor industry have also
been imported in the recent past from China for blending purposes. These fractions variously
referred to as 'synthetic eucalyptus oil' or 'Chinese eucalyptus oil (ex camphor)' are virtually
indistinguishable from authentic eucalyptus oil. Our high production costs would make the
exploitation of local, low-cineole eucalypts commercially unattractive.
Locally produced Eucalyptus dives oil (piperitone variant) is about 15 per cent dearer
than oil imported from Swaziland. Thus, once again, and apart from the fact that local
production of this oil is not capable of matching demand, imports are essential. One can, thus,
answer those who criticise the importation of eucalyptus oils by simply pointing out that without
imports our whole indigenous eucalyptus oil industry, exports and all, would simply vanish
altogether.
Australia also produces, mostly for export, about 60 tonnes per annum of pure 1,8cineole worth some $850,000. Eucalyptus dives oil is used almost exclusively for the
manufacture of crystallised (-)-menthol, the total amount produced being of the order of 10
tonnes per annum worth about $320,000. By-products from the preliminary vacuum
fractionation of the crude Eucalyptus dives oil, phellandrene and terpinen-4-ol are readily
marketable at ca $8 and $45 per kilogram respectively, the latter being sold as a 90 per cent
concentrate for use as a flavour ingredient.
Australian eucalyptus oil production continues to decline, the main contributing factor
being lower labour costs in other eucalyptus oil producing countries. The broad conclusions
drawn by Small are therefore still valid today, e.g. the establishment of plantations for the sole
purpose of eucalyptus oil production cannot be justified.
Whilst mechanisation of the oil production process has been already highly developed,
further advances may perhaps be achieved by the application of tissue culture propagation
techniques. Thus, it may be possible to establish plantations of elite trees combining exceptional
oil yield and growth characteristics.
It is recorded that one of the first exports from Australia following European
settlement was Eucalyptus oil. It must have been obvious to the first settlers, most of whom
would only have had access to folk medicines, that the crushed Eucalyptus leaf yielded strong
and often pungent oil-like substances which may have reminded them of efficacious products
they were accustomed to using in their home countries. However, eucalypts were a completely
new group of plants and curative and other properties of the oil yielded by eucalypt leaves were
a matter of trial and error and some ideas might also have been communicated by the
Aboriginal people.
There is a very large number of Eucalyptus species in the Sydney area yet none is a
particularly high oil-yielding species. The first oil was obtained by the distillation of leaves of the
local Eucalyptus piperita. It smelt like the English peppermint and consequently the trees
became known as the Sydney peppermint.
The name 'peppermint', confusing as it may be to the European visitor when it is applied
to Eucalyptus, became somewhat inappropriate in eastern Australia when other eucalypt
species, unrelated to E. piperita, were found to be much higher in oils. One of these, E. radiata,
was the basis of a eucalyptus oil industry from the 1950s. A related species, E. dives, was also
harvested in large quantities for oils.
These peppermint species were difficult to grow in other countries and oil industries
there became based on the quite unrelated E. globulus from Tasmania and E. citriodora from
northern Queensland. Brazil, South Africa, Portugal, Spain, India and China are currently large
producers of eucalyptus oils and we are net importers.
The industry in Australia seems to have diverged from the peppermint species of the
relatively well-watered tablelands and plains of New South Wales and Victoria where E. radiata
is still harvested to the mallees of drier inland sites in both States. This was probably due to the
availability of large uncleared stands of mallee that included species of high total oil content
with a high proportion of cineole. The best known species in this category is E. polybractea. Its
mallee form, regenerative ability and high oil content made it a very suitable species for
harvesting in natural stands. In contrast with other countries the use of plantations in Australia
for oil production is in its relative infancy.
Much of the early research on eucalyptus oils was done by Baker and Smith in the
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney. They supplied the first reported analyses of the
oils of Western Australian eucalypts (1920). While they studied species from all over Australia,
their results included 14 endemic species from Western Australia. Their results cannot be taken
too seriously, however, as five of the 'species' were trees cultivated in Melbourne and three
were of unknown origin.
Subsequent authors have tested quite a few species and to 1961 it is estimated that
about one in four of the known species in the southwest had been investigated. When it is
considered that on top of these species, about 100 new species have been discovered since, the
available information on species and oils is utterly inadequate.
The first experimental work on WA species was reported by Gardner and Watson in
1948. For reasons unstated, they tested individual trees or mallees (or regrowth or 'adjacent
plant of similar type') of E. oleosa vars plenissima and kochii growing in the northern wheat
belt. They found a maximum of 4.7% fresh weight of total oils of which cineole accounted for
80-90%. Their experimental method is not acceptable today as the sampling, distillation and
analyses are very imperfectly presented. There was no doubt, however, that the varieties they
tested merited further investigation.
In following up Gardner and Watson's work of the 1940s, we embarked upon a long term
sampling trial of 50 individual mallees of the same species spread among 10 populations in the
northern wheat belt. Each tree or mallee was tagged and sampled monthly for two years. The
leaf samples (3-5 gram is sufficient for purely analytical purposes) were tested for total oils and
proportion of cineole back at Murdoch University. Our results show that:
 the form of the Western part of the area, morphologically E. kochii, yielded much
more oil than the eastern form, E. plenissima;
 a large proportion of the oils is cineole; and
 seasonal variation in cineole production is only slight, meaning that time of
harvesting was not important although in plantations it might need to be done at
the optimum time for regeneration.
Results indicate that the highest yielding species are all mallees of the wheat belt and,
for example, tuart, jarrah, marri, wandoo and karri are very low producers of oil. Unfortunately
the highest yielders in our own investigations are species of the prime wheat belt and
consequently have largely been cleared. No natural stands that I know of exist for experimental
sampling in large quantities. Our plantation at Murdoch University was established from seed all
obtained from roadside remnants. It is unlikely though that E. kochii or its sister species E.
horistes (E. oleosa var. borealis) ever occurred in more or less pure stands as seems to have
been the case in NSW and Victoria for E. polybractea.
In an age of multi-purpose industries, it will be of benefit to seek species that have
several useful properties. In other countries, eucalypt plantations are developed so that the
crowns can be harvested for oils and the residue following distillation used for composting, the
main wood is taken for poles or fibre production and the debris is always of enormous value in
poorer countries for fuel. In addition the plantations can be sited for swamp drainage, shade,
windbreaks and for the reclamation of degraded areas by lowering the watertable. Clearly the
most important advantage in the WA situation would be to find a high oil-yielding species that
will grow successfully on naturally poor or degraded land. It is perhaps a pessimistic fact that
plantation industries are very conservative and that well known reliable species are usually
chosen. It may be that E. camaldulensis (river red gum) and E. globulus (Tasmanian blue gum)
are the best species for some end-results as their adaptability is proved, but they are not high
oil producers. The industries overseas, based for example on E. globulus, must depend on very
high volumes of leaf material.
Again, the species usually chosen for their success on salty sites are a small selection.
The best known are probably E. sargentii, E. kondininensis, E. spathulata and E. occidentalis.
We now know however of many more untested species that grow naturally around salt lakes.
These vary from the sometimes prostrate E. rigens from north of Esperance to E. myriadena a
very widespread species tolerant of salt and to the even more remarkable E. salicola, a tree
species unrecognised until recently that grows to 20 m tall around salt lakes from the central
wheat belt to the lakes systems in the Great Victoria Desert north-east of Kalgoorlie. The oil
content of E. myriadena can be high although the proportion of cineole is lower than that of
E. kochii.
One of the problems of selection of species is how much reliance can be placed on small
samplings. Eucalypts vary morphologically from site to site. In addition, their oil contents can
vary greatly between sites and between individual trees. In this respect, the highest yielding
tree (over two years) in our tests on natural stands touched crowns with one of the lowest
yielders. It is reassuring, however, that high-yielding parent trees or mallees produced, on
average, high yielding progeny. In other words, oil production is strongly heritable. This result
has come from our plantation of E. kochii and E. plenissima from Murdoch where six seedlings
of each of 50 parent trees in the field were laid out for experimental purposes. This means that
plantations from these species at least can be set up successfully from seed taken from highyielding parent trees. A warming should be sounded in that our results are obtained from two
species only and in one experimental site. We cannot know if it is safe to extrapolate.
Because oil yield is highly heritable, it seems reasonable to assume that healthy
plantations derived from high-yielding parents will produce leaf crowns worth harvesting for
oils. Again we must be cautious because not all species 'travel' well, that is, we cannot
guarantee successful growth of any species in an environmental that is foreign to it. Consider
the case of E. salmonophloia, the most beautiful tree of the wheat belt and goldfields. In Perth
it grows to a practically unrecognisable shrub. Compare this with E. torquata from similar areas
to salmon gum. It shows far greater adaptability and grows very successfully in Perth. The two
species in our Murdoch trial fortunately appear to have latent properties of adaptation that
enable them to grow well in a very different environment from their origin. Only
experimentation in many differing areas will answer the questions of adaptation.
The other important aspect to adaptation is the choice of species for their oil content. We
have surveyed most species in the south-west on an average of about three sites each and
have some idea of what the highest oil-yielding species are from limited information. A spot test
for oil content can be made by visual examination of the leaves by viewing them with oblique
transmitted sunlight. The oil glands if present will be easily seen as small light-coloured dots as
the light passes through a minimum of green photosynthetic tissue. Certainly the highest oil
yields reveal a density of glands but species with the highest concentration, viz.
E. erythronema, E. eremophila, E. myriadena do not produce the yields of E. kochii and its
northern congener, E. horistes. This means that oil content can only be satisfactorily determined
from laboratory analysis.
Eucalyptus regnans or Mountain Ash is the tallest hardwood tree in the world
with specimens reaching 80 metres or more in height, although the giant sequoia has the
greatest bulk. The Californian redwood is the world’s tallest tree (a softwood).
Some trees felled during the last century were measured at up to 114 metres. The
following extract from "Forests of Australia" by Alexander Rule (1967) indicates the massive
proportions of these trees. It records the felling of a tree in the Derwent Valley, Tasmania in
1942:
"It is recorded that two expert axemen, working on a platform 15 feet above the
ground, took two and a half days to cut a scarf 6 feet deep into the mighty butt as a
preliminary to sending the giant toppling to earth. The crash of its fall resounded for
miles around and even hardened bush workers are said to have downed tools in silent
homage to the fallen monarch. Its age was put at 400 years and it was calculated that
when Abel Tasman discovered the island in 1642 this tree was already a noble specimen
of between 150 and 200 feet in height." The tree "yielded 6770 cubic feet of wood
which was pulped into 75 tons of newsprint."
The Eucalypt Jarrah is a widely used hardwood.
Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Red River Gum one of the best known of all eucalypts. It is common along the
Murray-Darling river system and along watercourses in much of semi-arid Australia. It is a
medium sized tree usually branching not far above the ground. It may reach 30 - 40 metres in
height. The most widely distributed eucalypt in most of arid and semiarid Australia but not the
humid eastern and southwestern coasts. It is one of the most widely planted eucalypts in the
world
The bark is smooth and white or greyish in colour except near the base of the trunk
where it is often rough. Leaves are "typical" of eucalypts being lance-shaped up to 250 mm long
and blue-grey. The white flowers are seen mainly in late spring and summer, followed by small
seed capsules about 60 mm diameter with protruding valves.
An unusual form of E. camaldulensis occurs at Greenough on the Western Australian
coast. The typical growth of this group of trees is for the trunk to grow more or less straight up
for about two metres followed by a right-angled bend. It is apparently a response to the local
environmental conditions but the habit appears to be genetically fixed.
E. camaldulensis is a hardy tree in cultivation but is probably too large for urban
gardens. It adapts to a wide range of soils but growth is best in soils with an assured supply of
water.
Important timber, firewood, shelter belt, and honey tree. In the Sudan, it is planted to
protect crops from blowing sands.
The wood, durable, easy to saw, yet resistant to termites, is widely used in Australia for
strong durable construction in many applications where contact with the ground is needed,
interior finish, flooring, cabinetry, furniture, fence posts, cross-ties, sometimes pulpwood.
Australian aborigines made canoes from the bark.
Survivalists in Australia and elsewhere might learn how the aborigines obtained water
from the superficial roots, usually those ca 3 cm in diameter. The roots were excavated or
lifted to the soil surface. Then the root was cut into segments ca 45 cm long, debarked, held
vertically, and blown into, the water then draining into the receptacle provided.
Eucalyptus cosmophylla
Cup Gum Small tree with smooth bark; tolerates waterlogged soil. One of South
Australia's hardiest eucalyptus.
Eucalyptus ficifolia
also known as Corymbia ficifolia
This has the common name Red Flowering Gum; however it is not a gum, it is a
bloodwood. It is called a gum because before 1995 the genus Corymbia was included in the
Eucalyptus genus. As in Eucalyptus the flower bud is protected by a cap or calyptera. A more
recent revision of Eucalyptus (2000) has returned Corymbia to the genus Eucalyptus, along with
Angophora, however as the DNA sequencing supports the 1995 classification I am sticking with
that. I don’t think it matters as long as you quote the authority you are using, ie Hill and
Johnston (1995) or Brooker (2000). It depends on whether you prefer to be a ‘splitter’ or a
‘lumper.’
Corymbia ficifolia comes from the southwest of Western Australia. Most bloodwoods
are common trees, and are not usually commercially logged, with one exception, the spotted
gum, Corymbia maculata. The timber has veins and pockets of gum, which make it
difficult to work.
The name ficifolia refers to the fig-like appearance of the leaf. Unlike Eucalyptus leaves,
the leaves of Corymbia have a difference between upper and lower surfaces (they are paler
underneath). The colour of the flowers can vary from the usual red, because it hybridises with
marri (C. calophylla).
Bloodwoods have large flowers borne in many-flowered inflorescences at the end of
branchlets. Corymbia ficifolia is one of the most popular flowering native trees in Australia, and
is widely used as an ornamental, in both Australia and New Zealand.
A distinctive feature is the large urn-shaped capsules. The boy scouts use them as
‘woggles’ for their scarves.
Eucalyptus globulus
Blue Gum, Tasmanian Bluegum
Bluegum eucalyptus is native to Tasmania and southeastern Australia. It was introduced
into California in 1856 and into Hawaii in about 1865. It has naturalised in both states
Eucalyptus globulus is the official floral emblem of Tasmania. It was proclaimed as
such on 27 November 1962. It was first collected on the southeast coast of Tasmania in 179293 by the French explorer Jacques-Julien Honton de Labillardiere.
It grows naturally in tall open forest in southeastern Tasmania, on King and Flinders
Islands in Bass Strait, and in small sections of southern Victoria.
It is a tall, straight tree growing to 70m in height and 2m in trunk diameter under
favourable conditions.
The broad juvenile leaves are about 6 to 15 cm long and covered in a blue-grey waxy
bloom. This is the origin of the common name ‘blue-gum.’ The mature leaves are sickle-shaped,
and dark, shining green. They are arranged alternately on rounded stems and range from 15-35
cm in length.
The buds are top-shaped, ribbed, and warty. The cream flowers are borne singly. The
woody fruits range from 1.5 to 2.5 cm in diameter. Numerous small seeds are shed through
valves that open on top of the fruit.
Eucalyptus globulus is the most important source of Eucalyptus oil.
Bluegum eucalyptus is an important source of fuel wood in many countries. It burns
freely, leaves little ash, and produces good charcoal. Plantations can be harvested for firewood
every 7 years. It is also widely used as pulpwood. The wood is unsuitable for lumber because of
excessive cracking, shrinkage, and collapse on drying, but is used for fence posts, poles, and
crates
Bluegum eucalyptus is widely planted as an ornamental. It is also a source of nectar for
honey production
Bluegum eucalyptus oil has numerous medical applications. The oil is antifungal
and is used as a flavouring agent in cold and cough medicines. It is used in disinfectants,
antiseptic liniments, ointments, toothpastes, and mouthwashes. Bluegum eucalyptus oil is used
as a flavour ingredient in boiled sweets and food products such as beverages, dairy desserts,
candy, baked goods, gelatines, puddings, and meat products. The cosmetic industry uses it as a
fragrance component in soaps, detergents, air fresheners, bath oils, and perfumes
Bluegum eucalyptus is highly flammable and should not be planted near homes and
other structures
The leaves of bluegum eucalyptus release a number of terpenes and phenolic acids
responsible for the paucity of accompanying vegetation in plantations. Natural fog drip from
bluegum eucalyptus inhibits the growth of annual grass suggesting that such inhibition occurs
naturally
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS: Most eucalyptus communities in Australia have
evolved in the presence of periodic fire. Bluegum eucalyptus is highly flammable, but is
seldom killed by fire. The bark catches fire readily, and deciduous bark streamers and lichen
epiphytes tend to carry fire into the canopy and to disseminate fire ahead of the main front.
Other features of bluegum eucalyptus that promote fire spread include heavy litter fall,
flammable oils in the foliage, and open crowns bearing pendulous branches, which
encourages maximum updraft. Despite the presence of volatile oils that produce a hot fire,
leaves of bluegum eucalyptus are classed as intermediate in their resistance to combustion, and
juvenile leaves are highly resistant to flaming. Adaptations to fire include seed banking,
sprouting, and heat-resistant seed capsules. Seed capsules protect the seed for a critical short
period as the fire reaches the crowns; this protection delays penetration of heat to the seeds.
Seeds were protected for about 4 minutes from a lethal rise in temperature when capsules were
subjected to a heat of 826 degrees Fahrenheit (440 deg C). Following all types of fire, an
accelerated seed shed occurs, even where crowns are only subjected to heat scorch.
Bluegum eucalyptus recovers well from fire. Epicormic sprouting is common in trees only
scorched by fire. It is also common in trees where crown fire occurred but bark was thick
enough to protect dormant branch buds. Heat-damaged bark is shed, and sprouting proceeds
rapidly. Top-killed trees sprout from the lignotuber. Vigorous sprouting is supported by food
reserves stored in the root system and lignotuber
Eucalyptus kitsoniana
Bog Gum
Eucalyptus leucoxylon
Yellow Gum, growing along the north side of Anderson’s Park, is an ironwood.
After the bud cap is shed, the numerous stamens encircling the stigma open out, giving
the blossom its colour, which is usually cream, but occasionally pink or red, as in some iron
barks, such as this species.
An orange dye is obtained from the leaves and green seedpods. It does not require a
mordant.
Wood - pale, tough, strong and durable.
An essential oil from the leaves is used as a food flavouring in baked goods, ice
cream and sweets
Eucalyptus mannifera
Brittle Gum The name mannifera manna yielding, from the Greek manna, alluding
to the white powdery material on the bark, and fero = to produce.
It is a well proportioned, sometimes multi-stemmed tree growing to a height of 10-20 m
and attaining a spread of 13 m with a trunk diameter of 30-60 cm.
Its main attraction is its smooth white trunk, often mottled with patches of grey, which
changes to a pink colour in late spring or summer. These colours are particularly pronounced
when the trunk is wet after summer rains. The leaves are narrow and dull green, about 12 cm
in length. The flowers are white and in Canberra are seen in autumn although in other places
flowerings have been recorded at different times of the year.
As the common name implies, the wood is very brittle and large trees have been known
to drop branches occasionally and care should be taken when planting this species near
dwellings. However, its graceful form and branching habit do make it an excellent shade or
specimen tree.
It occurs naturally on the Central and Southern Tablelands of NSW.
Eucalyptus mannifera is frost hardy and tolerant of drought conditions, growing in
rainfall areas of 5001000 mm per annum where dry summer conditions are often experienced.
Eucalyptus obliqua
Messmate, Stringy-barked Ash Although called a stringybark, the messmate
is an ash. It can be distinguished from the true stringybarks by its fruit that are more eggshaped. Stringybark fruit are rounder.
Historically, this is the most important eucalypt, as it was the first eucalypt species
botanically described in literature. First described in 1789 by the French magistrate and
botanist L’Heritier, from a specimen collected in 1777 by William Anderson and David Nelson on
Bruny Island off the coast of southeastern Tasmania during Cook’s Third Voyage.
The species is a member of the subgenus Monocalyptus, with only one cap shed before
flowering. It is not a typical stringybark, being more closely related to the ashes, and
particularly to alpine ash (E. delegatensis). It has brown fibrous, stringy, fissured bark,
extending to the small branches, and large, curved (falcate), glossy green leaves. The name
‘obliqua’ refers to the oblique base of the mature leaf, and the intermediate leaves are oblique
too. This is a characteristic of the whole ash group. Another characteristic of the ash group is
the acute angle that the rather prominent secondary veins make with the midrib.
E. obliqua can grow to 60m or more, with a straight trunk and a dense crown. At its best
it is a very large tree. It is widespread, from near the coast to the mountains, up to 1000m. It
prefers cool, moist areas, and can tolerate snow and frost. It grows usually with narrow-leaved
peppermint, other stringbarks, and gums. Flowering occurs December to March. The capsules
are wineglass shaped, on short distinct pedicels.
It is one of the most valuable timber-producing trees of Victoria and Tasmania, but
it occurs also in South Australia and on Kangaroo Island, whilst in NSW it extends to the
northern tablelands. The timber is usually hard, strong, and durable, and is valued for poles
and construction.
Eucalyptus ovata
Swamp Gum
Eucalyptus perriniana
Spinning Gum
Eucaylptus pilularis
Blackbutt Gum distribution favours warm humid climatic conditions. Eucalyptus
pilularis grows from Fraser Island in southeast Queensland to the south coast of NSW. Annual
rainfall range, 900-1750 mm. Altitude range, near sea level-300 m in the south of its range,
and up to 600 m in the north. It belongs to the stringy bark group
Found in the coastal plains and nearby lower ranges, between sea and escarpment of
New South Wales and southern Queensland. An important commercial hardwood in
eastern Australia.
Occasionally grows very tall long straight trunk, often black in colour at the base if the
tree has experienced fire.
Bark is rough, fibrous and spongy at the base, shedding in strips higher up the trunk
leaving a smooth greyish white surface above.
It is a conspicuous part of the sclerophyllous forest. It is the most important tree
for timber production and is regarded as the ‘bread and butter’ tree of the Forest Services.
It is a moderate to large tree, growing to over 60m (200 feet) in height, with diameters of up to
3m (seven feet). The trunk is straight for half to two-thirds of the total height, with a rather
open crown, and an erect, branching habit. It often forms pure stands on well-drained sites,
usually on sandy loams, occasionally on heavier soils. It grows well in equable climates, with
mild summers and cool winters, with only the occasional frost, and annual rainfall 35-60 inches.
It is not particularly hardy, but is fast growing. It has not been very successful outside
Australia, due to early death or stagnation. More attention needs to be given to its root
development.
The name ‘pilularis’ refers to the globular or hemispherical capsules. ‘Blackbutt’ refers to
the fact that the rough, finely fibrous bark on the lower part of the trunk is usually blackened by
fires, which occur in this type of forest. The bark on the upper trunk and branches is smooth
and white or yellowish. The flowers are produced in summer.
Eucalyptus pulchella
Peppermint Gum, White Peppermint, Narrow-leaved Peppermint
is found primarily in central and southeastern Tasmania, preferring moist, well-drained sites,
but it is adaptable. Poor soils with low fertility suit it best. It is a good species for colder
climates. It will grow to about 20-30m (up to 100 feet) tall, with an open habit.
It is extensively cultivated, and is used as a street tree. It has smooth bark
throughout the tree, which is yellow to white to grey in colour. The bark is thin and finely
fibrous, not stringy or furrowed. It peels off in fibrous sheets. . Unlike many of the other
eucalypts, the juvenile leaves are linear and green. The adult leaves are narrow and green, and
can be white.
The leaves are peppermint-scented when crushed. It has white flowers in the summer
and autumn. It has both epicormic shoots, and lignotubers, to aid its recovery after fire.
It tends to grow in a grassy, shrubby dry forest complex with Tasmanian Blue Gum (E.
globulus) and Manna Gum (E. viminalis).
Eucalyptus viminalis
Manna Gum, Ribbon Gum is a ‘gum’ that means it belongs to the group of
Eucalypts that have smooth, pale bark which is shed annually in ribbons, strips or flakes. This
group includes Blue Gums (eg. E. globulus), Red River Gum (E. camaldulensis), and several
others that we have in the Botanic Garden, Spinning Gum (E. perriniana), Brittle Gum (E
.mannifera), Cup Gum (E. cosmophylla), Swamp Gum (E. ovata), Bog Gum (E. kitsoniana)).
Manna Gum is found over a wide area of Australia (South Australia, Victoria, NSW
Tablelands, up to the Queensland border, and Tasmania).
It is a very attractive tree, usually smooth-barked over much of its tall straight trunk,
but with a stocking of rough bark at the base. It often has ribbons of dead bark hanging from
the branch forks. Manna gum flowers for most of the year. It is common on cool moist sites,
especially in E. Victoria and E. Tasmania. It is a tall tree, growing to 55m (180 feet). In Victoria
it is the most common food for koalas, although they eat the leaves of many other species.
Some species of eucalypts, however, are toxic to koalas.
The name ‘viminalis’ refers to the twiggy nature of the crown, with long slender
branchlets carrying long pendant leaves, which are light green, long and narrow. The leaf has
copious oil glands that exude a sticky oil when the leaf is broken. Its small white flowers are
produced in summer. It is one of the most cold hardy species of Eucalypt. It grows rapidly, and
has pink to pale yellow to white wood. It is popular for ornamental and commercial planting. It
is a fine shade tree, but the fallen bark can be messy. Where holes have been made by
insects in the young branches, sap flows out and dries easily into hard sugary drops
which fall to the ground, hence the name ‘manna.’ Aborigines and early settlers were very
fond of it. The sugary secretion from sap-sucking insects on the tree was also eaten.
The wood was used for implements such as shields, and wooden bowls. These bowls
were called ‘tarnuks’ in Victoria, and ‘coolamons’ in other parts of Australia.
Possums, gliders, and birds use the tree hollows as nesting sites. The Aborigines used
smoke to flush these animals out of their holes to catch them.
Euphorbia glauca
Sand Milkweed, NZ Sea Spurge, Waiu-atua.
Collected 5 Nov. 1769
Euphorbia glauca named for its glaucous (bluish) leaf colour, which reflects the heat vital for survival in hot dry places, and also for its milky sap - a common feature of plants in the
Euphorbiaceae family.
Some names date back some 2,000 years. The genus name 'Euphorbia' is derived from
the Greek 'Euphorbias' - the name of the physician to King Juba II of Numidia, and was
assigned to one particular species. In 1753 Carl Linnaeus assigned the name to the entire genus
when he introduced his naming system.
Endemic to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, it grows on coastal cliffs, sand dunes
and rocky lakeshore scarps. Animal browsing and trampling as well as coastal development and
erosion threatens it. Currently it is classified as 'in serious decline'. Since Aristotle (384 EC-322
BC), biologists had used the word 'genus' for a group of similar organisms, and then sought to
define the specific difference of each type of organism. Many early biologists gave the species
they described long, unwieldy Latin names, which could be altered at will; a scientist comparing
two descriptions of species might not be able to tell which organisms were being referred to.
Gaspard (Casper) Bauhin, (1560 -1624), a
Swiss botanist was the first to use the convention for naming of species. He introduced
many names of genera that were later adopted by Linnaeus, and which remain in use. For
species he carefully pruned the descriptions; in many cases a single word sufficed as a
description. However, his single-word description was still a description intended to be
diagnostic, not an arbitrarily chosen name as is used today
Fagus sylvatica
The English Beech is a deciduous tree usually found in gardens and plantations. It
can grow to 30m tall.
The Beech is native to most of Europe, and has been introduced to England and
Ireland. Beech trees mature to a great size, 30-40m tall, with impressive spreading crowns,
often branching almost horizontally. It has shiny grey bark, variegated with dark green and
yellow mosses.
The wood varies in colour from white to pale brown. Its fibres are compact, but not
very hard. When the wood is split transversely it presents brilliant satiny faces, like those of the
oak, but very much smaller and not so numerous.
The use of beech has been long abandoned in carpentry works above ground, on account
of its tendency to cleave if the timber is not felled in spring. It has a liability to be attacked by
worms.
The timber is mainly used for furniture making. As the wood is brittle and shortgrained, it is not well suited for purposes where strength and durability are required. One of the
principal objections to it is that it is liable to be perforated by a small beetle. Its chief uses are
for panels for carriages, carpenter's planes, stonemason's mallets wooden bowls, granary
shovels, sieve rims, frames of saddles and horses' collars, cases for drums boot-lasts, sabots,
and for chair-making, small articles in turnery, also for making charcoal for colour
manufacturers, and gunpowder, salt boxes, spinning wheels, pestles and herring barrels.
Sometimes it can be found stained red to imitate the appearance of mahogany, and black to
look like ebony
On the Continent Beech is used for parquet flooring, wood pavement and bentwood
furniture, and very extensively as fuel for domestic heating, as its heating power
surpasses that of most other timber.
The leaves of beech are used in place of straw for stuffing mattresses; and its bark is
used by the tanner.
Its fruit affords abundance of excellent oil, used for burning, lighting, as a lubricant, or
for polishing wood
The nuts of Beech, called 'mast,' are chiefly used in England as food for park deer. In
other countries they are valued for feeding farm animals: in France for feeding swine and
fattening domestic poultry, especially turkeys, and pigs which are turned into Beech woods to
utilise the fallen mast. Beech mast has even been used as human food in time of distress or
famine. Horses, however, should not be fed on it.
Well-ripened mast yields from 17 to 20 per cent. of a non-drying oil - similar to
hazel and Cotton-seed oils - and is used in European countries for cooking, as well as for
burning, and in Silesia as a substitute for butter. This stores well without going rancid and is
said to be equal in delicacy to olive oil. It is used as a dressing for salads and also for
cooking. The cake left when the oil has been pressed out may be used as a cattle food
Seed - eaten raw or cooked. A pleasant sweet flavour, though rather small and fiddly.
The seed can also be dried and ground into a powder and then used with cereal flours when
making bread, cakes etc. The seed is rich in oil. The seed should not be eaten in large quantities
because it contains a deleterious principle. The seed residue is poisonous.. The roasted seed is
used as a coffee substitute
During the War an attempt was made in Germany to use Beech leaves as a substitute
for tobacco, and a mixture was served to the army, but proved a failure.
Trees have two growth periods a year, each of about 3 weeks in duration. The first is in
spring around the end of April, the second is in summer, around the end of July. Trees are often
slow growing and also can be very slow to establish after transplanting. However, in good
conditions they are capable of growing up to a metre in a year. Young trees are very shade
tolerant, but are subject to frost damage to their flowers and young leaves and so are best
grown in a woodland position that will protect them.
An important food plant for many caterpillars, it has 64 species of associated
insects.
Trees have a heavy canopy and cast a dense shade, very few other species can grow in
a dense beech wood and on suitable soils it becomes the dominant species. Very intolerant of
coppicing, trees producing none or only very weak growth afterwards and this is soon
smothered by other plants. Plants are very tolerant of light pruning however and if this is
carried out in late summer the plants will retain their dead leaves over winter.
There are many named forms selected for their ornamental value. Those forms
with purple leaves prefer a position in full sun whilst forms with yellow leaves prefer some
shade
The leaf buds harvested in the winter and dried on the twigs are used as toothpicks.
The wood has often been used as a source of creosote, tar, methyl alcohol, and
acetic acid
Young leaves - eaten raw. A very nice mild flavour, they go well in a mixed salad.
However, the leaves quickly become tough so only the youngest should be used. New growth is
usually produced for 2 periods of 3 weeks each year, one in spring and one in mid-summer.
Its fruit affords abundance of excellent oil, used for burning, lighting, as a lubricant, or
for polishing wood
The nuts of Beech, called 'mast,' are chiefly used in England as food for park deer. In
other countries they are valued for feeding farm animals: in France for feeding swine and
fattening domestic poultry, especially turkeys, and pigs which are turned into Beech woods to
utilise the fallen mast. Beech mast has even been used as human food in time of distress or
famine. Horses, however, should not be fed on it.
Well-ripened mast yields from 17 to 20 per cent. of a non-drying oil - similar to
hazel and Cotton-seed oils - and is used in European countries for cooking, as well as for
burning, and in Silesia as a substitute for butter. This stores well without going rancid and is
said to be equal in delicacy to olive oil. It is used as a dressing for salads and also for
cooking. The cake left when the oil has been pressed out may be used as a cattle food
Seed - eaten raw or cooked. A pleasant sweet flavour, though rather small and fiddly.
The seed can also be dried and ground into a powder and then used with cereal flours when
making bread, cakes etc. The seed is rich in oil. The seed should not be eaten in large quantities
because it contains a deleterious principle. The seed residue is poisonous.. The roasted seed is
used as a coffee substitute
During the War an attempt was made in Germany to use Beech leaves as a substitute
for tobacco, and a mixture was served to the army, but proved a failure.
Trees have two growth periods a year, each of about 3 weeks in duration. The first is in
spring around the end of April, the second is in summer, around the end of July. Trees are often
slow growing and also can be very slow to establish after transplanting. However, in good
conditions they are capable of growing up to a metre in a year. Young trees are very shade
tolerant, but are subject to frost damage to their flowers and young leaves and so are best
grown in a woodland position that will protect them.
Ferns mosses and liverworts
see separate listings – fungi, mosses,
lichens
Ferns were abundant on the NZ margin of Gondwanaland in the late Palaeozoic,
followed in the Mesozoic by conifers, palms and flowering plants. In Triassic and Jurassic
conifers and Ginkgos were dominant in Gondwanaland countries, with ferns, tree ferns,
lycopods and horsetails below. N.Z. in the late Jurassic had a warm temperate climate. Treeferns, closely related to the Cyathea species were on forest margins and in the understorey as
they are today.
Liverworts evolved in the Permian. These, with mosses were more abundant in the
Mesozoic than they are today, judging by abundant spores.
Ficus macrophylla
Morton Bay Fig, Black Fig, waabie, karrevaira, peemith. Australian
Banyan
Endemic Australian species, ranging from Shoalhaven River, NSW to Rockingham Bay,
north Queensland.
Habitat: Sub-tropical, littoral and dry rainforests and riverine scrub. Tall tree,
(strangler) with huge trunk, widely buttressed, growing to 50 m.
Flower: Fruit: Fig, orange to purple with creamy white dots; globular, up to 2.5 cm in
diameter. Ripen over several months of the year.
Garden Use: Suitable only for parks or large blocks, due to tree size and invasive roots.
A beautiful shade tree that attracts birds and fruit bats. Good tub-plant.
Edible? Aborigines ate the sweet fruit, and used the bark to make string. Makes
interesting bonsai plant. In India (Garhwal Himalayas): young shoots eaten in curry for scurvy
It usually begins life high up in another tree. Its roots grow down the trunk of the
supporting tree, which eventually dies, leaving the fig with a hollow trunk formed from the
roots. It reaches 35-40 m in height, with a spread nearly as great, with a buttressed trunk. It
has large leathery green leaves, with rust-toned undersides.
It produces an abundance of fruit, reddish-brown when ripe. The flowers are unusual, as
they are completely enclosed in what will mature to be the fruit and they need certain species of
wasps to penetrate their protection and fertilise them. Birds and bats eat the ripe fruit and
spread the seeds, often into the branches of other trees where they germinate and grow into
young fig trees, to send roots down to the ground. They grow equally happily on masonry, and
you see pictures of Maya and Khmer ruined temples in the clutches of fig roots and branches. It
needs a subtropical or warm-temperate climate, and its size restricts it to very large gardens or
public parks and gardens. Well-drained soils and moderate to high rainfall areas suit it best. It
is an excellent coastal tree, and will tolerate salt-laden winds. It should not be planted near
buildings as the roots can damage paths and foundations. This tree has an excellent example of
a prop root, a feature of some tropical trees.
This tree was planted in the 1870s, so it is about 130 years old.
The fruits of figs were very important in the diet of the Aboriginal people. They
used the leaves of some species of fig as sandpaper. Small stems were used as firesticks. The
bark from aerial roots was used to make string for fishing nets and lines, dilly-bags, baskets,
and armbands. Strips of chewed bark were used as slings and tourniquets. An infusion of the
inner bark of some species was used as an eyewash, also to treat diarrhoea. An infusion of
leaves was used to treat influenza, fevers, muscular aches, and skin rashes. Warmed leaves
were applied to the swellings and inflammation after initiation ceremonies. The latex was used
to treat ringworm. (Moraceae)
FIRE - as a fact of life
In New Zealand we regard forest fire as a disaster. But we forget that fire in
many areas is a natural fact of life. And that many plants have become adapted to the
effects of fire. In fact the continued existence and life cycle of some trees and shrubs
is totally dependent on fire.
Fire is part of nature in countries such as Australia, Africa and America. The story of fire
and of how plants have adapted to this event is the subject of this section. Much of the
information is based on Australia and Australian plants, but has wider general application to fire
adapted habitats.
Fire is an evolutionary factor - plants have clear adaptations to fire.
Why fire has played such an integral part in shaping the Australian landscape?
Fossil charcoal in Victorian brown coal deposits imply that fires in vegetation have
occurred for at least 60 million years. Some accounts extend as far back as 350 million years
ago. But these early fires could not become a selective force of continental proportions.
Lightning fires could - and did. The scleromorphs and grasses offered abundant fuel suitably
dried and cured. A pattern of seasonal aridity and lightning storms stirred the right mixture of
fuel and water. Too much rain dampened the fuel, and too few storms reduced the probability of
ignition, but against the odds fire spread across the continent.
Fire pushed the biota towards sclerophylly as quickly as the genetic reserves could
tolerate. Equally fire released precious nutrients otherwise stockpiled in dead wood or cached in
inaccessible forms. While the overall nutrient level of the soil might be degraded, fire kept the
existing stock in active circulation. Fire favoured those species already disposed to
survive as scleromorphs and it burned maladapted competitors into oblivion, or herded
them into fire-safe enclaves.
Although fire was common throughout the world, nowhere else has it had such a
dramatic effect in reshaping an entire continent, than in Australia.
The Co-Evolution of Fire and the Australian Landscape
Fire is an integral part of the natural Australian environment and, along with the
climate, has played a significant part in the evolution of Australian flora and fauna
Australia separated from Antarctica and began to drift northwards about 55 million years
ago. At this stage the vegetation across the major part of Australia was a cool-temperate softleaved rainforest. By 45 million years ago, the rainforest vegetation had diversified over most of
the continent and Antarctic Beech (Nothofagus) became a dominant). The slow move toward
the tropics, by the Australian Continent, induced climatic change - sufficient to cause
widespread vegetation instability, massive erosion, leaching and weathering of soils. The onset
of aridity caused rainforest to fracture and divide into those species that required uniform
moisture and those that could accommodate dryness and change.
Marsupials became common in Australia around 20 million years ago and must have had
profound effects on the emerging vegetation patterns. About this time more open vegetation
types, woodlands and grasslands appeared. But the main expansion of these, with increasing
importance of Casuarina, Acacia and other sclerophyllous plants, probably occurred during the
last 10 million years, since the Australian continent has been reasonably stationary in its
present position. The change in vegetation suggested the presence of a drier climate.
During the last 730 000 years Australia has experienced eight major climatic changes,
varying from glacial (cold) to interglacial (warm) periods and back again. The pollen record
shows Casuarina dominated forest mixed with rainforest species returned during every
interglacial period except the last, which began about 130 000 years ago
Aridity had decided the contest between rainforest and scleroforest. The eucalypt
appeared about 34 million years ago whereas others suggest it may have been as much as 50
million years ago. Regardless of its time of arrival, charcoal appeared in the fossil record about
the same time indicating that the eucalypt was associated with a flammable fuel type. This
change can be associated with climatic change (more erratic rainfall alternating with dry
periods) following the last ice age, a progressive depletion of nutrients, and probably more
significantly, the arrival of the Aborigines and their widespread use of fire.
A gradual move towards aridity could have been met with gradual adaptations. But the
evolution of the Australian biota was not as simple as that. The climate oscillated between
periods of wet and periods of prolonged dry. These frequent environmental changes favoured
organisms that could respond with equal vigour and speed, and thrived amid disturbance. It
encouraged the tough, the opportunistic - the eucalypt responded to this challenge. It can be
argued that some of the changes in the flora have been the result of long-term climate change.
The modern-day eucalypt as an evolutionary response due primarily to the decline in soil
fertility. However most changes were precipitated by the relative increase in bushfire frequency.
Fire reinforced the trend toward aridity. It is possible that fires dried out
landscapes, further favouring scleromorphs and shaping microclimates that made future fires
more likely. In this way, fire began to redirect the evolution of Australia's history. Fire is almost
certainly implicated in the emergence of the scleromorphs from the rainforest, and in the speed
of overall environmental change. Fire has moulded and reshaped the Australian biota to the
point where many species are not only fire adapted but also some are considered to be fire
dependent.
By the time of European discovery the ancestral rainforest had retreated to sheltered
gullies in the Great Dividing Range, and woodlands comprised about 25 per cent of the
Australian land surface. Perhaps 70 per cent of these lands could be classified as pure eucalypt
forest.
130 000 Years Ago
A rough balance still existed between forests consisting of scleromorphic angiosperms
like the Casuarinas, and those composed of ancient gymnosperms like the araucarias, some 80
000 years ago..
The scleroforest revolution concluded between 38 000 and 26 000 years ago as the
scleromorphs, led by Casuarina, completed their abrupt expulsion of the rainforest.
Subsequently another revolution broke out between 20 000 and 7 500 years ago, this time
within the scleroforest. The Casuarinas receded; eucalypts advanced and charcoal saturated the
landscape. Casuarina may have been the dominant species within the scleroforest as recently as
7 500 years ago.
Most of the plant species growing in fire-prone sclerophyllous (hard-leaved)
communities have been specifically made with inbuilt 'bushfire survival' mechanisms. Most of us
will have seen a dark and desolate bush landscape remaining after a devastating fire and
wondered how anything could survive, let alone recover to flourish again. Yet several years later
the same site is again full of green foliage with only the blackened trunks of the Eucalypts
testifying to previous events.
Pre-European Fire History
There is considerable controversy and debate regarding the use of fire in pre-European
Australia. Many articles have been written claiming that the vegetation was continuously burnt
by a combination of natural and human factors. The following abstract represents a recent
informed opinion.
"Based on a selection of quotes from early European explorers and settlers, it has been
suggested that, at the time of European settlement of eastern Australia: the vegetation was
mainly composed of grassland and grassy woodland; that Aborigines burnt most of the country
every year or so; and a lack of fire after European settlement led to thick regrowth that was
subsequently ringbarked and cleared by settlers for agricultural expansion. This overlooks the
extensive scientific literature on past and present vegetation, and on fire ecology in Australia.
The claims of frequent burning mainly cover parts of southeastern Australia between
Tasmania and Brisbane, but do not deal with particular regions in a systematic way. They
generally refer to one type of vegetation formation grassy woodland, which mainly occurs on
clayey soils in drier coastal valleys, on non-siliceous soils on the undulating tablelands and on
the western slopes. The explorers may have favoured travelling through these areas because
they occur near rivers (water), had an open understorey and because some explorers were
employed to seek out suitable grazing lands.
Using three historical estimates of tree density in grassy woodlands, we estimate there
was an average of 30 large trees/ha spaced about one tree width apart. We found frequent
references in the explorers' journals to vegetation containing a dense understorey including
coastal heath, shrublands, rainforest and dense eucalypt forests. We found no evidence that
most of south-east Australia's vegetation was annually burnt by Aboriginal people and provide
examples where explorers' notes about fire have been misinterpreted or inappropriately
extrapolated.
While some journal entries reveal that Aboriginal people used fire for cooking and
burning the bush, the extent, frequency and season of their use of fire is largely unknown,
particularly for southern Australia. Vegetation types such as rainforest, wet sclerophyll eucalypt
forest, alpine shrublands and herbfields, and inland chenopod shrublands, along with a range of
plant and animal species, would now be rarer or extinct if they had been burnt every few years
over the thousands of years of Aboriginal occupation.
Much evidence has been ignored that points to climate as being the main
determinant in vegetation change over millions of years, with major changes occurring since
the onset of aridity in the Miocene (24 to 5 million years ago) but continuing through the last
ice age, which coincided with the occupation of Australia by Aboriginal people.
The adaptation of many plant species to aridity, drought, low nutrient soils and fire does
not imply a requirement for them to be frequently burnt. Southeastern Australia's native
vegetation is highly fragmented after 200 years of clearing, stock grazing and weed invasion.
Management of what remains should be based on a scientific understanding of the functioning
of ecosystems and the population dynamics of a range of plant and animal species."
FIRE RESISTANCE VS FIRE TOLERANCE (AVOIDANCE)
Any plant stress adaptation can be classified in terms of resistance, tolerance or a
voidance to the stress.
Resistance involves the prevention of damage. A drought resistant plant might store
water and have very effective mechanisms for conserving it like a cactus
Tolerance involves coping with damage brought on by stress. A drought tolerant plant
may be killed by a drought except for subterranean buds.
Avoidance involves simply avoiding stressful periods altogether. A drought avoiding
plant has a short phenology (typically annual) and germinates, grows, flowers and sets seeds
(dormant seeds) in a few weeks when conditions are favourable
Fire and Plant Responses
The evolutionary adaptation of eucalypts to fire
Most eucalypt species have adaptive traits ensuring their survival-even after very intense
fires. Moreover, following the recovery of tree crowns, eucalypts may grow, for a number of
years, more vigorously than they did before the fire. There are a number of hypotheses that
may account for the adaptation of eucalypts to fire
1. It is often said that eucalypts evolved in a fire environment; that is, such
characteristics as lignotubers, epicormic shoots, and thick bark are taken to be direct
adaptive responses to fire. This concept suggests an evolutionary interdependence between
eucalypts and forest fires and presupposes that eucalypts may have evolved in the direction of
large fuel loads and high flammability as a mechanism of attracting fire to itself, and through
the response of regeneration to fire, ensuring its continuing existence.
2. Alternatively, eucalypts could have evolved in a largely fire-free environment as a
nomad which is a species able to exploit disturbed and other specialised niches in rainforests,
such as rock walls, riverbanks, earth slides and lava flows. The characteristics of the presentday eucalypts which enable them to regenerate and grow rapidly after fire may have developed
in this way (i.e. they may not necessarily have been acquired through long adaptation to fire
regimes in the distant past).
3. A third hypothesis is that adaptation of eucalypts to fire may be seen primarily
as a by-product of its evolutionary adaptation to declining soil fertility and a drying
climate. The outstanding capacity of eucalypts to respond to a number of environmental
stresses could reflect, in turn, prior adaptation of its progenitor to more specialised and
disturbed niches within the Gondwanan rainforests.
While it is possible that all three pathways played some role in their adaptation to fire, it
remains difficult to accept that some of their more significant growth attributes
represent a direct evolutionary response to fire. Both the lignotuber and the epicormic
shoot have biological and ecological significance in no way connected with fire. The
lignotuberous habit has been seen as a cardinal attribute contributing to drought tolerance
and occupancy of infertile sites. New shoots that arise from reserve buds within the tree
crown, and along the bole and branches of the tree after fire (epicormic shoots) can also be a
response to other agencies that defoliate or weaken the tree, including insects and drought.
Moreover, and perhaps most significantly, it is the epicormic shoot that maintains the eucalypt
crown throughout the prolonged mature and over mature growth stages, and contributes to the
dynamic use of a limited nutrient pool within the tree.
If, as seems likely, some of these growth attributes reflect environmental adaptation
to infertile soils, then low levels of foliar and litter nutrients, and high flammability, might be
linked in some way. Litter with low nutrient concentrations will affect flammability indirectly
through its slow rate of decomposition and, hence, rapid accumulation of flame energy. It has
also been suggested that there could be a more direct linkage between nutrient concentrations
and flammability of biological materials. Sclerophyll-type tissue is seen as an evolutionary
response to declining nutrients in the soil in an aging landscape when eucalypts were evolving.
It also tends to have greater calorific value than plants growing in better environments.
Flammability and adaptation to soils with low nutrient levels and other environmental stresses
may be linked in this way, rather than in the sense that a high concentration of nutrients in the
leaf will determine flammability directly by acting as a sort of flame retardant.
The response of individual plants to fire
Eucalypt forests will respond to fire in different ways. At one end of the spectrum forest
trees might be totally defoliated and the shrub stratum burned back to ground level. Yet within
a few years the tree crowns and understorey shrubs may have recovered their pre-fire status.
At the other end of the spectrum, both trees and shrubs may be killed by fire, so that eventual
recovery of the forest ecosystem will be possible only through regeneration by new seedlings.
Between these two extremes, recovery may come from a mixture of processes involving
vegetative reproduction and new seedling regeneration, the contribution of each depending on
the characteristics of the forest, its stage of development and the intensity of the fire. Thus,
there is no single pathway of recovery in eucalypt forests. In order to predict the effect of fire
on a community, it will be necessary to appreciate the survival and recovery strategies for each
of the species making up the community.
Survival strategies
In regard to fire response, woody plants divide themselves into two basic groups the 'spouters' and the ‘seeders’.
I. The non-spouters also known as The Seeders: those in the reproductive phase
which will not recover through sprouts (epicormic shoots developing from reserve buds)
following 100% leaf scorch, but depend entirely on seed and seedling regeneration;. The
'seeders' obviously survive a bushfire by means of a variety of seed-based methods, which
include protective seed coats, storage in the soil and protection in woody seed capsules.
1. Hard seeds in the soil
Leguminous shrubs e.g. Acacia (Wattles) and the many members of the Fabaceae (Pea
flowers) family are usually destroyed by fire but regenerate from the huge number of seeds
stored in the soil or leaf litter. Most legumes produce seeds with a hard coating that is
impermeable to water and will therefore not germinate until cracked open by fire. These species
are usually the first plants to regenerate after a fire.
2. Woody seed capsules
Shrub species such as Banksias and Hakeas have the capacity to regenerate from
rootstocks as 'spouters' but also store their seed for many years in thick, woody capsules. A hot
fire will often kill the adult plant but also assist in the release of the seeds from the capsules.
The capsules are desiccated by the heat and in shrinking release the seeds into an ash bed
favourable to germination.
Woody fruits (follicles) that open in heat are a common strategy of trees and shrubs of
Australia. Some require heat to open them, while others open by drying after plant is killed by
fire. In both cases seed is released after a fire when conditions for re-establishment are best.
The smaller seed capsules are not as efficient at retaining seed, and seed-fall may occur
every few years whether a fire is present or not.
The Melaleuca’s are a successful species. Its adaptations to fire include a thick bark,
epicormic spouting and seritinous seed capsules. Its success in adapting to fire has resulted in
it becoming a problem plant. Introduced into Florida around 1900, it has become a seriously
invasive plant, adopting a Southern Florida fire adapted habitat.
As a first measure the area was burnt. However this resulted in a massive release of
seed – where plants occurred without fire, fire resulted in the number of seedlings increasing 10
times. Flowers sprout on the current seasons growth, each inflorescence bearing a cluster of
30-40 serotinous capsules, each containing 250 seeds. Fire was the main factor giving rise to
seed release, but freezing temperatures, herbicides, natural pruning due to shading, and radial
growth of the branches can also trigger this. A single tree can produce over 20 million seeds.
Control of this species involves working around the natural growth pattern of the plant.
On unburned sites, trees are cut down and the stumps are treated with an herbicide. Felling
triggers seed release immediately, but limits wind dispersal of seeds. Subsequently the site is
burnt after the released seeds have germinated but before they have grown to a size where
they can survive fire. Many will survive, and the process may have to be repeated.
In infested areas burnt by wildfire, mature trees are treated with herbicide before they
flower and set seed again. As soon as there is sufficient fuel, the site is burnt again (in 2-3
years) which should kill many of the seedlings. Surviving saplings have to be hand treated with
herbicide.
Leptospermums (Tea Trees), Melaleucas (Paperbarks) and Callistemons
(Bottlebrushes) employ a similar mechanism, but the smaller seed capsules are not as
efficient at retaining seed, and seed-fall may occur every few years whether a fire is present or
not.
That's not all...
a. Some plant species send in 'air-drops' of wind-borne seeds to germinate in
fire-devastated areas. Or perhaps the Burrawangs (Macrozamia spp.) that keep a supply of
food buried beneath the ground to enable a quick post-fire response. Or the different
ways in which both rough and smooth Eucalyptus bark protects the trunk from fire damage.
b. Storage of seeds in fire-safe environments by serotiny (eg. Common
Sugarbush - Protea repens) and myrmecochory (eg. The Pincushion - Leucospermum
cordifolium) and some eucalypt.
Serotinous cones nearly always occur in jack pine. Populations of Lodgepole Pine that
occur in fire prone areas have serotinous cones, but populations that occur in areas where fire is
infrequent have open cones. Many populations of Black Spruce, which is usually found in fire
prone areas, have semi-serotinous cones, meaning that some cone scales open and release
seed, while others remain closed until exposed to heat. The resin that holds scales of jack
pine closed melts at 60oC. The thick woody scales spring open and the seeds are shed in the
days following the fire. Seeds remain viable in cones exposed to 200 oC for 10 minutes and 370
o
C for 1 minute. Crown fires are of short enough duration and the seeds are protected enough
within the cones to remain viable. Seeds in this aerial "seed bank" retain viability for many years,
but do not have the long viability of seed from species that specialize forming soil seed banks. .
Seeds of eucalyptus were protected for about 4 minutes from a lethal rise in temperature
when capsules were subjected to a heat of 826 degrees Fahrenheit (440 deg C). Following all
types of fire, an accelerated seed shed occurs, even where crowns are only subjected to heat
scorch.
In Africa, these fire survival strategies are largely confined to the Cape Floral Kingdom
where many species have no other fire survival mechanism. Plants may take from 3 to 15 years
to flower for the first time. Therefore, species are susceptible to fires that occur at intervals
shorter than those needed to produce seeds. In contrast to the previous strategy, adult plants
may also survive fires by:
1 Growing in a fire-safe environment
(escape strategy), such as in rocky crags (eg. Protea
rupicola), by creeping along the ground where fires are
cooler (eg. Protea scabriuscula), or by creeping
underground like ferns (eg. Protea acaulos). Protection in
these environments is relative, and fierce fires might well
kill these plants.
2. Producing a thick bark which protects
buds in the stem (stem resprouting strategy; eg.
Wagon Sugarbush - Protea nitida). Growth of these
epicormic buds is stimulated when branch tips are killed
by fire. However, fierce fires may kill epicormic buds
beneath bark, and some species with very thick bark
seem not to have epicormic buds and are easily killed by
fire (eg. Silver Tree - Leucadendron argenteum).
3. Hiding underground. These plants tend to
have large boles or rootstocks, which are thick,
underground stems (bole resprouting strategy; eg.
King Sugarbush - Protea cynaroides). These contain
many dormant buds that, after a fire has killed the above
ground portions, are stimulated to produce more growth.
Many of these species only flower for a few years
following a fire and then become inconspicuous. This
strategy can easily be recognised by its multiple-temmed
habit, with many erect stems arising at ground level
and II. The sprouters: those that will recover from 100% defoliation through
stimulation of reserve buds below the ground (subterranean regenerative buds) or above the
ground (aerial regenerative buds).
The 'sprouters' are those plants that respond to fire damage by sending out new
vegetative growth. Some of the most common sprouting mechanisms are epicormic buds,
lignotubers, rhizomes and underground rootstocks and fire induced flowering.
1 Epicormic buds
Beneath the bark of many trees, including Eucalyptus species are specialised 'epicormic' buds
that lie dormant until the canopy of the tree is either removed or scorched by fire. The loss of
leaves triggers a burst of growth from these buds (epicormic shoots) that provides an almost
immediate leaf growth to sustain life and aid the recovery of the plant. Eucalyptus trunks
clothed in fresh, green foliage are a common sight after a bushfire.
Pinus canariensis, from Teneriffe, growing below a volcano, is often subject to fires. It
is one of the few pines that can regenerate from the
Epicormic growths after fire damage
trunk from epicormic buds and base after fire.
2 Lignotubers
Most Eucalypts have a specialised root system in the form of a 'lignotuber'. This is
actually a swollen tap root which contains numerous dormant buds protected by the soil
surface. Most soils are poor conductors of heat and provide adequate protection to lignotubers.
As with epicormic buds, lignotuber buds respond when the upper parts of the tree are damaged
by fire. Lignotubers are most common in 'mallees' or smaller, multi-stemmed Eucalypts.
The Lignotuberous Habit: Lignotubers commence as swellings in the axils of the
cotyledons of the first few pairs of leaves formed on a seedling. As the seedling ages the
swellings in the individual leaf axils fuse and increase in size, forming a bulbous mass). Most
eucalypts develop lignotubers to varying degrees of size and strength. Some species may only
develop weak lignotubers and others will lose the support of a lignotuber with increased age.
Twelve to fifteen species of eucalypt do not develop lignotubers at all, such as the Ash group of
species.
As the seedling lignotuber continues to increase in size there is a proliferation of dormant
bud strands within the woody mass. Storage tissues contain nutrient and starch reserves. It is
these reserves and the dormant buds that facilitate vegetative recovery following damage by
grazing, fire, logging or some other agent of destruction. Not all lignotubers will respond
immediately. Some species, such as Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) require long periods of good
growing conditions before the lignotuber is capable of dynamic growth. In most species
lignotubers merge gradually into the main stem after the tree attains the young sapling stage.
In other species the lignotuber persists through the life of the tree.
Resprouting: Plants with vegetative propagation mechanisms feature thick bark,
lignotubers and dormant bud systems. These mechanisms require the survival of some part of
the original plant and are typical of the Dry Sclerophyll Forests. Resprouting depends on the
ability of buds in the stems and base of the plant to survive the fire. These buds, normally
inhibited, are triggered by the removal of the foliage by fire, to produce new green material.
Established from Seed: The establishment of new plants is the result of a variety of
responses. Fire can stimulate flowering; or trigger the release or germination of seed
that was present before the fire but survived on the plant or in the soil. The flowering response
is characteristic of the Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea spp.). The seeding response can be seen in
Banksia spp. that store seed in woody fruits that do not open unless affected by fire.
In the case of the Wet Sclerophyll Forests seed is stored in the woody capsules of the
eucalypts high in the canopy where they are protected from the radiant heat of the fire. Fire
creates conditions favourable for regeneration and stimulate the shedding of vast
quantities of seed.
Many species of Acacia shed seeds during periods when there is no fire but the seed is
stored in the soil and does not germinate until stimulated by fire. Acacia will proliferate
following fire but quickly degenerate in the absence of fire after completing its short life cycle.
URL: http://online.anu.edu.au/Forestry/fire/ecol/as24.htm
3 Rhizomes and underground rootstocks
Rhizomes are horizontal underground stems that obviously enjoy the benefit of some protection
from fires burning overhead. Plants such as the common Spiny-headed Mat Rush (Lomandra
longifolia) may be destroyed by fire, but are afterwards able to send up new shoots from their
rhizomes.
4. Fire-induced flowering
The Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea spp.) often produce a large flowering stalk immediately
after a fire in order continue their regenerative processes as soon as possible.
Table 1. A classification of woody plant species and
ways in which they may reproduce following fire
Non-sprouters - Plants in the reproductive phase just subject to 100%
leaf scorch die; reproduction is from:
seed storage on plants
seed storage in soil
no seed storage in burn area
Sprouters - Plants in the reproductive phase just subject to 100% leaf
scorch recover; reproduction is from:
subterranean regenerative buds
root suckers and horizontal rhizomes
basal stem sprouts and vertical rhizomes
aerial regenerative buds
epicormic buds
continual outgrowth from active aerial pre-fire buds
Release of seed stored on the plant: There are many Australian forest species with
woody fruits that release seed in response to fire, although with the possible exception of some
Banksia species, fire may not be an absolute prerequisite for seed release. Accelerated
dehiscence of fruits at time of fire has been noted for members of the families Myrtaceae
(including the eucalypts), Casuarinaceae, Proteaceae and Cupressaceae.
There are a number of forest taxa in which dehiscence of the fruit and release of seed
will occur only after prolonged desiccation or death of the supporting branch, or direct contact
of the fruit with flame. The woody follicles of some Hakea (Proteaceae) species open upon
desiccation of the parent branch, and this normally occurs upon the death of the plant.
Alternatively, dry, woody fruits of Banksia ornata may not open unless they have been in direct
contact with flames. Other Banksia species showing fire-dependent dehiscence are B. ericifolia,
B. serratifolia and B. asplenifolia on the coastal heath lands of New South Wales.
The seed of the eucalypt is normally released from its woody capsule at the end
of a seasonally dry period (e.g. late summer to early autumn in southern Australia).
Depending on weather conditions, the release of seed may be sporadic over an extended
period, or a large part of the seed crop may be cast in a relatively short period. A fire that
scorches the crown of a eucalypt but does not burn the capsules may trigger a near
total release of seed from a mature capsule crop soon after the fire, sometimes leading to
`wheatfield' regeneration.
Seed stored in soil: One of the notable responses of some plant communities to fire is
the way in which seed that has accumulated in soil, often over very long periods, will
germinate, sometimes in remarkable quantities. This applies mainly to small trees and shrubs
with hard-coated seeds. It does not apply to eucalypt seed that will remain viable only a short
time in soil, probably no more than 6-12 months. Germination of soil-stored seed may also
follow mechanical disturbance of soil, for example, tractor-working during logging, although the
germination response may be more sporadic and stocking density much less spectacular.
Species with hard seed coats show a lack of imbibition, swelling and softening of the
seed when exposed to water. The seed may germinate quickly only when the seed coat is
softened, cracked or removed. High temperatures following fire may lead to cracking of the
seed coat, and this may also occur as a response to high soil temperatures during summer
and daily temperature
fluctuations. Softening of seed
may also be induced in nature by
scarification in stream beds
or passage through the gut of
animals, particularly birds.
Hard seededness is a
Lignotuber growths after fire damage
common property among
leguminous plants
(Fabiaceae, sub-families
Faboideae and Mimosoideae),
but is also found in a wide
variety of plants including
species of Anacardiaceae,
Asteraceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae
and Proteaceae. Occasional fires
may make a positive
contribution to the forest
ecosystem through the
germination of leguminous and other species with soil improving potential. That contribution is
enhanced through the highly durable nature of the seed of many of these species, and their
long-term survival in soil.
Where an over mature, mixed eucalypt-rainforest community is felled and the debris
burned, massive Acacia regrowth may develop very rapidly from soil-stored seed. This seed
may have accumulated in the soil following an earlier fire, which had established the community
in the first place. Seed of woody species other than Acacia may not survive in the soil more
than 100 years. Seed of some non-woody species may also remain viable after being stored in
soil for a long time; for example, grass, herb, rush and sedge seeds may germinate in soil from
a Nothofagus forest, even though these taxa were not present at the time of soil sampling.
The environmental conditions needed to release seed from the hard seeded condition will
vary with species. Within the sub-tropical forest, Dodonaea, Acacia and Kennedia species all
require heat to stimulate germination, although the response will vary with the soil
temperature, the duration of high temperature, and the depth at which the seed is buried. This
also means that for each species there is a critical temperature and depth at which seed may be
killed. For example, Acacia seeds are more readily destroyed in the soil by high temperatures
than are Dodonaea and Kennedia seeds. Thus, it may be possible to manipulate the
development of fireweeds, as regards species and abundance, by paying attention to the way
slash is distributed, the intensity of the burn, and the judicious use of tractors in preparing for a
slash-disposal burn.
Plants with reserve buds below the ground: Buried buds may be present in vertical
stems or rhizomatous roots and are characteristic of dicotyledons and coniferous trees and
shrubs. Plants with reserve buds protected by soil will normally survive fires that destroy the
aerial parts of the plant. The amount of heat partitioned to the soil from fire is low, being of the
order of 5% - 10% of the total released by the fire. In addition, the soil is a very effective
insulator so that high temperatures are confined to shallow depths of soil.
Where the aerial parts of the plant are destroyed by fire, regeneration may take place
from a single buried vertical stem; that is, the plant cannot spread in this way. Where
regeneration is from roots or horizontal rhizomes, the chances of spread and multiplication of
the plant are enhanced, at least immediately after a fire. Plants with root buds include Acacia
dealbata, and with rhizomes, Leucopogon suaveolens and a few eucalypts from northern
Australia.
Many species of the Australian flora will recover from severe fire by the response of buds
in the stem below or just at ground level. Eucalypts with their lignotuberous habit belongs to
this group. The actual lignotuber is most apparent at the seedling stage and young sapling
stage and, usually, will be incorporated in the stem as it develops. In the case of the multistemmed mallees, the mature stage is characterised by a massive buried lignotuber.
The lignotuberous habit has been described as a response to a range of environmental
stresses, of which fire is but one. Ecologically it is most significant on dryer or otherwise
environmentally harsh sites. Here it may take many years, or a succession of favourable
seasons, for a newly established lignotuberous seedling to reach that stage where it is capable
of growing vigorously through sapling and pole stages. Thus the presence of a more or less
permanent lignotuber pool may be vital to the recovery of woodland or lower quality forest
following a major perturbation. Alternatively, the non-lignotuberous eucalypts are mainly those
which are restricted to sites with good moisture relationships (E. regnans - Alpine Ash, E.
delegatensis - Mountain Ash, E. fastigata - Brown Barrel, E. grandis - Flooded Gum, E. pilularis
- Blackbutt), or in the case of the southern provenances of E. camaldulensis (River Red Gum),
a species able to thrust a vigorous tap root through saturated soil following flooding.
In an adaptation of the above, some plants can naturally graft roots below the
ground surface, i.e. Douglas Fir and the Giant Sequioa . This ensures survival of any
damaged tree.
Plants with reserve buds in the stem: Where a plant has reserve buds along the bole
and branches, it may respond very rapidly to the loss of its green crown by producing a massive
number of new shoots, as in the case of eucalypts. If reserve buds are not present in a plant, it
will probably be killed by a fire of sufficient intensity to scorch the complete crown.
Trees and shrubs with reserve stem buds will depend upon the insulating properties
of bark for any resistance they may have to fire. Measures of thermal diffusivity or insulating
capacity suggest that all eucalypt barks have generally good insulating properties, although
there may be some differences between them. Stringybark and gumbark species of the same
thickness generally have similar insulating characteristics, a feature not readily appreciated. The
resistance to fire will be influenced not only by the thickness of the bark at the time of the fire,
but also by the amount of bark lost during or soon after the fire. An appreciable amount of
fibrous bark may be lost where the outer bark is burned during a fire. Alternatively, a gumbark
species may lose thickness after a fire as a result of the abscission of the outer layer of the
bark, the extent of the loss being a function of the duration and temperature of the fire.
Young eucalypt stems survive damaging fire in two main ways. By epicormic shoots
developing along the stem and branches, and by shoots developing from epicormic buds
protected from lethal temperatures by soil surrounding the base of the stem.
The flowering of plants following fire: Some plant species are stimulated into
flowering after a fire. Many of them are monocotyledons belonging to the families
Xanthorrhaceae and Cyperaceae. The response may represent a direct selection for increased
seed production after fire, but it could also be related to a number of environmental pressures.
How have these plants adapted themselves to fire – leaf buds?
a. Leaf
Leaves are a vital part of any living plant and significant in the growth and survival of
any genus. Leaves are also something that is easily destroyed by fire. To compensate for this
the plants of Australia have developed four different ways of producing leaves: shoots
from naked buds, shoots from accessory buds, shoots from dormant buds and shoots from
lignotubers and root swellings
1 Shoots From Naked Buds
On the axil of every eucalypt leaf a bud develops on a fairly thin stalk as the leaf unfolds
from its parental growing tip. Typically there is only one naked bud in a leaf axil, but there have
been up to three observed. These naked buds are capable of rapid development as soon as the
parent leaf unfolds, but all of the buds do not develop immediately due to inhibiting hormones
called auxins. Buds near the apex of major branches develop concurrently with their parent
shoot and will produce new leaves until conditions are unfavourable for growth. There appears
to be no limit to the number of leaves that can be produced from the growing tip of a eucalypt,
for in the axil of each new leaf is another bud to carry on the growth process. Because of this
rapid growth a large crown can be built up very quickly. In most parts of Australia these naked
buds can only develop for a few weeks early in the growing season because insects soon appear
that tend to eat the tender new shoots and naked buds. These insects cause branches, which
tend to be short and leaves that are imperfect, but since the growth rate is slowed the wood is
of a higher quality. After a severe slash burn soils will become richer and insects will be driven
off for a short time. This maximized growing potential and trees such as the flooded gum (E.
grandis) can grow over 40 feet in height a mere two years from planting date (over 100 feet in
seven years)
2 Shoots From Accessory Buds
There is a merismatic region at the base of the naked buds, which can sometimes be
recognised as a growing tip. These merismatic regions are inhibited from developing as long as
the naked buds and stem leaves are undisturbed. If the naked buds and stem leaves are
destroyed in any way the inhibition is removed. One or more "accessory growing tips" can
appear in some or all of the leaf axils, and in one or two weeks the original naked buds will have
been replaced. Once formed the accessory axillary shoots will have the same growth potential
as the naked buds. If these new shoots are destroyed further shoots will develop and the entire
process can be repeated several times in one growing season. The accessory merismatic tissue
is very resistant to drought, fire, frost and insect, and can only be killed if the parent shoot is
completely destroyed.
3 Shoots From Proventitious (Dormant) Buds
Tissue in the leaf axil that can produce accessory buds lies between the stalk of the
naked bud and the base of the leaf petiole. When the parent leaf falls off this tissue is not
occluded by stem diameter growth. A small shaft of tissue with bud-producing properties grows
radially outwards from the old leaf axil. Normally this doesn't happen because of the inhibition
caused by younger growing leaves, but if the upper leaves and younger shoots are lost the
inhibition is removed. This kind of development is frequently seen following fires. On the trunk
and branches of any given tree there is at least one (up to three) shaft for every leaf that
developed, equalling approximately 100 shafts per vertical foot. This quality is wonderful for
persistence and permits mature trees to maintain their crowns.
4 Shoots From Lignotubers and Root Swellings
Lignotubers are swellings in the axils of the cotyledons, which form on a seedling. As the
seedling ages these swelling fuse and increase in size forming a bulbous mass which is called a
lignotuber. Lignotubers tend to fold down the stem and envelop the upper part of the root. As
they increase in age and size they bury themselves in the soil until the greater part if not all of
the lignotuber is below the surface of the ground. The soil makes a wonderful insulator and fires
rarely damage the lignotubers. Lignotubers are modified stem structures arising from the
accessory merismatic tissue in the leaf axils, which contain food and numerous potential
dormant bud strands. Lignotubers are capable of producing leaving shoots in profusion. Any
second shoots that are produced in this manner will be stronger than the first shoots and will in
turn strengthen the reserves in the lignotubers and roots which will in turn strengthen again if a
third set of shoots need to develop. If the upper part of the lignotuber is killed by fire shoots will
form lower down and push their way up through the soil. The native cherry tree (Exocarus
cupressiformis) is very fire sensitive, and the whole tree will readily die in a hot fire.
Lignotuberous shoots are produced from below ground level within a few weeks after the fire
"Mallee" vegetation is characterised by a very large lignotuber, which may be larger in size than
a human being. The largest recorded lignotuber was measured from a mallee tree (E.
gummifera), which measured ten meters across and carried 301 living stems. Mallee roots can
live to be over 200 years old, and even the most catastrophic fires cannot kill these lignotubers!
Species that do not develop lignotubers form carrot-like swellings near the junction of
roots and shoots. These swellings are not as persistent as the lignotubers and the new buds
that they can produce are sensitive to
b Annual vs. Periodic Shoots
Most of the trees that we are familiar with go through a process called "the unfolding of
the annual shoot." The resting buds of these trees contain the complete annual shoot in an
embryo form. All the organs that will be produced on the stem are represented by primordial
that can be recognised and identified. These buds develop into stems one growing season after
they appear, thus they have a year of rest and are referred to as "resting buds”.
The accessory and proventitious bud-producing tissues in eucalypt trees do not need a
resting period before they develop. Axillary buds below destroyed tips can take over the lead
without marked pause. If the growing tip dies the leadership of the shoot will be taken over by
one of the upper leaf axils and the original lead branch (or what is left of it) can turn into a side
branch. In eucalypts, the number of leaves that can develop is indefinite and naked buds can
expand simultaneously with the mother shoot. Surprisingly, the life of any individual leaf is only
around eighteen months even though the trees are considered evergreen.
c. Controlling Bud Development
The buds of any plant would grow continuously (under ideal conditions) if it were not for
inhibiting factors, which restrict their general development. Hormones called "auxins" or
"growth substances" are produced by the apices of leaves and growing tips and are then
transported towards the roots. Auxins also tend to move towards the shady side of any plant
making the plant bend towards the sun and essentially grow in a vertically straight manner.
d. Alternative Methods Of Overcoming Fire
Some species, such as the mistletoe, have no specialised organs or structures to prevent
or adapt to fire. Instead they will completely die out during any size of fire, totally relying on
plants from outside the burned area to invade in and carry on the species.
A mature closed Nothofagus forest is remarkably fire-resistant. These forests
create a microclimate, which is cool, moist and almost free of under story due to its high level
of foliage cover. Even when these mini forests are located in the middle of a larger more
flammable forest, the fires will often stop at the edge of a Nothofagus forest and not do any
serious damage to the trees there. If damage does occur, these trees do have methods of
springing back. Nothofagus cunninghamii can regrow from the basal burl as well as by the seed
from undamaged stands. At least two generations of fire produced coppice shoots may be
produced from one epidermic burl, which suggests that regeneration may be able to occur
several times after a fire.
Impermeable seed coats are characteristic of "hard seeds." These seeds typically lose
moisture during development because a dry seed is capable of withstanding much higher
temperatures than when fully hydrated. These seeds fall and get buried in the soil where only
about 5% of a fire’s generated heat can reach them. Even though ground litter can burn very
hotly (1200 degrees Celsius) the seeds are usually protected even at depths as shallow as five
to ten millimetres
Not all eucalypts produce lignotubers or root swellings, but some have come up with
different ways of coming back after fire. E. regnans does not have covered seeds but instead
stores the seeds in the canopy, releasing them over several years under normal
conditions or in one large fall after a fire. Trees such as the E. miniata even produce two
life forms. A tall seed-producing tree grows high enough to be out of the reach of fire, and a low
rosette propagated by vegetative shoots at or below ground level will grow in response to fire.
e. The Role Of Bark
As a rule, bark does not conduct heat very well, making it an important insulator to
protect the tree from heat caused by fires. Some types of bark are resistant to fire making them
favourable for forest trees while others are dangerous in fire and easily killed by it. Small fires
can thin the bark on trees while larger fires can completely defoliate a tree. When a fire
defoliates a tree epicormic branches develop which are then shed as the upper crown of the tree
regains its dominance.
Bark is as diverse as the tree that it grows on. Some smooth eucalypts shed their bark in
small plates or patches. Other smooth eucalypts shed their bark in long strips which can be a
serious hazard in fires as a burning strip of bark can fly through the air and carry fire a
considerable distance. Some species, such as E. viminalis produce massive amounts of bark. A
heavy accumulation of bark gathers around the bases of these trees, which are approximately
50 tons of dry weight fuel per acre. Stringybarks develop a loose spongy tissue that has a
tendency to flare up and break away in fire. Flames can also rapidly run up the outer bark
because it is so readily flammable. Mealy barks (like E. angophoroides) develop a rich flora,
which changes the surface structure of the bark. This bark is not fire dangerous and the soft
surface actually cushions any blows that the tree may encounter. The fibrous bark of Red
Stringybark (Euclyptus macrorhyncha) readily ignites while the underlying bark is protected
from the heat and the flames. The Eucalyptus E. rossii will shed its bark in massive quantities
during a fire. This provides an excellent groundcover that protects young plants from erosion,
and the damaged stems soon produce epicormic shoots. The bark of many eucalypts will also
thicken when damaged by fire making it more resistant to heat in the future. If the trunk can’t
recover between fires the tree will die.
Trees with a smooth bark and green branches slow down access of fire to tree canopies.
Some trees rely on bark thickness to resist fire. As a protective measure, pale barked
gums have been shown to reflect considerable amounts of radiation in a fire. The darker barks
on the other hand, although efficient at absorbing heat are usually too dry to conduct it
satisfactorily and thereby help prevent damage.
The bark of many eucalypts will also thicken when damaged by fire making it more
resistant to heat in the future. If the trunk can’t recover between fires the tree will die. Fire
resistant bark of Ponderosa pine, douglas-fir, western larch, redwood and giant sequoia can
survive surprisingly severe ground fires by virtue of thick insulating bark that is a poor
conductor heat. The vascular cambium of all species is sensitive and when damaged results in
fire scars.
When a fire defoliates a tree epicormic branches develop which are then shed as the
upper crown of the tree regains its dominance. Bark is as diverse as the tree that it grows on.
Some smooth eucalypts shed their bark in small plates or patches. Other smooth eucalypts shed
their bark in long strips which can be a serious hazard in fires as a burning strip of bark can fly
through the air and carry fire a considerable distance. Some species, such as E. viminalis
produce massive amounts of bark. A heavy accumulation of bark gathers around the bases of
these trees, which are approximately 50 tons of dry weight fuel per acre (225 toms per
ha). Stringybarks develop a loose spongy tissue that has a tendency to flare up and break away
in fire. Flames can also rapidly run up the outer bark because it is so readily flammable. Mealy
barks (like E. angophoroides) develop a rich flora, which changes the surface structure of the
bark. This bark is not fire dangerous and the soft surface actually cushions any blows that the
tree may encounter. The fibrous bark of Red Stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha) readily
ignites while the underlying bark is protected from the heat and the flames. The Eucalyptus E.
rossii will shed its bark in massive quantities during a fire. This provides an excellent
groundcover that protects young plants from erosion, and the damaged stems soon produce
epicormic shoots.
The bark catches fire readily, and deciduous bark streamers and lichen epiphytes
tend to carry fire into the canopy and to disseminate fire ahead of the main front. Other
features of eucalyptus that promote fire spread include heavy litter fall, flammable oils in
the foliage, and open crowns bearing pendulous branches, which encourages maximum
updraft. Despite the presence of volatile oils that produce a hot fire, leaves of bluegum
eucalyptus are classed as intermediate in their resistance to combustion, and juvenile leaves
are highly resistant to flaming
f. Longevity
After the durability characteristics of a plant, the second most important factor in
determining the longevity of a plant is chance situation relative to fire. The best sites in a
forest produce the best growth in trees and in understorey plants. Because of this
accumulation of fuel, fire disasters are usually more severe in these better sites. The least
amount of damage occurs in rocky and arid areas that have little fuel. Frequent fires occur in
these areas, but they are not very fierce. Poor nutrient sites such as low woodlands (like
paperbark communities) are capable of carrying only mild fires and the trees there often
develop fire-tolerant bark.
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS: Most eucalyptus communities in Australia have
evolved in the presence of periodic fire. Bluegum eucalyptus is highly flammable, but is seldom
killed by fire. The bark catches fire readily, and deciduous bark streamers and lichen
epiphytes tend to carry fire into the canopy and to disseminate fire ahead of the main
front. Other features of bluegum eucalyptus that promote fire spread include heavy litter
fall, flammable oils in the foliage, and open crowns bearing pendulous branches,
which encourages maximum updraft. Despite the presence of volatile oils that produce a
hot fire, leaves of bluegum eucalyptus are classed as intermediate in their resistance to
combustion, and juvenile leaves are highly resistant to flaming.
Adaptations to fire include seed banking, sprouting, and heat-resistant seed
capsules. Seed capsules protect the seed for a critical short period as the fire reaches the
crowns; this protection delays penetration of heat to the seeds. Seeds were protected for about
4 minutes from a lethal rise in temperature when capsules were subjected to a heat of 826
degrees Fahrenheit (440 deg C). Following all types of fire, an accelerated seed shed occurs,
even where crowns are only subjected to heat scorch.
Bluegum eucalyptus recovers well from fire. Epicormic sprouting is common in trees only
scorched by fire. It is also common in trees where crown fire occurred but bark was thick
enough to protect dormant branch buds. Heat-damaged bark is shed, and sprouting proceeds
rapidly. Top-killed trees sprout from the lignotuber. Vigorous sprouting is supported by food
reserves stored in the root system and lignotuber
Frequency of Fire: A plant must first reach reproductive maturity if it is to regenerate
itself following a fire i.e. it must be old enough to have produced seed or 'sprouting'
mechanisms such as epicormic buds or rhizomes. This age of reproductive maturity differs
between species found in typical vegetation in this region may vary from two years (Acacia sp.)
up to fifteen years (Banksia serrata). This means that all the species in a patch of bush burnt
this year will begin to regenerate almost immediately - but what will happen if a similar fire
occurs in three years time? Those species that have matured quickly will again be able to
respond and regenerate, but those still reproductively immature will not. So although the bush
will grow back, there will be a number of species missing. As ecologists put it, the vegetation
community will move from complexity (many species of plants) to simplicity (fewer species of
plants). Therefore both the frequency of fires - whether wildfire or for hazard reduction - and
the lifecycle of plants need to be considered by the managers of bushland areas.
Fire plays an important role in many Australian ecosystems. On the east coast of
Australia the open forests and heaths have adapted to a variety of fire regimes. In the case of
heaths, fire frequency may vary between 8 and 25 years and in open forest environments
between 12 and 50 years on average. The wetter eucalypt forests in gully environments on the
South Coast of New South Wales may have fire free intervals up to 150 years. In the wettest
eucalypt forest types such as occur in Tasmania and Victoria and occasionally within the gully
environments of the South Coast of N.S.W., fire free intervals of greater than 300 years may
occur in which case a rainforest understorey often predominates.
Intensity of the Fire: Low intensity fires are often regularly applied to the bush during
Autumn or Spring for the purpose of hazard reduction i.e. reducing the amount of fuel present
so as to keep potential bushfire intensities low and manageable. These frequent low-intensity
fires may significantly modify the plant community in several ways. The fires may destroy
shrubs yet not be hot enough to stimulate seedlings to germinate, but will still allow
regeneration from rhizomes and other underground rootstocks. After several such low-intensity
burns the bush may consequently become dominated by grasses and ferns. Shrub and tree
which regenerate from epicormic buds, lignotubers and rootstocks may become exhausted after
frequent fires and therefore also be lost to the community. Again, the bush moves from
complexity to simplicity.
Timing of the Fire: Spring is critically reproductive time for many plant species bearing flowers or producing immature fruit. Regular hazard reduction burning during this
season can obviously have a adverse effect upon a bushland community as some species will be
prevented from reproducing.
Fire has been present on the Australian continent for millions of years. Many of
our plants and animals have evolved to survive fire events and subsequently most
Australian ecosystems have developed very specialised relationships with fire.
Most forest and woodlands in Victoria have a similar structure, with a number of strata,
or layers. The overstorey, or top layer, is generally composed of large eucalypt species. The
understorey generally has a multi-layered structure comprising acacias, other small trees and
tree ferns, shrubs, ferns and tussock grasses. The ground cover often comprises various
grasses, ground ferns and herbs. Species within the various forest ecosystems will vary across
Victoria.
The frequency of fire affects the growth cycle of plants. Plant communities vary in their
response to the period of time between fires, as do individual species and plants.
Some species, such as Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans), may not survive if fires are
too frequent, as the plants are unable to reach maturity and produce sufficient seed before the
next fire episode. In this case, Mountain Ash will be replaced by another species that has
adapted to frequent fires, such as Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua). Infrequent fires may displace
plants that require fire to assist with their regeneration,
Mountain Ash may not survive if fires are too frequent such as most heath species.
The intensity of a bushfire is measured by the rate of heat (energy) released at the fire
front, per unit of length of fire front. Intensity depends on the amount of fuel (i.e. vegetation)
available and how fast the fire travels.
Fires that occur during mid-summer and autumn are generally the most intense as
vegetation is dry; growth from the previous spring is high, rainfall is low, and higher
temperatures are more likely to occur. The intensity of fires that start in these conditions can be
extreme when combined with a dry, hot northerly wind.
A high intensity fire, although very destructive, also heats the soil and canopy,
encouraging seed drop and germination and subsequent dense seedling regrowth. In general,
the higher the fire intensity the greater the effect it has on the environment.
Fire plays an important role in many Australian ecosystems. On the east coast of
Australia the open forests and heaths have adapted to a variety of fire regimes. In the case of
heaths, fire frequency may vary between 8 and 25 years and in open forest environments
between 12 and 50 years on average. The wetter eucalypt forests in gully environments on the
South Coast of New South Wales may have fire free intervals up to 150 years. In the wettest
eucalypt forest types such as occur in Tasmania and Victoria and occasionally within the gully
environments of the South Coast of N.S.W., fire free intervals of greater than 300 years may
occur in which case a rainforest understorey often predominates.
Smoke Stimulates the Germination of Many Western Australian Plants
Fire has played a significant role in the evolution of the Australian flora at least since the
arrival of arid conditions in the mid-Tertiary (about 30 million years ago). For many taxa,
response to fire has moulded plant growth and development and has been responsible for the
derivation of analogous structures and life forms often in disparate taxonomic groups. In fireprone floras, particularly those of Mediterranean zones, fire has been shown to be crucial for the
recruitment from seed of a wide variety of taxa. For seeder (fire-sensitive) species and fire
ephemerals, habitat burning is the single most important cue for triggering
germination of the dormant soil seed bank. For many fire-responsive taxa, germination of
viable seed under controlled conditions has been difficult or impossible using conventional
treatments other than excised embryo culture or special pre-treatment including hormonal
applications.
The Role of Smoke in Germination
Following the discovery that smoke stimulated germination of the rare South African
plant Audounia capita research has shown that smoke is a key principle in breaking seed
dormancy in a wide variety of native Australian species. Smoke can promote earlier and more
uniform germination under controlled greenhouse and laboratory conditions. Smoke enables
germination in species previously thought difficult or impossible to germinate by conventional
means. Smoke also substantially promotes germination in species with otherwise low levels of
germination. The promotive effect of smoke is independent of seed size and shape and plant
life form, ie. whether annual, perennial, herbaceous, seeder (fire sensitive) or resprouters (fire
tolerant).
Aerosol smoke, smoke dissolved in water and solids (activated clays, sand particles) that
have been smoked have all been effective in promoting seed germination.
Seed that does not respond to smoke treatment includes that of species with large,
woody fruits, compared to small-seeded species that do respond positively to smoke.
Fire produces ethyne gas that is a stimulant to flowering. Fire also releases a chemical to
the environment that is an important seed stimulant. Often the disturbance of the ground
precipitates the activation of this chemical, leading to the rapid post fire germination of some
species.
The Tough, the Opportunistic: The eucalypt has prevailed over the Australian
continent to an extent unrivalled by any other genus anywhere else in the world. Eucalyptus is
generally considered less as a genus and more as an alliance composed of three sub
alliances, ten subgenera, and over six hundred species. The flexibility of the genus is
extraordinary. Hybrids are common within subgenera, juvenile habits persist into
adulthood, and phantom species (hybrid populations that occur in the presence of only one
parent) have been identified. Most people agree the eucalypt is a true symbol of Australia. But
few people appreciate the extent to which the prevalence of Eucalyptus has transformed the
Australian landscape.
The eucalypt became a supreme opportunist, ready to seize disturbed and open sites.
They could capture nutrients released by fire far in excess of their immediate needs
and store them for future use. Bark was thick, tough and it shed as it burned. If branches
were seared off, new ones could sprout from epicormic buds hidden safely beneath the bark. If
the bole burned, new trunks could spring from the lignotuber. Fire helped purge hostile
microbes from the soil, encouraged better percolation of water and opened areas to sunlight
allowing the eucalypt seedlings to out compete more shade tolerant rivals. For most eucalypts,
fire was not a destroyer but a liberator.
Impoverished soils are characteristic of Australia and were something to which most
members of the Gondwanic rainforest had to adapt. Eucalyptus, however, elevated nutrient
scavenging and hoarding to an art form.
Eucalyptus was successful at persevering through dry seasons and periodic drought; but
so were the other scleromorphs. Eucalypts, in fact, tend to occupy the relatively better sites shunning the driest, the worst waterlogged, and the most nutrient-degraded. In none of these
attributes was there anything to account for its extraordinary supremacy within the scleroforest.
What made the eucalypt special was its extraordinary opportunism, a relationship reinforced by
fire. Eucalypts accepted wretched soil and tolerated drought, but they thrived amid fire.
The resistance of Australian plants to the effects of fire and drought are the
result of long periods of selection, migration, redistribution and extinction through
geological time.
Sclerophyllous: meaning, literally, "hard leaved" - referring to the small, tough
evergreen leaves. The hard cells within the leaves maintain a rigid structure at low
water potentials, instead of collapsing. Sclerophyll is a collective term embracing a type of
plant, usually found in low rainfall areas, having tough leaves that help to reduce water
loss
Fire in the Dry Sclerophyll Forests: At the dry end of the spectrum the sclerophyll
forests support regular fire of low intensity, usually only affecting the understorey and smaller
trees. These are open, uneven-aged forests with lignotuber pools. Most dry sclerophyll
eucalypts display a combination of vegetative and seed recovery and many are well adapted to
fire survival, having thick bark and dormant buds. Few, if any, plants in the dry sclerophyll
forest cannot survive fire and many require fire for successful reproduction and regeneration.
Recurrent fire is likely to cause changes in the understorey structure, converting multilayers to a single layer. Maximum species diversity occurs immediately after a fire and gradually
declines with time. The post fire succession is largely determined by the species composition
before the fire. Within any fire there is a mosaic of fire intensity that affects the post-fire
regeneration creating a diversity of structure and composition. The overstorey is only killed in
areas of intense fire creating a further structural mosaic of overstorey survivors with regrowth
in openings.
The stocking of large old-growth trees tends to be low and most have high levels of
defect. Short bole lengths caused by apical damage and internal timber defects created by
epicormic traces and cambial damage are prevalent. Damage to the bole and large branches
provide entry points for internal insect and fungal attack. Further defect in the form of gumrings are created by the trees natural defensive mechanisms to wounding.
Fire in the Wet Sclerophyll Forests: Wet sclerophyll forests are only highly flammable
at long intervals (possibly 100 years or more). Between fires large amounts of litter
accumulate, so that when ignition occurs, very intense wildfire's result. Such intense fires
usually kill all trees and produce even aged stands of regeneration. Many wet sclerophyll
eucalypts have thin bark, no lignotubers and poor dormant bud systems. For
regeneration and fire recovery they depend on their seed supply, stored in woody capsules high
in the canopy.
The germination and development of eucalypts from natural seed fall is made difficult by
a dense understorey and a thick litter layer. Successful regeneration depends on disturbance to
remove the understorey and expose the soil. Fire is the only important natural cause of this
disturbance. The high intensity fires that occur in these forests kill the vegetation to
ground level and stimulate seed shed. High light levels and a release of nutrients from
the litter on the forest floor, favour vigorous regeneration. As most of the overstorey
eucalypts are usually killed, even-aged stands result.
Exclusion of fire from a wet sclerophyll forest will be associated with a degeneration of
the eucalypts. Increasing light levels will promote the growth of the lower strata and
progressively the rainforest species and mesomorphic shrubs will replace the eucalypts, forming
a multi-aged rainforest.
Nutrient Scavenging and Hoarding: The eucalypts tend to develop extensive, deep
root systems. Once absorbed, eucalypts carefully retain and recycle nutrients. Seedlings
develop lignotubers to store nutrients and ensure that when conditions are right for growth the
tree will have adequate reserves of the nutrients it needs. Like wise, eucalypts store nutrients
selectively within their bole. Eucalypts can acquire nutrients far in excess of their immediate
needs, and store that surplus for years.
A eucalypt crown is dynamic: old branches become senescent and die back, while new
branches immediately spring forth from epicormic shoots lodged under the bark. This
"pulsating" action continually reshapes the crown for maximum efficiency, including the reabsorption of precious nutrients before the branch becomes vulnerable to breakage and loss.
As an evergreen, the eucalypt retains its leaves, shedding them as infrequently as
possible, tenaciously hoarding their precious supply of nutrients. When leaves do fall, they are
drained of vital nutrients to the fullest extent possible before deposition. Once on the ground,
lechates from the crown quickly return residual nutrients to the tree through the soil . A large
proportion of the litter consists of woody material (twigs, bark, capsules). Much of this material
is largely resistant to decomposition and when incorporated into the soil organic matter may
adversely affect the soil microflora and processes of nutrient cycling, to the point where
decomposition degenerates to stagnation and the available nutrient pool becomes largely locked
up in the surface litter. Under these conditions there may be insufficient nutrients to maintain
all ecosystem components beyond the short-term rapid growth phase, and the shrubby
understorey may decline until such time as a fire event releases these nutrients and stimulates
new growth.
The development of soil improving (nitrogen-fixing) understorey, such as Acacia,
following periodic fire may contribute nitrogen to the ecosystem, accelerating the rate at which
the eucalypt litter decomposes (releasing additional nutrients), stimulating a more diverse,
active and healthy microflora, and, through this, more vigorous tree growth.
Dry Seasons and Periodic Drought: Any species adapted to reduced light and limited
resources will have a competitive advantage and dominate a site. This will greatly affect the
species composition and may result in complex community patterns. Competition starts as soon
as roots intermingle but intensifies as crowns close and segregation into crown classes occurs. A
competitive advantage can be gained from morphological attributes such as smaller leaves to
reduce the transpiring surface area, or the leaf arrangement. The pendulous form of the
eucalypt leaves is an evolutionary adaptation to avoid the high transpiration levels associated
with high heat loads. Even the relative leafiness of a tree, particularly in the seedling stages,
may give it an advantage. Less leaves; less water loss and less photosynthesis - but this is
compensated by a high net assimilation rate (the eucalypt is very efficient at producing dry
matter per unit area of leaf).
A species may survive or gain competitive advantage where it can shed part, or all of its
foliage as dry conditions develop, reducing the transpiring surface area and water loss.
Eucalypts will readily shed a substantial part of their crown as a drought develops. This is
particularly advantageous where a tree can rapidly recover with epicormics when the water
status of the soil improves. Along a similar line, a tree able to maintain slightly more leaves
through a dry period may be better adapted to the site and be able to establish a competitive
advantage by continuing growth.
Competitive ability is influenced by other internal factors such as the rate of stomatal
movement, the way photosynthates are directed to the roots under drought conditions, the rate
at which low leaf water potential's are approached and the extent to which cells can stand up to
these low leaf water potential's. All these factors vary between eucalypts, allowing segregation
of species through competition and the creation of complex community patterns.
Conditions Favourable for Regeneration - ‘Ashbed’ Effect
As a forest stand ages, natural mortality rates increase.
The mass on the forest floor is reduced and the lignified material in the soil
organic matter increases. Under these conditions the edaphic environment becomes
increasingly unfavourable for the understorey shrub component.
Germination is typically poor unless the seed is buried in the mineral soil.
Paradoxically, a fire can produce the ideal circumstances for germination. Seed rains down
from the canopy overwhelming the predators that normally feed on it. The ash bed accepts and
buries the seed, encasing it in an environment full of available nutrients and temporarily purged
of antagonistic microorganisms.
Fire temporarily sweeps away competition. It sterilises the soil of microflora and
microfauna, most of which resided in the combustible litter. It may burn away or cripple other
woody species, permitting greater access to site resources.
Fire mobilises vital trace elements such as Molybdenum, and volatilises lechates in
the litter that often contain inhibitory chemicals.
The high temperatures may increase the rate of mineralisation of soil nitrogen and
phosphorus and can add a considerable mass of inorganic material to the soil, creating new
pools of nutrients available for plant use.
A moderate to severe fire will restructure the canopy to allow greater penetration of
sunlight and restrict toxic leaching from rain drip.
Most of these processes are collectively known as the "Ashbed Effect". The processes
are multiple and complex, but the results can be dramatic and outstanding. A forest may appear
decimated and the soil parched following a fire. Within days, new life is evident as flowers
emerge from the ashes and epicormic buds spring forth from the charred boles of the trees.
EFFECTS OF FIRE ON SOIL
1 PHYSICAL CHANGES
Organic matter on the site is reduced by fire. Sometimes the amount of reduction is
negligible as in a very light surface fire. Sometimes litter and duff is completely oxidized down
to the mineral soil in a very severe fire. Organic matter incorporated into mineral soil is not
normally oxidized, but if it is, or even heated, soil structure may be damaged (see below).
Usually the immediate effect of fire is to reduce the organic matter to an extent somewhere in
between these extremes. In the months that follow the fire the remaining organic matter will be
reduced further caused by optimal conditions for decay organisms.
Temperature is frequently limiting to organisms living in the soil and this is
especially true of boreal forests where low soil temperatures can limit tree growth. In these
situations fire causes a dramatic shift in soil environmental conditions. Fire kills the trees
allowing light penetration to the soil surface. The blackened soil surface heats readily. If the
thickness of the duff is much thinner there will be effective heat penetration into the mineral
soil, warming up the site for many years.
The other aspect to temperature is the immediate impact of heat transfer into
the soil. Surface temperatures within the fuel bed have been recorded as high as 1100 OC, but
are often lower (350-900 OC). Duff is a remarkable insulator and the highest soil temperature
achieved at a depth of 5-10 cm after passage of a flame front was only 100 OC in one study. In
another study temperatures as high of 300 OC was reached 5-8 cm below the surface at the
organic mineral interface.
Moisture: Fire reduces transpiration and interception in proportion to reduction of the
canopy, leading to a rise in soil moisture-in many situations. However, in light soils it may have
the opposite effect. Most moisture on sandy soils is held by the duff. When this is gone, as it
often is when sandy sites burn, the water holding capacity is lower and evaporative losses are
increased. Infiltration rates may change by several mechanisms:
-mineral soil structure may be lost through the oxidation of colloidal material in mineral
soil
-macropores can be plugged with ash
-formation of a charred crust which is water repelled
-formation of water repellent layers in the soil. Pyrolysates can be driven downward by
the fire and condense on mineral soil particles. The most volatile compounds are driven farther
into the soil. These materials are hydrophobic and create a hydrophobic layer in the soil.
Hydrophobicity of the soil not only reduces infiltration-it reduces loss by evaporation from the
deeper layers.
2 CHEMICAL CHANGES
pH: Many anions (anions of N, P, Cl) are lost as a consequence of fire. Cations (of Ca, K,
Mg) tend to be left behind in the ash as soluble oxides. These oxides are rapidly changed to
carbonates that tend to neutralize acidity in the soil, raising the pH. The effect persists for a few
decades (recall overhead).
Nutrients: During a fire, oxidation changes the availability of some nutrients. N
is lost above 300 OC. S, P, and B are lost as gasses too. K may be lost above 500 OC. Any
nutrient can be carried away in fly ash in the convection column. The more intense the fire the
more nutrients are likely to be lost from the site. Nutrients left behind usually become more
soluble and susceptible the leaching. One might expect that these losses mean that nutrients
are in poor supply. In fact the nutrient losses mainly come from nutrients tied up in organic
compounds and would have been unavailable to plants anyway. The immediate effects of the
fire are to release nutrients-and the subsequent increase in decay does this as well and
make nutrients more available for early rapid plant growth.
3 BIOLOGICAL CHANGES:
Bushfires can have biological, chemical and physical effects on soils. The occurrence
and/or extent of these effects are dependent on the fire's intensity and the resulting
temperature of the soil. Generally, only the top few centimetres are affected as they are
subjected to the highest temperatures.
Low intensity fires cause biological effects such as sterilisation (or death of living
tissue) within the soil. Higher soil temperatures (greater than 100 ºC) may alter soil chemical
structure, changing the amounts and availability of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.
These soil changes, combined with ash from the fire, may cause an 'ash-bed effect', increasing
the fertility of the soil. However, these nutrients are relatively soluble, and may be rapidly
washed from the site by rain.
Fire may cause changes in the permeability of the soil (or its ability to absorb
moisture) and so may also alter soil structure. The removal of vegetation during a fire exposes
the soil to wind and water. These two factors make soils very susceptible to erosion, and
consequently, heavy rainfall immediately after a fire may cause massive erosion or mudslides.
Fire can affect stream water quality and may also influence the amount of water
produced by a forest (that is, the levels of streamwater). Erosion may cause soil, ash and
nutrients to be transported into streams. This increases the sediment load and the turbidity of
the water. The quantity of water produced by an area that has been burnt may initially
increase, as there is little vegetation, and subsequently little water usage or entrapment.
Sometime later, however, high water use by regenerating vegetation can reduce water yield
from a catchment.
The impact of fire on bacteria and fungi is variable. They are killed very easily by
fire but recolonise at the time of the first rain-through transport or germination of spores that
survived the fire.
The increased N status of a site after a fire is sometimes partly attributed to N-fixation
by certain free-living bacteria. There is little evidence to support this, but after the initial flush
of soluble N declines in a few years, symbiotic N-fixation sometimes becomes important.
Successional changes in soil: In boreal forests organic inputs to the LFH layers occur
at a faster rate than does decomposition. In warm, humid forests (tropics) the opposite is truethe potential rate of decomposition far exceeds inputs. A visiting tropical forest ecologist once
remarked that boreal forests must literally have duff that is metres thick. Fire does not allow
tremendous build up of duff like this tropical ecologist envisioned-because periodic fires reduce
organic matter on the forest floor. If we had no fires for a few hundred years we might get a
situation where nutrients are mostly tied up in duff. (RE: Peat bogs are nutrient poor areas that
have massive accumulations of organic material.)
Many insects and spiders are also killed, especially in a high intensity fire that
destroys the bark and litter layer in which they live. Flying insects have a higher chance of
survival, as they can move away from the fire and then back again after it has passed.
FIRE IN THE LANDSCAPE
1. DIVERSITY
Fire and other disturbance creates a patch mosaic that contributes to biological
diversity. Animals and plants that require an early or late successional habitat will not become
locally extinct. Species like the ruffled grouse, which require the whole spectrum of successional
situations will fare well. Diversity at the landscape level is also called -diversity. In boreal
forests there is rather low species diversity (-diversity), but -diversity is higher than some other
types of forest, meaning that there is some compensation for low -diversity. Because of the
habitat mosaic created by fire, greater numbers of species can co-exist in the landscape.
This age of reproductive maturity differs between species found in typical vegetation in
this region may vary from two years (Acacia sp.) up to fifteen years (Banksia serrata). This
means that all the species in a patch of bush burnt this year will begin to regenerate almost
immediately - but what will happen if a similar fire occurs in three years time? Those species
that have matured quickly will again be able to respond and regenerate, but those still
reproductively immature will not. So although the bush will grow back, there will be a number
of species missing. As ecologists put it, the vegetation community will move from complexity
(many species of plants) to simplicity (fewer species of plants). Therefore both the frequency of
fires - whether wildfire or for hazard reduction - and the lifecycle of plants need to be
considered by the managers of bushland areas
2. FIRE REGIME
Fire regime is the pattern of fire in time and space that gives rise to the pattern of
vegetation change. Fire regime gives vegetation its particular character. A change in fire regime
changes the vegetation. When we instituted fire suppression six decades ago, we began a
gradual shift in the fire regime, changing not only the fire but the fuel complex. The mix and
pattern of vegetation, the distribution and abundance of animals and the very character of the
landscape.
Fire regime - the kind of fire activity or pattern of fires that generally characterize an
area. Important components include fire cycle or fire interval, fire season, and the frequency,
type and intensity of fires.
Fire cycle - the number of years required to burn over an area equal to the entire area
of interest.
Fire interval - the average number of years between the occurrence of fires at a given
point.
Fire frequency - the average number of fires that occur per unit time at a given point.
3 SUCCESSION
Vital attributes model includes autecological characteristics that account for mode of
persistence (by seed dispersal, seed bank, serotinous cones, vegetative regrowth),
establishment (tolerant, intolerant, intermediate tolerance, dependent). By knowing these
characters, one can predict the trajectory of succession and the composition at any point in
time. Knowing these characters is the hard part.
The point is this; we can use this information to predict change in community
composition under different fire regimes (at least certain aspects of fire regime).
FIRE AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES
1 ENERGY FLOW
Decomposition is speeded up after a fire-warm moist conditions enhance
decomposers. Inputs to the forest floor may increase temporarily as dead leaves and branches
fall, but ultimately inputs go to almost zero before litter fall from regen rises again. As the site
becomes shaded, decomposition slows, and the LFH layers begin to rebuild.
Primary production often goes to zero or near zero immediately after a fire but rises very
quickly beginning in the following growing season. Within a few years primary production rises
well above the level of primary production of a mature forest. Young faster growing shrubs are
replaced by slow growing trees.
Secondary productivity follows a similar pattern - animals are attracted to the lush young
growth of a recent burn. Eventually secondary productivity declines to very low levels as
conifers replace hardwoods.
2 NUTRIENT CYCLING
Measuring the amounts of nutrients in ecosystems is difficult and expensive. Our
knowledge of the impact of fire on ecosystem nutrients is far from complete. Probably all of the
attempts to measure nutrient dynamics before and after fire to access the losses due to have
serious flaws. There are difficulties in every level of measurement, but the most difficult is to
measure the amounts lost as fly ash and volatilised. One of the best estimates, and a
conservative one at that, is that 39% N, 11% Ca, 15% Mg, 35% K, 83% Na were lost after a
fire.
Extreme situations of nutrient loss some of which have been caused by fire (referred to
as fire barrens) are heath lands. Such areas are too nutrient poor to support ordinary tree
growth and are dominated by ericaceous shrubs (low nutrient stress tolerators). Heath lands
produced by fire, sometimes hundreds of years ago, are known from Canada, U.S. and Europe.
OBSERVING THE AFTER-EFFECTS OF FIRE
The ongoing changes in bushland after fire will be largely determined by the
composition of plant species before the fire and the adaptation mechanisms of these
species to fire.
The most obvious result of a fire is the loss of vegetation cover. Variations in the fire's
intensity may produce variations in the effects on the vegetation. Severe fires for example, may
remove all vegetation.
Each species has its own survival features, which assists it in recovery. Treeferns and
some species of eucalypts, such as Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua) and Narrow Leaf Peppermint
(E. radiata), are protected by thick bark. The bark also protects the eucalypts' epicormic
buds, which sprout new growth when activated by the loss of foliage, damage or the intense
heat.
Other species such as Silver Wattles (Acacia dealbata) and Blackwood Wattles (A.
melanoxylon) may survive due to regrowth from root suckers, and/or soil stored seed.
Regrowth from root suckers can occur up to several metres away from the trunk of the parent
tree and is the main mechanism of regeneration for the Blackwood Wattle. A fire may create
many open spaces and a seedbed of fine material, which is high in nutrients. Plants such as
Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea spp.) produce flowers and seeds after a fire and take advantage of
the increased nutrient and light availability. Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans), which is often
killed by relatively low intensity fires, may also release massive amounts of seed after a
fire (up to 14 million seeds/hectare). Most species suffer reductions in populations during or
immediately after a fire. Many individual animals may be killed through burning or suffocation.
Others may survive the fire, but die shortly afterwards due to predation by other species and/or
through shortages of food. However, some animals survive and, like plants, use varying survival
techniques in their response to fire.
Mobile animals such as birds, kangaroos and wallabies may be able to move out of
burning areas to safer refuges. However, these animals can suffer in high intensity fire, as spot
fires (which develop ahead of the main fire) may trap them as they try to move away.
Wombats and echidnas may survive fire by seeking shelter in burrows or logs while fire
passes through an area. Reptiles and amphibians also take refuge underground. Possums and
other arboreal mammals move from tree to tree ahead of low intensity fires, or seek safety in
the high crowns and hollows of trees. However, very severe fires will burn into the crown and
hollows of trees and the intense heat may reach underground. Animals unable to move from
these sites may be killed.
Many insects and spiders are also killed, especially in a high intensity fire that destroys
the bark and litter layer in which they live. Flying insects have a higher chance of survival, as
they can move away from the fire and then back again after it has passed.
Bushfires can have biological, chemical and physical effects on soils. The occurrence
and/or extent of these effects are dependent on the fire's intensity and the resulting
temperature of the soil. Generally, only the top few centimetres are affected as they are
subjected to the highest temperatures.
Low intensity fires cause biological effects such as sterilisation (or death of living
tissue) within the soil. Higher soil temperatures (greater than 100ºC) may alter soil
chemical structure, changing the amounts and availability of nutrients such as nitrogen and
phosphorus. These soil changes, combined with ash from the fire, may cause an 'ash-bed
effect', increasing the fertility of the soil. However, these nutrients are relatively soluble, and
may be rapidly washed from the site by rain.
Fire may cause changes in the permeability of the soil (or its ability to absorb
moisture) and so may also alter soil structure. The removal of vegetation during a fire exposes
the soil to wind and water. These two factors make soils very susceptible to erosion, and
consequently, heavy rainfall immediately after a fire may cause massive erosion or mudslides.
Fire can affect stream water quality and may also influence the amount of water
produced by a forest (that is, the levels of stream water). Erosion may cause soil, ash and
nutrients to be transported into streams. This increases the sediment load and the turbidity of
the water. The quantity of water produced by an area that has been burnt may initially
increase, as there is little vegetation, and subsequently little water usage or entrapment.
Sometime later, however, high water use by regenerating vegetation can reduce water yield
from a catchment.
Within three to four weeks of a fire many trees, such as Messmates and Mountain Grey
Gums, begin to show signs of life. The loss of foliage stimulates new growth from the epicormic
buds located under the bark along trunks and branches. Damage-stimulated growth can also
occur from lignotubers - nodules bearing underground dormant buds. These are often the first
sign of recovery.
Wattle and pea species continue to appear, mainly from growth occurring from root
suckers (i.e. new shoots from the roots of the parent plant) as well as seeds cracked open
by the intensity of the fire. New shoots of Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata) also appear
from root suckers.
Species such as hakeas, banksias, some acacias and many eucalypts regenerate
from seed. The heat of the fire facilitates the release of seed. The set of circumstances
created by fire is ideal for some types of plants. The open canopy allows more light to
reach the ground, and the 'ash-bed effect' provides many nutrients for initial
germination.
Tree ferns regrow from the charred trunks; shrubs regenerate by sprouting new growth
from branches; grasses regenerate by rapid regrowth from the base of the plant.
Some environments, unburnt for many years, may appear to not contain some species.
However, through fire allowing more light to reach the forest floor, prolific germination of plants
not recorded for many years may appear from seed stored in the soil. Some orchids, for
example, regenerate from seed, but don't do well until fires promote their growth.
Species richness (that is, number of different species) is often greatest in the early stage
of re-colonisation following fire, and generally decreases with time. The eventual changes in
vegetation occurring in an area of burnt bushland will depend significantly on what was present
before the fire event.
Acacia seedlings sprout from soil-stored seeds and shoot up, taking advantage of the
increased light and soil nutrients. Eucalypt seedlings are initially slower growing than acacias,
but will grow to eventually dominate the upper canopy.
The rate at which individual faunal species respond and return to the regenerating
bushland is determined by their unique requirements for food and cover, and by their
reproductive capacity and the size of the burnt area. Insect populations recover in stages.
Populations of insects dwelling in the litter (leaf and organic matter) and soil usually recover
after two to three years. But other insects, such as mites, may take four to five years before
populations return to pre-fire levels.
A regenerating forest often uses much more water than a mature forest, due to the
many new plants and their rapid growth. This reduction in groundwater and run-off may
decrease the amount of water in streams.
As the bushland continues to re-establish, food sources for animals also improve. Mobile
animals begin to forage in the regenerating bushland, although they may still utilise nearby
unburnt areas for habitat and more reliable food sources. For example, browsers, such as
wallabies and wombats, may forage on young shoots and seedlings. Possums may feed on new
flowers and fruit, but will only return permanently when hollows or nest sites become available.
Food sources for some animals, such as owls, magpies and crows, may increase after
fires, as the lack of vegetation cover exposes native mice and lizards. Birds often reappear in
the first few years, attracted by the flowering wattles and insects feeding on the lush new
growth.
The middle layer of vegetation develops dense regrowth in the first few years following
the fire. Ferns regrow from buds covered by protective plant tissue. Peas, grasses and herbs,
such as lilies and some orchids, may also appear. Native fireweeds, such as Senecios, grow
quickly and are often very abundant. These plants play an important role, trapping nutrients
before they are washed away. They are short-lived and decompose slowly, releasing nutrients
back into the soil. This thick regrowth offers more protection for ground dwelling animals, such
as the antechinus and echidnas, reducing predatory impacts on these species.
As plants mature, they consume more light, nutrients and water. Insufficient quantities
of these elements mean that some plants will be displaced and plant density will be reduced.
The eucalypts generally grow to become the dominant species, reducing the light
reaching the forest floor. Species richness will gradually decline, and the types of understorey
plants will change, with shade tolerant plants becoming more abundant. As these changes
occur, the conditions will suit some animals better than others, bringing about further
ecosystem changes.
The extent of further change in vegetation composition depends on many factors,
including future fires (their patterns, frequency and intensity), events like drought, and the
impact of insects and fungi.
Adaptation to Fire
Flowering After Fire: Many plants have been observed to flower prolifically a year or
two after fire. Perhaps one of the clearest fire/flower relationships can be seen in the grass
trees (Xanthorrhoea sp.) Without fire, sparse flowering may occur over a period of several
years. Fire brings an otherwise unseen abundance. Without it, once again sparseness. Along the
ridge tops this November, upthrusts of the pale yellow, nectar laden inflorescences are beacons
to bees and small butterflies. This is largely due to the fact that while their grass-like leaf
crowns burn readily, their tightly packed leaf bases will not. Thus the stem and apex of most
mature plants survive a fire and quickly regenerate the crown.
Fire also acts as an actual flowering stimulus. Factors involved here include: leaf
removal, seasonal influence and the effects of ethylene gas produced during the fire
See listings under Banksia Eucalyptus and Waratah for further information
Flax (Harakeke) Collection
The leaves of the NZ Flax (Phormium tenax) were traditionally used by the Maori for
clothing, matting and containers. The collection of plants found on the Kowhai Walk contains
varieties selected by Maori for qualities such as strength, softness, durability and
colour. The original plants in this collection are from Taranaki, and were planted in 1870 as
part of a national trial carried out by the NZ Flax Commission. Newer plantings in 1991 are
from the National collection established by Rene Orchiston from Gisborne.
In European times flax formed the basis of a large industry producing rope, fabric
and fibre products. Synthetic fibre production caused the demise of this industry, but the
current resurgence in traditional Maori crafts has increased interest in this useful plant,.
The original trial plots of flax were probably in the vicinity of the Sunken Garden near the
stables and in the nursery area to the right of the Keepers Cottage, which was on the site of the
present Directors House, which is behind the Treehouse.
Harakeke was the most important fibre plant to the Maori. Only the cabbage tree, ti
kouka, came close to equalling it in its many uses. There are two species of flax, NZ flax or
harakeke, and mountain flax or wharariki (Phormium cookianum). Maori, however, recognised
and named many selections on the basis of leaf and fibre characteristics, such as strength,
softness, durability, and colour. Special forms were cultivated and given individual names.
Maori made fishing nets from the split, unscraped leaves, and used the fibres for lacing
together raupo leaves to make canoe sails. They made woven floor and sleeping mats, cloaks,
skirts, baskets, sandals, ropes, fishing lines, and nets from flax leaves and the extracted fibre.
Flax was used to make tukutuku panels for lining whare. Flax was even used to make sieves
(lined with toetoe seed heads). Floats and rafts were made from bundles of flower stalks
(korari). The flower stalks were used also as kindling. The dressed fibre of the leaf was used in
dressing wounds, and used as napkins for babies.
Since the 1980s there has been a revival of interest in flax weaving, with a consequent
demand for the superior cultivars that had been nurtured for centuries. Fortunately some
growers had maintained their special flaxes. Rene Orchiston of Gisborne, anticipating this
resurgence of interest, began collecting the traditional weaving cultivars in the 1950s, until she
had more than 60. Her collection forms the basis of a national flax collection at Landcare,
Havelock North and Lincoln, who distribute plants to weaving groups and marae throughout NZ.
Wellington Botanic Garden also has a flax collection on Kowhai Walk, consisting of plants from
the national trial carried out by the NZ Flax Commission in 1870, and of plants from Rene
Orchiston’s collection, which were planted in 1991.
The nectar of the flax was commonly collected by the Maori and used either alone or to
sweeten other foods. In the South Island it was mixed with the meal from the root and the stem
of the cabbage tree (Cordyline australis). In pre-European times, before the introduction of the
honeybee, the nectar (wai-korari) was added to the bracken fern-root meal as a sweetener.
Flax nectar was mixed with water to make a refreshing drink. It was the children who usually
collected the nectar. They collected the flowers, and then lightly tapped them on the inside of a
gourd vessel. The nectar consists mainly of sugars (fructose, sucrose, and glucose) along with a
small quantity of vitamins and minerals. Maori were also said to have eaten the gum found at
the base of the leaves. The roots of flax should not be eaten. The seeds of flax can, however,
be made into coffee.
Gum from the base of the leaves was used to treat burns, sunburn, old sores, and
wounds (to stop the bleeding). The gum was also taken internally to treat diarrhoea. The
blanched base of the leaf or root was beaten to pulp, heated or roasted, and applied hot to treat
abscesses and tumours where matter was forming. The poultice was also used for swollen
joints. The roots were warmed and applied to fresh cuts, to ringworm, and to the skin of young
children to prevent chafing. There is also a report that at Ahipara, flower stalks were burnt to
charcoal, pounded, and dusted on burns, which apparently healed without scarring.
Fibre-Most important fibre plant for Maori. Leaves: mats, cloaks, skirts, baskets, sandals,
ropes, fishing lines, nets, tukutuku panels. Flower stalks: floats, rafts, kindling.
Fabric- dressed fibre for dressing wounds and napkins.
Food- Nectar.
Pharmacy- Gum-burns, sunburn, old sores, wounds, diarrhoea. Hot poultice of leaf base
or root for abscesses, tumours, swollen joints. Warmed roots: cuts and ringworm
Forestry in NZ
Some 97% of the plantation forests are 'softwood'. Radiata pine is the dominant species
with 1.7 million ha.
Dominant Species
Hectares
(thousands)
% of Total
Radiata pine
1520
90.5
Douglas fir
81
4.8
Other exotic softwoods
32
1.9
All exotic hardwoods
46
2.8
Total
1679
100
Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) is a versatile species and grows on a wide range of sites
throughout New Zealand.
Special features:
Will grow on soils from sand to clay and withstand frost and mild salt spray.
Needs only 600 millimetres of rainfall per annum.
Is fast growing, maturing in about 30 years.
Responds quickly to thinning and heals quickly after pruning.
Produces timber that is easy to dry, machine and treat with preservative.
Has good nailing, gluing and painting properties.
Suitable for a wide range of uses including: roundwood and the manufacture of woodbased panels, pulp and paper products.
Generally, radiata pine height growth (site index) in New Zealand decreases from north
to south, but diameter (basal area) growth tends to increase from north to south. It can be
broadly described as a medium-density, even-textured softwood. Wood properties vary widely,
however, depending on the site, silviculture and the region from which the trees are sourced.
Douglas Fir
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is a good alternative to radiata pine on higher
altitude and snow-prone sites throughout New Zealand. It is unsuitable in the Auckland and
Northland regions due to the warmer temperatures. Douglas fir is the most common species
after radiata pine, but still only represents 5% of the planted forest area.
Douglas fir growth rates on favourable sites can exceed the fastest North American
stands by as much as 50%. The species is used mainly as a construction timber and large
volumes are exported. New Zealand-grown Douglas fir has similar wood qualities and export
value to North American second growth timber.
Special features:
One of the world's best known timber trees and commands premium sawlog prices.
Can be used internally without preservative treatment.
Requires less intensive management than radiata pine.
Can shed snow.
Has root grafting ability that provides better soil protection than radiata pine in some
situations.
Is aesthetically attractive.
Douglas fir also has some disadvantages in comparison with radiata pine:
Less versatile on lowland sites.
Slower initial growth makes it less desirable on weedy sites.
Slower overall growth requires a longer rotation.
Not easily treated with preservatives for external or ground contact use.
Not as versatile.
Other Softwoods
Macrocarpa (Cupressus macrocarpa) and Lusitanica (Cupressus lusitanica) are the
most promising alternatives to radiata pine on fertile, sheltered sites below 400 metres altitude.
Lusitanica has distinct advantages over Macrocarpa in terms of tree form and Cypress canker
resistance, and tends to be planted more widely in the warmer parts of the country. Lusitanica
does not perform as well as Macrocarpa on coastal, cold or drier sites. Macrocarpa is more
widely planted in the South Island.
Lusitanica and Macrocarpa can be classified as low to medium-density softwoods, with
yellow-brown heartwood, fine, even texture and pronounced growth rings. The timber of both
species looks like kauri and has good machining properties. Cypress wood in New Zealand has
been widely used for furniture.
Some older forests in the colder parts of the country grow Corsican pine (Pinus nigra).
It fell from favour in the 1950s when a fungal disease (Dothistroma) appeared in New Zealand
and it became obvious that radiata pine could outperform Corsican pine on all but the very
hardest sites. Corsican pine has a significant role in parts of the country with harsher climates,
such as the Canterbury high country and Central Otago.
Hardwoods
Eucalypts are the main hardwoods grown in New Zealand. But no one species will thrive
on the range of sites where radiata pine will grow. Consequently, eucalypt species must not
only be suitable for the required end use, but should also be matched to the site's climate and
topography.
Eucalypts can grow faster than radiata pine, as long as adequate attention is given to
their special requirements of site, nutrients and silvicultural treatment.
Some advantages are:
Aesthetics.
Natural pruning of some species.
Excellent furniture/veneer properties of some species.
Desirable pulping properties.
The potential disadvantages of eucalypts are:
Site sensitivity.
Sensitivity to weed competition.
Tendency to develop "growth stresses", causing distortion during sawing.
Drying difficulties.
Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) is a hardwood whose timber is highly
valued for its attractive appearance. It can be grown on sheltered, warm, fertile sites
throughout New Zealand
Estimated Plantation Area by Ownership Category*
Central North Island
National Summary
Ownership Category
Total Area (ha)
% Area
Total Area (ha)
% Area
Individual
2,800
1%
28,000
2%
Partnership
9,000
2%
122,600
7%
Central Government
38,900
7%
54,900
3%
SOE
5,600
1%
53,400
3%
Local Government
1,400
0%
56,100
3%
Trust
2,700
0%
22,400
1%
Private Company
30,600
5%
214,100
13%
Public Company
430,400
77%
864,000
52%
Other
38,600
7%
260,500
16%
100%
1,676,000
100%
Total
560,000
*Areas are rounded estimates.
Harvest Levels
New Zealand's log harvest has tripled in the last 30 years from five million m3 in 1968, to
over 17 million m3 in 1999. Almost all of this is attributable to plantation forestry and the large
scale planting programmes of the 1960s. Still larger planting programmes of the 1970's will
result in even higher future harvest levels.
Exports
Log exports are the most significant in terms of volume but lumber is of greater value,
both in terms of export value and indirect value to the country through the creation of jobs.
Pulp, newsprint and particleboard are other significant export products of high value.
New Zealand exports forest products mainly to countries around the Pacific. Australia is
the most important export market for lumber, paper, and paperboard production. Japan, Korea
and the USA are the other significant export destinations.
Employment
The industry has always been an important source of employment in New Zealand. Some
21,000 people were employed in the forestry and primary processing industries in 1999. It is
estimated that for every full-time job created in forestry and wood processing between 2.2 and
5.8 jobs are created outside the industry.
Forestry contributes about 5% of national GDP and earns about 7% of export receipts.
Wood Processing
There is a well-distributed network of wood processing facilities around the country.
These produce wood products for both domestic and export markets, with about one-third of
the harvest eventually being used inside New Zealand. This proportion will alter even further in
favour of export markets as harvest levels increase.
UTILITY AND VERSATILITY
Mankind's first interest in trees largely related to the wood that could be cut from their
stems, and which was used to make hand tools, weapons, for carving and as fuel for cooking
and warmth. As skills and the quality of tools improved, people were able to cut and join slabs
of wood to make homes, boats and vehicles of increasing complexity. Forests became more
valuable as a result, and the qualities of different tree species were also recognised. (Hard,
durable timbers were used where strength was a particular concern, while softer and lighter
timbers were preferred for other applications.)
Arrival of the industrial revolution brought many changes to the way wood was
processed and used. For example, technology based on Chinese paper making was developed,
enabling wood to be broken down to its smallest fibres which were then filtered out of solutions
in fine layers and dried as paper sheets. Sawmills able to cut wood at greater speed, in longer
lengths and larger sizes made the building of even larger structures possible. Other processes
were developed that resulted in wood being remanufactured into new materials such as plywood
and veneer, greatly increasing its utility and value.
The most important developments were associated with wood chemistry. By-products
from the pulp industry and other materials extracted from wood were found to have a multitude
of uses, firstly in glues and paints but later in a whole range of pharmaceutical products,
medicines, food flavourings and additives, solvents and liquid fuels that we now take for
granted.
Chemists also found ways to separate and extract the basic components of wood.
Cellulose, the long chain carbon molecules that give wood its mass and strength, was found to
be soluble in certain liquids, but could then be reconstituted as thin sheets (cellophane) or
threads (which could be woven into a cloth known as rayon). Other products such as plastic
substitutes and photographic film are largely based on cellulose products.
The net effect is that today, wood and wood products are a constant part of our
everyday life: we live in them, sit on them, write on them, eat them, wear them, use them to
drive our motor vehicles, paint with them and so on. The list is almost endless and it is fair to
say that the many products we make from and extract from wood make it the most useful and
versatile material known to mankind. The fact that it is the product of carbon dioxide and a
natural process known as photosynthesis and its supply is essentially perpetually sustainable
make it one of the most amazing materials we are ever likely to come across.
Founders Entrance
The renovation and remodelling of the Main Garden begun by Glen was continued by
MacKenzie after 1918. He removed the fences and other barriers that had been a characteristic
of the Garden since the days of the Board. He also managed to replace the old wooden gates at
the main entrance, a project that had been dribbling through the Council pipeline for some
years. The existing gates had been put in place by the Board in 1878, and had done good
service over the years. By 1905 they were rather worse for wear, and Glen suggested that as
they looked "very much cut and hacked about it would be better if the face (of them) were
covered with sheets of the small corrugated iron, then painted to correspond with the fence.
This suggestion was adopted by the Reserves Committee, but if it was carried out it must have
detracted from the quality of the gates as originally constructed. When, after 1913, the area
around the main entrance was being cleared and replanted, the Reserves Committee decided to
design a new set of entrance gates. These were to have brick piers similar to those at Newtown
Park, and their construction was estimated to cost £36. Nothing more happened until November
1917. That month the Council received a complaint from the Wellington South Progressive
Society that the entrance to the Botanic Garden discredited the city. The Society demanded that
it should be improved "at once". As a result of this the City Engineer was called upon to produce
new plans of a character similar to those floated in 1914. When these arrived they must have
been an optimistic flourish indeed, as their estimated price had risen to £505. Again the project
sank into limbo until November 1920. By now MacKenzie was Director, and new gates had
become part of his first large scale improvement to the Garden. Tenders were called, but again
the estimate cullers won, and the gates fell victims to Council economising. When tenders were
finally called for the brick piers of the new gates in 1924 MacKenzie was able to provide the
Council with an incentive against having second thoughts again. In November when a set of iron
gates owned by the Hospital Board were offered for sale he bought them. On March the 4th
1925 the tender of Messrs Hickmott and Sons was accepted, and the building of the brick piers
went ahead. The new gates were the first step in providing the present brick frontage of the
Botanic Garden.
Note the signs on the gate
Fraxinus - Ash
Related to the olives, it comprises some 65 species of deciduous trees and some shrubs
scattered over the cool temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There are a number of
American ash species (not in Garden)
American White Ash inhabits eastern North America. The wood is economically
important due to its strength, hardness, weight, and shock resistance. It is second only to
hickory for use in the production of tool handles. Nearly all wooden baseball bats are made
from white ash. The wood used in furniture, antique vehicle parts, railroad cars and ties, canoe
paddles, snowshoes, boats, doors, and cabinets.
The juice from the leaves of white ash can be applied topically to mosquito bites for
relief of swelling and itching. White ash has a specialised use as a prophylactic measure for
snakebite. If one carries the crushed leaves in his/her pockets the odour has been "proved"
offensive to rattlesnakes.
Fraxinus pennsylvanica the Green Ash is the most widely distributed of all American
ashes. Green ash wood, which is heavy, hard, strong and yellowish with wide, white sapwood,
has moderately high specific gravity and a low wood moisture content which make it a valued
species for solid wood products as well as for pulp and paper requiring hardwood fibres. Crating,
boxing, handle stock and rough lumber can be obtained from merchantable-size trees.
Properly established and managed plantations and natural stands produce high yields of
fibre and quality solid-wood products. Green ash, a cultivated ornamental throughout its
range, has often been planted for shade and landscape beautification in urban parks, recreation
areas, and residential areas. Its leaves turn golden yellow in the autumn.
Fraxinus excelsior
This Ash is a native species in Ireland, growing in abundance in the West Cork
countryside and in most other areas of Ireland. Magnificent large deciduous trees with
distinctive black buds in spring. Can be coppiced.. Age up to 200 years.
Before the use of iron and steel was universal, ash timber was in demand for many
uses where metals are now used. Its wood is widely used for axe handles, oars etc where small
diameters are required, being obtained from coppiced plantations.
Its timber is one of the most important native timbers of the UK, being used for
carts, furniture, ladders, and table-tops. It is fine-grained, light, very tough and pale in colour.
Used for hockey sticks, oars, paddles, rudders, billiard cues, cricket stumps, polo sticks and
policemen's truncheons. Also used for veneer and furniture.
Burns fragrantly when freshly cut green or dried due to low water content even when
green (30 - 35%) but seasoning (to 15% water) does improve efficiency. This is one of the
most prized firewood
Guides for the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden
Training started in October 1990, with twenty people among them Noni Hoggard, Gillian
Horton, Robin and Helen Macandrew, Gwenda Sutton, Donal Duthy and Rob Boss. Monica
Dearden joined later in the course during 1991. We were loaded down with info to digest over
the Xmas break. The first guiding on a limited scale was at Easter 1991, 29th March to 6th April
. The next session was on the weekend 21 / 22 September at the Centenary Celebration 1991.
Regular guiding started on 2nd October, 130 pm on Sundays and Wednesdays from the Begonia
House. That did not prove to be very successful. Very few takers. We persisted till the end of
1992, when it was scaled down to Sundays only and gave up on in April 1993. When the Tree
House opened in a number of the guides volunteered to for weekend duties. It’s a pity there
were not enough volunteers to keep that going
Fuchsia
The genus fuchsia has 100 species, all but 6 from South America (Mexico to Tierra del
Fuego); 4 are in NZ and 1 from Tahiti
The genus is named in honour of a German botanist who published a book on these
beautiful plants.
The garden hybrids have mostly been developed from the species F. fulgens
Fuchsia excorticata
Kotukutuku or Tree Fuchsia has loose papery bark and dark purple berries, which
are edible. The flowers grow straight from the main trunk and branches, a phenomenon known
as cauliflory, which is a feature of tropical trees.
The pollen is a deep blue, which is rare and mixed with the juice of the fruit, was used
by the Maoris for tattoo.
The timber is useless for firewood and the early settlers called it "bucket of water
tree.” although the wood is very useful in wood carving
It is one of our few native trees that are deciduous, which grows on edge of forests
in New Zealand, particularly the North Island, up to 1000 (m 3000 feet). It forms a tree of
some 12-15 m (40 to 50 feet) in height, in favourable conditions forming a trunk 3 feet (1 m) in
diameter. It is one of the commonest trees of the New Zealand forests. It has a short gnarled
trunk and the cinnamon coloured bark hangs in long strips. The tree fuchsia is probably the
largest fuchsia in the world. Birds eat the nectar and the fruit.
Fuchsia procumbens
Although it does not appear to have reached the gardens of Europe until about 1874, it
was originally discovered by Robert Cunningham, an Englishman, in 1834 when he visited New
Zealand for the purpose of supervising the shipment of naval spares for the Government of New
South Wales.
This trailing species first discovered in 1834 in the North Island of New Zealand growing
in the sand along the shoreline. It likes growing down banks and will cover an area of around 18
to 20 ft. Prostrate in growth, the slender, trailing stems often attain several feet in length.
Greenish-yellow tube, red at base; sepals green, tipped purple, no corolla but the stamens bear
bright blue pollen. The distinguishing characters are the erect flowers only about 1/2 in. high
and the stigma that may appear above or below the level of the stamens.
Seed pods which are green turning to plum purple with maturity, and are quite large and
attractive, covered with plum-like bloom and is one of the very few plants where the berries are
left on the plant for exhibition and judging purposes. The flowers are very free, very small and
point upward, very unfuchsia like. The foliage also cannot be recognised as fuchsia, very small
leaves, heart shaped and pretty, borne on slender stalks. Growth consists of long, thin trailing
stems that root quite freely, woody and creeping.
This species is extremely hardy, and can be used to effect on the larger rockeries or
even very suitable for furnishing a hanging basket.
Synonymous with F. prostrate.
Fuchsia procumbens is another northern species now known only from a relatively
few localities. It has been found at just over 20 distinct sites from North Cape south to the
Coromandel Peninsula. It occupies a wide range of habitats and can scramble through taller
vegetation. It will tolerate shade, but sometimes grows in grassy sites or in coastal turf.
This is one plant that has declined dramatically. It has disappeared from over half the
recorded sites and numbers are very low at several of the localities where it grows at the
present time. Trampling by cattle, browsing by goats and other animals, and destruction of sites
by drifting sand and erosion are probably the chief reasons for decline. Pressure on the natural
habitat of this species is continuing, as the region is increasingly developed for tourism and
holiday cottages, and in some sites cattle continue to graze down to the rear of beaches.
Fortunately it has some protection in the Te Paki Farm Park and probably the Bay of
Islands area, although there is an urgent need to reserve further populations. Even within
reserves it may be threatened by encroaching kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) and
buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) which quickly smother it.
As if this were not enough, Fuchsia procumbens has a breeding system that makes
its conservation difficult. Plants are male, female or hermaphrodite (that is having flowers
which are functionally male and female). In a survey of 13 populations, Dr E. J. Godley, who
has long been studying the genus in New Zealand, found that five populations lacked plants of
the opposite sex and could not breed sexually. Such reduction in vegetative reproduction
jeopardises survival in the wild and may have been a factor in the extinction of several colonies.
Often said to be the smallest fuchsia in the world, there is in fact a species from
Guatemala that is even smaller, with flowers 3 mm long.
The hybrid between procumbens X excorticata also exists by the cedars near
the duck pond.
Fungi
(also see lichens)
Although Fungi were once considered to be part of the plant kingdom, most experts now
consider them to be a separate Kingdom or phylum. There are estimated to be over 100,000
different fungi, most of which form only tiny threads (Hypha) that can only be seen through a
microscope. Of these, about 20,000 are considered to be high fungi or macro fungi, i.e. those
that produce visible fruiting bodies. Only these are of any interest to the fungi enthusiast and
covered in any detail, mostly of which belong to the subdivision Ascomycotina and
Basidiomycotina.
Fungi are neither plant nor animal, but have some characteristics of each. They
cannot move about like an animal, do consume organic matter, have no chlorophyll as do
plants, and cannot manufacture their own energy. They have a true nucleus in their cells
and are able to sexually reproduce by combining like strains of nucleus. They can also
reproduce by spores similar to some of the more primitive plants e.g. Ferns, Liverworts and
Mosses. Modern molecular studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals
than to plants.
The structures of fungi are microscopic and not visible to the naked eye. Some are
unicellular like yeast, but most string their cells together in long, thread-like strands called
hypha. Most fungi produce an extensive system of hyphae, which may be visible when growing
thickly in a mass called mycelium (commonly referred to as mould). Mycelium can be of any
size from tiny clusters to massive acre wide systems, which effectively form the feeding and
growing body of the fungus.
Hyphae spread widely through soil, rotten wood, etc., feeding on organic remains by
secreting enzymes to dissolve the organic matter, then reabsorbing the nutrients. They continue
accumulating nutrients until the internal and external conditions are right for the production of
fruiting.
Fungi, as do other simple plants such as mosses and ferns, reproduce primarily by
single celled spores. The lower fungi, or micro fungi, form asexual spore dust on their surface
where it grows simply by budding off from hyphal tips and does not produce any visible
structures. The vast majority of fungi are of this type.
When a higher fungi or macro fungi are ready to reproduce, the hyphae from two
different parents form into a solid tightly fused ball of tissue from which the sporocarp, grows.
Within, or on the sporocarp the sexual spores are formed after a fusion of nuclei from the
different parents.
These sexual spores develop in a special layer called a hymenium. The final stage of
expansion to full size may take place very rapidly without any further absorption of food
materials or even water. The fungi can pop up over night as if by magic. The whole reason for
the fruiting body is to help in the dispersal of the spores, which are spread in various ways.
Most are lost but a few may germinate and grow into new hyphae.
Identification - The manner of spore production and their individual properties, as well
as the sporocarp structure are all used for identification and classification of fungi
Fungi are often viewed in different ways, as a spoiler of food in the fridge, as an
object of beauty to be photographed, or as some tasty morsel to be cooked and eaten. There
true purpose in nature is in recycling of organic matter.
Fungi together with bacteria fill an essential role in nature by decomposing complex
organic compounds and returning their minerals to the soil and gases to the air, thus making
them available for the next generation of plants and animals and ensuring the continues natural
cycle of life. Without this natural recycling process we would be knee deep in shit compost, and
life on earth would come to an end.
Species of fungi are divided into the following three categories
1 - Mycorrhizal fungi form a partnership with some plants, but mostly with living trees.
They form a partnership mainly with trees but also with some plants, but rather then harming
the tree, their presence significantly increases the roots' effectiveness. Fungi send their hyphae
in and about the little rootlets of the tree until its difficult to tell them apart. The tree supplies
the mycelium with moisture and carbohydrates, and the mycelium returns the favour with
minerals and other nutrients from the surrounding soil. Mycorrhiza fungi are beneficial both in
nature and agriculture; plants with them tend to grow better than those without.
2 - Parasitic fungi prefer the living host; this category is fairly small. Parasitic fungi
are the second largest group, of whose members do a lot of serious damage. Rather than
obtaining their food from dead animals or plants, they prefer a living host, often attacking and
killing, it then living on as a saprophytic fungi.
3 - Saprophytic fungi prefer dead and decaying material. Saprophytic fungi are the
largest group of fungi, they growing on dead organic matter such as fallen trees, cow patties,
dead leaves, and even dead insects and animals. These fungi have enzymes that work to "rot"
or "digest" the cellulose and lignin found in the organic matter, with the lignin being an
important source of carbon for many organisms. Without their digestive activities, organic
material would continue to accumulate until the forest became a huge rubbish dump of dead
leaves and trees.
Garden History
Note
See also Dates of
When the City of Wellington was being
planned in London, in the instructions to the
Superintendent of the NZ Company for the
establishment of the colony in 1839, he was directed
to establish a city of some 1000 acres. Separating
the urban from rural activities, a strip of land was to
be set aside, which we now know as the Town Belt.
In addition he was instructed to set aside land ‘as a
botanic reserve’.
Thirteen acres of land for the Wellington
Botanic Garden were identified in a City Plan dated
1840, the site of the current Main Garden. With
many interested gardeners among the earliest
colonists, a Wellington Horticultural Society was set
up in 1841, and by 1844 some £410 has been set
aside for the future development of the Garden.
The declaration of martial law in 1846 following Maori attacks in the Hutt Valley,
earthquakes in 1848 and 1855 and financial constraints resulted in little being achieved in the
establishment of the Garden. It was not until 1869 that the Botanic Garden Act was passed and
a Botanic Garden Board was appointed to manage it. During those intervening years squatters
had moved on to the land, removed trees, grazed animals and had even built houses on it. The
Governors of the NZ Institute, which was the forerunner of the Royal Society of NZ, together
with Dr James Hector, who later became Sir James Hector, as Manager, formed the Botanic
Garden Board, and administered the Botanic Garden for the next 22 years. James Hector was a
medical doctor, geologist and explorer. He was the Director of the Colonial Museum and
Geological Survey, Manager of the NZ Institute, and later Chancellor of the University as well.
He made an outstanding contribution to NZ science. Appointed by the new central Government
set up in Wellington in 1865 as its ‘scientific adviser’, it is interesting to note that government
consultants are nothing new!!. He actively encouraged the Government to establish the Garden
(1869) utilising the land previously identified, with the following three aims.
Firstly, as a trial ground for Government to examine the economic potential of plants,
especially for forestry.
Secondly , as a scientific reserve, for the collection and study of indigenous and exotic
plants,
and thirdly, as a place of recreation and enjoyment for the public.
Except for the nursery beds near the entrance the Garden was completely unformed,
except for some tracks. William Bramley was the first Superintendent, and he immediately
commenced fencing the Garden, cutting paths, and removing gorse and commencing planting.
The original area was 13 acres, and in 1874 the Wesleyan Reserve of 58 acres was added to
give a total area of 68 acres. (25.5 ha). Unlike the original 13 acres, this reserve still had
areas of native forest remaining on it.
With what was to be great foresight, Dr Hector recognised that the early settlers had
been removing forest so rapidly from the land to provide grazing for animals, that it might not
be long before NZ began to run short of timber for building. The large scale removal of forest
also meant that farmland was exposed to wind and that shelter belts were required, especially
in the areas of tussock land in Otago and Canterbury, Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. He was also
aware in some areas trees were becoming scarce for firewood. With these requirements in
mind the Botanic Garden Board imported timber and shelterbelt species of tree from around the
world, especially from Europe, North America, India, China and Japan. The Government
provided their funding. The Government also provided funding for trials of other species for
their economic potential, for example, cork oak, sorghum, sugar beet, hops, mulberry, black
walnut, pecans, hickory, plums and olives. By 1875 127 different types of conifers had been
planted, some 34 of which remain in the Garden today.
After the trees had been trialled in the Botanic Garden, those that showed potential were
sent to all parts of NZ for further trials. One timber species proved to be extremely successful,
ahead of all the others, in all parts of NZ, for its rapid growth and good timber, and that of
course is the Monterey Pine, or Pinus radiata. The species that proved to be very successful as
a shelter tree was the Monterey cypress, or Cupressus macrocarpa. Both of these trees come
from the Monterey Peninsula in California, where with their stunted and windswept appearance
they bear little resemblance to the massive pine and macrocarpa trees we see in NZ today.
Monterey Pine comes from three distinct unconnected areas of central coastal California,
named from one locality, the Monterey Peninsula. It is now rare in its natural habitat because
of fungal disease and the encroachment of towns and cities. In recent years genetically
improved trees have been imported back into California from New Zealand, and these are now
cross hybridising with the native stock, raising questions of the status of the native genotype in
its natural habitat. The Garden trees, being from wild collected natural stock, are therefore
important as a store of this natural genotype, and effort is required to preserve this important
resource for future generations.
There were problems of vandalism, the theft of plants and equipment. In 1876 two
cases of ‘immorality’ occurred. One couple entered the new pine plantations and damaged a
tree. Charged, they were sentenced to one months hard labour, subsequently reduced to 1
week after a public outcry. The other couple also charged fled the colony.
In 1880 a policemen was installed in the garden, living in the house behind the present
Begonia House. To get home he travelled up Honeyman’s Gully, now the area covered by
Anderson Park and the Rose Garden and the pubs afforded a special attraction and the level of
policing was not as grreat as was expected The police station remained until 1898.
In 1886 Hector established a Teaching Garden where the Sound Shell is located today.
Only authorised students were admitted. A small zoo was established, containing an emu, an
aviary, and some monkeys. The monkeys kept escaping and eating the fruit on neighbouring
trees, and it was reported that a monkey bit a girl on the leg. The zoo was closed in 1906.
The depression of the 1880’s saw the withdrawal of Government funding, and
management of the Garden was transferred to the Wellington City Council in 1891. Pressure
from the public encouraged the authorities to allow it to be developed more as a “pleasure
ground” rather than as a “scientific reserve”. The ‘keep off, keep out’ attitude was relaxed, and
the wire hoops disappeared from the grass verges. Today, the Botanic Garden has an
educational role, as well as a recreational one.
The Cable Car opened in 1902
The tram route was extended to the Main Gate in 1904
A children’s playground was opened in 1905,
A band rotunda built in 1907 near the duck pond.
In 1910 the lower end of Honeyman’s Gully was partially filled to create a playground,
the upper gully becoming a rubbish tip.
The stables and mess were built in 1914.
In 1927 using unemployed labour Anderson Park was further unextended, and raised to
its present level. Magpie Lawn was created and the upper Glenmore Street filled with material
from the ridge from 1927-1930 following the realignment of Glenmore Street
During WWII this was used as an American Marine Base, and afterwards a camp for
returning soldiers.
In 1950 the remaining part of Honeyman’s Gully was filled to form the Lady Norwood
Rose Garden which opening in 1953. In 1956 an apprentice was told to spray the roses for
bugs. He remembered being told to use something ‘…..cide; which he found in the store.
Unfortunately what he used was a herbicide and not an insecticide, and most of the new roses
were killed and required immediate replacement.
The Begonia Hose was opened in 1960, the Tea House in 1981 and the Lily House in
1989.
In 1970 the Herb Garden was established with 40,000 bricks from the houses
demolished in Glenmore Street for the site of the Anglican Church Mission. There were limited
funds, insufficient for the whole project, but it was said if the bricks could be got to the site by
Monday at no cost, that finance to complete the project would be provided. A call for
volunteers was so successful all the bricks were transported by the time required.
In 1990 the Friends of the Botanic Garden organisation was formed.
In 1991 the Tree House Information Centre and WWF Headquarters was opened
In 1996 the Duck Pond was redesigned and the old macrocarpa removed
II 2000 the Cable Car Museum was opened
In 2001 the Children’s Playground was redesigned
Garrya elliptica
Coast Silk Tassel Native of chaparral and forest on dry slopes and ridges below 600
metres in the US
Grows well by the sea and makes a good wind shelter.
Grey to black dyes are obtained from the berries. The colour varies according to the
ripeness of the fruit, green fruits are the best.
The bark and leaves are very bitter, a possible insect repellent?
Wood - hard, close-grained. It has been used for fine cabinet work, though its small size
and rarity limits its commercial usefulness
Garryine, an alkaloid extracted from silktassel, was used by early US settlers as a
tonic.
Gazebo
Built in 1914 for the Carpenter's Union Float in the Labour Day procession it was bought
for 20 pounds and placed in the Garden.
Gesneriads
(pronounced either "jez-NARE-ee-ad" or "guess-NARE-ee-ad")
The family was named for Swiss botanist Konrad Gesner. Most gesneriads are from
tropical and subtropical regions and are often found growing in humus-filled depressions or rock
crevices, on humus-covered forest floors or epiphytically on tree branches. There are a wide
variety of plant sizes, shapes, flowers and colours. This is a plant family of great diversity, and
many grow under the same conditions we enjoy. Some gesneriads have been hybridised
extensively, resulting in hundreds of cultivars that can be quite different from the species. In
addition to the African Violet, some of the more common gesneriads grown by hobbyists are the
Florist Gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa), Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus), Goldfish Plant
(Nematanthus), Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus), Flame Violet (Episcia), and Cupid's Bower
(Achimenes) Gloxinias, known botanically as Sinningia speciosa, are members of the gesneriad
family, as are African violets, episcias, achimenes, and many other popular houseplants
The Gesneriad family contains some of the most decorative and widely grown of the
tropical plants. Although the majority of the family will be unfamiliar to most people, even to
accomplished horticulturists, virtually everyone knows the African Violet (Saintpaulia hybrids),
and the common Gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa hybrids) of florist’s shops and garden centres. The
Lipstick Plant (various species of Aeschynanthus) is also widely grown, and it is not uncommon
to see Goldfish Plants (usually Nematanthus species and hybrids) for sale in supermarkets and
garden centres.
These most visible members of the family barely scratch the surface. There are literally
hundreds of others, many at least as worthy of consideration by the apartment grower or the
commercial specialist. Some are large and spectacular, as certain species of Columnea,
producing ten foot (three meter) trailing stems covered with bright flowers. Others are
diminutive and delicate, like Sinningia pusilla, growing comfortably in a thimble-sized pot, with
perfect tiny flowers held high above the tiny leaves.
Not all are grown for their flowers. For example, Episcia species and hybrids (sometimes
called "Flame Violets" or "Chocolate Soldiers") often have very colourful and patterned foliage,
ranging from a combination of pale pink, white and green through dark red and chocolate brown
to brilliant emerald green. The flowers of Episcias are usually bright reddish orange, sometimes
pink, lavender or yellow. The red flowers clash with the delicate pink leaf colours of some of the
varieties, so growers take off the buds before they open – these are truly foliage plants!
Some of the gesneriads grow naturally in moderately moist and shady conditions, with
steady warmth. They are often comfortable in typical household conditions, and are good
candidates for the new grower. Others grow at high altitudes, in the constant presence of cool
mists, and require more specialized and constantly moist conditions. Still others grow on rocky
slopes or cliffs, or high up in the rainforest canopy in small deposits of moss or leaf mold. They
are adapted to occasional drought, and a grower must take care not to over water.
All in all, the gesneriads are an interesting, sometimes fascinating, plant family. Many
can be grown easily in the average home, and regardless of a grower’s conditions or expertise,
there is always a very desirable plant that is just tricky enough to provide a challenge, but just
easy enough to be worth trying. It’s a true recipe for addiction.
The Gesneriaceae are widely distributed throughout the tropics of the world, with a
number of species growing in temperate climates, especially at high altitudes in mountainous
regions of Asia, Europe and South America. Among the more common varieties, Saintpaulia
(African Violets) come from east Africa, especially Tanzania and Kenya. The Lipstick Plants
(Aeschynanthus) are native to the Malaysian archipelago and nearby locations in south Asia.
Sinningia species, including the Florist Gloxinia, come from Brazil, as does the Goldfish Plant
(Nematanthus). The only Gesneriads growing in Europe are some species of Ramonda, semihardy alpines from the mountains in the south. These can be grown outside as far north as
Scotland. A few relatively obscure species grow in Australia and New Zealand, and none are
known from North America.
Gesneriads are grouped in several ways, depending on the inclination of the classifier or
the purpose of the grouping.
Botanical taxonomy makes a fundamental distinction between "Old World" Gesneriads,
from Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia, and those from the "New World", essentially South and
Central America. The former are said to belong to the sub-family Cyrtandroideae, the latter to
the sub-family Gesnerioideae. The distinction is not simply arbitrary, based on geography, but
flows from some of the fundamental characteristics of the Gesneriads that grow in these areas.
As with all plants (and animals, for that matter) each of these sub-families are further
divided into Tribes and Genera and Species. A fairly detailed description of the botanical
taxonomy of the family may be found here in the article Gesneriaceae, by Brian Morley.
Gesneriads are also sometimes classified according to the types of roots they have. Most
members of the family have "fibrous" roots, the simple root pattern most often seen in common
plants. In fact, all of the Old World members of the family have fibrous roots, as do most of
those from the New World.
However, a number of interesting and beautiful species from Central and South America
have roots that are adapted for survival through periods of dormancy in response to climate
conditions such as drought or cold.
The tuberous Gesneriads usually have a single fleshy tuber, often reminiscent of those
produced by some types of Begonias, but sometimes more like a potato. When a dry or cold
season comes, the foliage will die down but the tuber will live on. When good weather returns,
new growth will start up from the tuber.
Sometimes, tubers will grow at the surface of the soil, with much of the tuber showing
above the ground. These types of tuber can grow very large, providing an odd and interesting
sight – the tuber can seem to be more substantial than the foliage growth above it!
Almost all of the tuberous Gesneriads are in the Sinningia genus, which is a highly
diverse group of plants. Size of the Sinningias ranges from tiny (S. pusilla can grow in a
thimble, and has a tuber the size of a pea) to the substantial (S. macropoda can spread to two
or three feet, with a tuber as much as 12" (30 cm) across). Habitat of the Sinningias is also
quite diverse, with some species growing in cracks in solid rock walls, and others in moist moss
in the deepest tropical forests.
The rhizomatous Gesneriads have underground stems, with leaves that have been
modified into closely packed scales around the central stem. In some cases, these scaly
rhizomes will grow very long, wrapping around the inside of the pot. In nature, they would have
grown horizontally away from the centre of the plant. In other cases, each plant produces many
small scaly rhizomes, clustered underground at the base of the plant. As with tuberous
Gesneriads, the foliage dies down in response to weather conditions, and the rhizomes resprout
when conditions become more hospitable.
There are a number of fairly closely related genera that produce rhizomatous roots.
Among the more commonly seen are Achimenes, attractive basket plants with origins in Central
America, and Kohleria, from Central and South America, with spectacularly bright and spotted
flowers.
Are There Gesneriad Relatives?
Closely related to the Gesneriads is the large foxglove family, the Scrophulariaceae.
Many common garden ornamentals come from this group, including foxglove (Digitalis),
snapdragons (Antirrhinum), monkey flower (Mimulus), Veronica, Calceolaria and Pentstemon.
Also closely related is the catalpa family, the Bignoniaceae. Included in this group is
Incarvillea, a common garden perennial often sold as the Hardy Gloxinia. It’s not really a
Gloxinia, but it is a relative.
Because they are mainly tropical, often beautiful and frequently exotic, people
sometimes wonder if the gesneriads are a kind of orchid. They’re not closely related, but there
are some similarities.
Both orchids and gesneriads appear to be relatively recently evolved, and to be in the
process of rapid differentiation. In both groups, specific flower shapes seem to have developed
as a result of co-evolution with pollinators, with some very specific pairings between plant and
pollinator species. Both also make use of a wide variety of pollinators, including hummingbirds,
moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, ants and bats. It is perhaps because of the close relationship
between pollinators and plants that both orchids and gesneriads are so popular as ornamentals
– the pollinator relationships result in a wide diversity of large and colorful flowers, which
humans, as well as pollinators, find attractive.
There are many interesting members of the Gesneriad family. Some are kind of obscure,
and a few are more interesting than attractive. But there certainly is lots of diversity.
For instance, the Streptocarpus genus is becoming increasingly popular as a relatively
easy-to-grow houseplant, especially where summer temperatures do not get too hot and humid.
S. ‘Sandra’ is a particularly beautiful hybrid, popular in Britain and recently available in North
America.
Among the trailing plants, the Columneas can be spectacularly beautiful, and are often
not difficult to grow. An excellent example is the old hybrid C. ‘Early Bird’, still available from
many sources. Although the relatively common "Lipstick Plant" (Aeschynanthus species) is
attractive and easy to grow, other members of this genus also make good basket plants. A. ‘Big
Apple’ is an example of a recent hybrid that has achieved great popularity.
Many growers are captivated by the Sinningia genus, and it is in fact truly interesting.
The spectacular "Florist Gloxinia", available at every florists and nursery and even many
supermarkets, is the most familiar example, but there are others which will provide much more
pleasure for someone wanting to grow and maintain interesting plants at home. The miniature
Sinningias are very popular -- it’s easy to see why when you discover a little plant like the
micro-miniature S. 'Wood Nymph'. Among the larger-growing species, the recently introduced
S. conspicua has become very popular.
Many gesneriads are grown for attractive foliage, often patterned and marked in
contrasting colours. The Episcia group provides most of the widely grown foliage plants. Perhaps
the most spectacular is E. ‘Cleopatra’ and its look-alike relatives. ‘Cleopatra’, with its pale pink,
white and green markings, is not particularly easy to grow, as it requires warm temperatures,
constant moisture and high humidity. But thousands of people do, and successfully!
Among the more recently introduced gesneriads are the Chiritas, most of which are
native to China. Some, like Chirita sinensis, are grown for their attractive leathery silver foliage,
but others, like C. ‘Aiko’, are grown for beautiful lavender, white or yellow flowers.
African Violets, Gloxinias and Cape Primrose.
Distribution The 125 genera and 2,000 or so species are mostly pantropical, but some
are temperate, in the Americas from Mexico to Chile, East, West and South Africa, Madagascar,
Southeast Asia, Polynesia, Australasia, China, Japan and southern Europe.
Diagnostic features Gesneriads are herbs and shrubs, rarely trees. The underground
parts may be fibrous, woody tubers, scaly rhizomes or aerial stolons. The flowers are bisexual,
irregular and borne in racemes, cymes or singly.
Evolution of about half of the New World gesneriads has been partly by co-adaptation
with bird pollinators, notably the hummingbird family that is restricted to the Americas. Typical
hummingbird flowers are two-lipped, often red as in Columnea, Asteranthera and some
Sinningia species. Other pollinators such as bees, bats, butterflies, moths and flies have also
been active in gesneriad evolution. In Hypocyrta, Besleria and Alloplectus some species have
pouched corollas with constricted throats, the significance of which is still not clear. The Old
World genus Aeschynanthus is considered a parallel development with Columnea in being bird-
pollinated.
Flowers are an important part of the pollination system in gesneriads but extra-floral
attraction also exists in some species, such as strikingly coloured leaf- and sepal-hairs, or leaf
pigmentation with stained-glass-like optical properties when viewed against the light.
Classification Notable New World genera include (Bold grown in Begonia House)
Columnea, l50 species of shrubs and climbers, often epiphytic;
Sinningia, 60 species of herbs, some popularly known as gloxinias;
Achimenes, 20 species of often hairy herbs with red to blue flowers;
Episcia, 40 species of small trailing evergreens;
Gesneria (47 species) and
Rhytidophyllum (20 species), two related genera with yellow-green, white or red
flowers; Gloxinia (not to be confused with the popular gloxinias), 15 species of herbs with lilac
bellflowers or cinnabar-red pouched flowers;
Smithiantha, four Mexican species with green or purple-brown velvety leaves and
pyramids of orange-red or yellowish tubular flowers; Phinaea, 10 species with whitish flowers;
Kohleria, 20 species often with racemes of orange-red flowers patterned inside with
contrasting spots and with brown-green velvety hairy leaves.
Notable Old World genera include
Ramonda, three species of stemless, hairy herbs from southern Europe with showy
flowers on leafless scapes;
Saintpaulia, 12 East African species mostly of rosette herbs;
Aeschynanthus, 70 species of trailing or climbing shrubs from the Far East;
Streptocarpus, 130 African species of evergreen herbs often with foxglove-like flowers;
Cyrtandra, 350 species from Southeast Asia and Oceania;
Jankaea (one species) and
Haberlea (one species), rosette alpines with lilac or violet flowers native to southern
Europe;
Chirita, 80 species of tropical Asian herbs with fleshy, often transparent parts and large
whitish, blue, purplish or yellow clustered flowers;
Titanotrichum, with a single species from China and Taiwan, with tubular flowers bright
yellow outside, blotched red-brown with a narrow yellow margin inside;
Conandron, three Japanese species of alpine rosette herbs regarded as the counterpart
of Ramonda;
Petrocosmea, 15 species from Southeast Asia similar to Saintpaulia.
The temperate Andean genera Asteranthera, Mitraria and Sarmienta, all climbers with
red flowers, and Rhabdathamnus, a shrubby New Zealand genus with attractive red-striped
yellow flowers, do not easily fit into either Old or New World Subfamilies, and their own
subfamily MITRARIOIDEAE has been proposed by certain botanists,
Economic uses Some species have been reported as being used in rural medicine, but
the importance of the family lies in its cultivated ornamentals. Popular garden and house plant
genera include Achimenes, Columnea, Episcia, Gesneria, Haberlea, Hypocyrta, Kohleria,
Mitraria, Ramonda, Saintpaulia (African violet), Sinningia (Gloxinias), Smithiantha,
Streptocarpus (Cape primrose) and Aeschynanthus.
History 1882
Adalbert Emil Walter Redliffe le Tanneux von St. Paul-Ilaire (known
as Baron Walter), Governor of the Usambara District of German East Africa, collected seed and
plants of a small herb which were sent to his botanically-inclined father, who forwarded them to
Hermann Wendland, Director of the Berlin Royal Botanic Garden. Wendland cultivated the
plants and recognised them as representing a new species in a new genus, i.e. Saintpaulia
ionantha. In the generic name Saintpaulia he recognised the father and son; the specific
name he assigned means violet (Gr. ion) flower (Gr. anthos). In Germany these plants still
bear the common name Usambara veilchen, in English they are called African violets. In their
native Usambara cloud forests, the plants are threatened with extinction.
1925 The Los Angeles-base Armacost and Royston nursery acquired seed of
Saintpaulia (African violets) from Europe. From a thousand seedlings, a very
few were selected. One of their introductions, ‘Blue Boy’ became an important
parent for future development of African violet cultivars, giving red and pink
seedlings, and even yielding a sport with double flowers.
Ginkgo biloba
The Maidenhair Tree is the only living tree from this group of Gymnosperms.
Originally comprising some 18 species, they are about 225 million years old. There were
common 150 million years ago during the ages of the dinosaurs. It was found through
Asia, Europe, and North America. About 7 million years ago it disappeared from the fossil
record in North America, and by about 2.5 millions years ago from Europe. It is mentioned in
Chinese literature in the 11 th Century.
Scientists thought it had become extinct, but a German Engelbert Kaempfer discovered
it in China in monasteries and in palace and temple gardens, where Buddhist monks had
cultivated it since 1100 BC. Seeds were first imported into Europe in 1700. It is now thought
to be extinct in the wild; the populations that do exist are probably from dispersions of seed
from cultivated populations.
Medical use dates back to 2800 BC in China. The earliest record of medical use state
that aging members of the royal court were suffering senility. As the emperor looked out of his
window, a voice whispered, “the tree you are looking at will restore the minds of your relatives
and friends”. He instructed his staff to pick some leaves and create a brew out of them. This
tea was served to those affected several times a day. Within weeks they had regained of their
lost memories. The seeds are more frequently used than leaves however.
It may be the oldest living seed plant. Individual trees can live longer than 3000
years. The plant contains a high chemical content, providing it strong disease and pest
resistance facilitating its longevity. In the 1923 Tokyo earthquake and subsequent fire,
many Ginkgo trees survived while others trees died. A temple was saved because of the many
Ginkgos that surrounded it. The branches and leaves are thought to secrete a sap that acts a
fire retardant.
At the end of the Second World War II Ginkgo trees one kilometre from the epicentre of
the atomic bomb blast were the first trees to bud after the blast without major deformations,
and the trees are still alive. .
There are male and female trees. Male trees only are usually cultivated as the female
produces seeds that smell of vomit when they fall on the ground and decay.
It is widely grown as an ornamental (male trees).
The seeds provide a food source when roasted. The leaves are used by the Chinese and
Japanese as an herbal medicine to treat mental disease, skin and head sores and freckles. The
Chinese still use extracts to tread asthma, stomach pain, skin diseases and anxiety. The
powdered leaf is inhaled for ear nose and throat disorders. Boiled leaves are applied to
chilblains, and the leaf is also used as a wound plaster. The tree is widely cultivated for
meeting the demands for medical preparations. .
Glowworms
There are glowworms in the Garden that are readily accessible for all to visit and enjoy.
There is no need to go many miles to the likes of the Waitomo Caves when there is a great
display at your back door. Glow worms are widely distributed in this country, and can be found
on damp sheltered banks, caves etc. in many places in New Zealand.. Numbers can be affected
by droughts etc.
HISTORICAL
Glowworms have been studied in the Wellington Botanic Garden since the end of the
19th Century. Early entomologists believed the NZ Glow worm was a relative of the European
firefly. Interestingly, the European firefly is not a fly, but a beetle. The name game is further
confused when it is noted the NZ glowworm is not a worm, - but a fly!!
The scientific name of the New Zealand glowworm is Arachnocampa luminosa, a crude
translation being 'glowing spider bug'. The reference to spiders is in regard to their 'spider web'
snares produced by the larvae. .
. The Maori have named these insects 'titiwai' meaning 'projected over water', which
describes their general habitat along streams. The name 'pura toke' is also used, meaning 'one
eyed worm' or 'blind worm’.
The European settlers found the glowworms when they arrived in the country and were
immediately fascinated with them. The earliest published reports were of insects found in drives
in the Thames Goldfields.
The true nature of these insects was first described by a young 18 year old English man
George Vernon Hudson, living in Karori Wellington, only a short distance from the Garden. On
arrival in Wellington he commenced studying them, and in 1886 said they were the larvas of a
two-winged fly, a 'fungus gnat'. He had studied them along the Garden's Puketea Stream since
arriving to Wellington in 1883. In conjunction with Albert Norris they were able to unravel the
life history over the next 10 years. Hudson spent in total some 60 years studying and writing
about them and other insects in this country while working for the Post Office.
LIFE HISTORY
The Glow Worm adults live for a short time only; 1-2 days for the female and 3-5
days for the male. The adults cannot eat, only the larvae being able to ingest food. The adult is
slightly larger than the mosquito, about 15 mm long. The 'self adhesive' eggs are laid in clusters
of 30-40 on banks and in crevices, each female laying on average 130 whitish eggs which
darken with age. They are some 0.75 mm in diameter and hatch in about 3 weeks. On
emerging, the larvae light up immediately, and are the stage of the insect that most people will
see. They are about 3-5 mm long, and grow over the next 6 to 9 months to 30 mm long, the
length of a matchstick. In caves with a more assured food supply they can grow to 40 mm long.
The larva is the only stage that feeds on small insects, midges and flies, and even other glowworms. There are 5 instars; the larvae moult 4 times during this period.
At night it is difficult to appreciate their homes, but with a torch you can see the
interesting structures they have built. They form a horizontal suspended tube of silk and mucus
from which they suspend their silk fishing lines, with droplets of a sticky mucus to catch small
gnats and flies, attracted by the glowing lights. These lines can be up to 50 cm long in protected
caves, but in the Gardens are normally some 20 to 50 mm long because of the wind. The lines
are coated with globules of sticky mucus that traps any insects that comes into contact with it.
It is thought the globules also contain a paralysing chemical to stop the trapped insect
struggling and causing damage to the snare.
The larvae pupate for about 12 days. Both the pupa and adult are able to continue
glowing. The pupa is transparent, and is some 12-15 mm long. The female in the pupa can glow
very brightly during the last 2-3 days before emerging to attract males. A number of males are
often seen on the pupa awaiting the female to emerge, mating often occurs immediately the
female emerges. During this time the male flies around in search of the female, who produces
the brightest light to attract them. On emerging from the pupa the adults move around the
habitat, but neither are strong fliers, the weighty female carrying her load of eggs can travel
short distances only.
The brightness of the lights can vary,. When the insect is hungry it will generally glow
more brightly. Females in the pupa can glow very brightly, and also female adults, in both cases
to attract mates. Occasionally two larvae will fight over space, and will glow very brightly in an
attempt to assert their dominance.
Larvae in particular are terrestrial, and will fight if they believe their space is invaded.
Often the looser will be the winner’s dinner. This territorial display results in the insects being
quite evenly distributed in colonies, a feature which is readily apparent when you look at their
display of glowing lights.
The light emitted by the insect is bioluminescence, the result of a chemical reaction that
involves several components- luciferin a waste product, luciferase an enzyme that acts on
luciferin, and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), an energy molecule, and oxygen. These combined
form an electronically excited product capable of emitting light.
GENERAL COMMENTS
You will see plenty of larvae. You may see some pupa, especially from April to
July, but adults, because they are so small and short lived, are rarely seen unless caught in a
snare or spiders web. In caves the greatest numbers of larvae have been identified from
October to February, and this seasonality is likely to exist in the Garden. Glowworm colonies are
found over quite extensive areas in the Wellington Botanic Garden. George Hudson noted that
the best displays were seen under humid conditions with a light north west wind.
When George Hudson studied the insects in the 1880's, he had to wade up the bed of
the Puketea Stream, at the bottom of a steep gully. Subsequent development of the Garden has
cut paths into the hills creating banks, many with overhanging areas along which the
glowworms have found attractive to live. They are now present in considerable numbers, and
can be easily seen from those paths in two main areas within the Garden.
The Glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa is unique to New Zealand, although 3 similar
species are found in Australia, in Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. There are also
reports of another species in Fiji.
If you look for them don't make too much noise, or shine torches on them too much, or
they will go out. Please do not touch or remove, as they cannot survive away from their natural
habitat.
Gloxinia speciosa – correctly Sinningia speciosa
The species from which Florists Gloxinias were derived came from Brazil in 1785.
The name Gloxinia speciosa was originally assigned in 1817 by Conrad Loddiges, an English
Nurseryman, in honor of P.B. Gloxin of Strasburg, Germany. In 1825, the species was renamed,
placing it in the correct genus, Sinningia. The modern Gloxinia is a hybrid from two Brazilian
tropical species; Sinningia speciosa and Sinningia maxima. It arose as a chance seedling raised
by a Scottish gardener, John Fyfiana, in the nineteenth century.
. Although incorrect, the name Gloxinia has remained in use. Gloxinia belongs to the
Gesneriad family, Gesneriaceae. Through hybridisation and Selections Gloxinias may be singleor double-flowered with colours ranging from pure white to pink, lavender, and red to dark
purple. For commercial production, plants are grown from seeds. A plant with a large single
head of flowers can be produced using this method in approximately six to seven months
The gesneriad family contains over 2,500 species of plants. Perhaps the best-known
member of the gesneriad family is the African Violet..
Gloxinias, valued for their spectacular flowers and velvety foliage, grow from
underground stems called tubers. Gloxinia tubers are usually sold during the winter in garden
centres or they may be purchased from mail order companies specializing in gesneriads.
Gloxinia plants are often available in full bloom from florist shops.
Planting- Gloxinia Tubers
Gloxinia tubers are planted individually in 4 to 6 inch pots. (Azalea pots, those that are
wider than high, are ideal.)
Place a clay shard over the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot to prevent the hole
from becoming clogged with soil.
Place a thin layer of washed gravel in the bottom of the pot to improve drainage.
Fill the pot ¾ of the way to the top with a growing medium. Packaged potting soil with
perlite added to it in a 2:1 ratio is an acceptable mix and does not require sterilization. A variety
of homemade mixes, such as equal parts of peat moss, well-rotted leaf mold, rich productive
garden soil, and sand, have been used with great success. Such a mix must be sterilized in a
180, oven for 30 minutes before being used. Plants will benefit from mixing a teaspoon of
bonemeal into the bottom of the growing medium at planting time.
Set the tuber in the centre of the pot, indented side up. Then cover the tuber with about
an inch of growing medium.
Tap the pot several times against a hard surface to firm the soil around the tuber. After
planting, soak the soil thoroughly with tepid water. From this point on, water sparingly until
growth appears.
Place the pot in a sunny warm window.
Approximately 3 weeks after the tubers are planted, leaves will appear. Tubers planted
in late winter or early spring will usually bloom around July or August. Those started in the fall
will bloom in about 5 months.
General Care
Water and Humidity
Plants should be watered when the top layer of soil feels decidedly dry to the touch.
Always water thoroughly, either from above or below. To water from below, fill a saucer with
water, set the pot in the saucer until the top layer of soil feels moist. Then, discard any water
remaining in the saucer. If water is accidentally splashed on the foliage, do not place plants in a
sunny spot until the water dries or leaves may be burned. Gloxinias grow best when relative
humidity is in the 50-60% range. To increase humidity, place plants on watertight trays filled
with well-moistened pebbles. The water from the pebbles will evaporate and humidify the air
surrounding the plants.
Light
Gloxinias grow best in a window that faces south or east. However, in summer, plants
should be protected from strong sunlight which may cause foliage burn. Closing sheer curtains,
or partially closing Venetian blinds, will supply the needed protection. Also, gloxinia flowers will
last longer if plants are moved to a shaded spot once the blossoms have fully opened. Gloxinias
have been grown with great success under artificial light. Various types of self-contained light
units designed specifically for plant growth may be purchased. Also, standard fluorescent light
fixtures may be hung from or installed in bookcases. There are several books on the market
devoted to light gardening and many of them discuss in detail the artificial light requirements of
gloxinias.
Fertilizer
Gloxinias should be fertilized regularly. Fish emulsion used every 2 weeks is
recommended by some growers. Others alternate between fish emulsion and a water soluble
chemical house plant fertilizer, applying one or the other every 2 weeks. Begin fertilizing young
plants grown from tubers when the leaves have grown above the pot's rim.
Propagation
Gloxinias are easily propagated by leaf cuttings which can be rooted in water. Remove a
healthy medium sized leaf with about 1 inch of the leafstalk attached to the blade. Fill a small
glass with water and cover the top with aluminum foil. Make a hole in the foil with a pencil and
insert the petiole in the hole. Place the cutting in an area where it will receive filtered light.
Roots should form in about 2 weeks. When roots are still very small, plant the cutting up to the
leaf blade in a 2½ to 3 inch pot containing a soil mixture like those described above. Water the
cutting whenever the top layer of soil feels dry to the touch. Approximately 6 weeks later, new
leaves will begin appearing. At that time, the pot should be moved to a sunnier location. When
the leaves have grown above the pot's rim, transplant into a 4 inch container. Begin fertilizing
newly propagated plants a few weeks after they have been repotted. Tubers will form
underground on plants started from leaf cuttings.
Grooming
Often, more than one plant grows from a single leaf cutting or from a single tuber. All
but the strongest plant should be cut off at the soil level while they are still very small. Gloxinia
flowers are most attractively displayed when growing out from the centre of a single plant.
Dormancy
At the end of the growing period, after gloxinias have flowered, continue to water until
the leaves begin to yellow. Then, gradually decrease watering until all the foliage has
completely yellowed. Once the leaves dry out, remove them and store the pots containing the
tubers in a cool dark place. (The storage area should be from 50 to 60 oF.) During storage,
water only enough to prevent the soil from completely drying out. When growth appears again,
repot the tubers in a fresh soil mixture, like those described above, and gradually bring plants
back into the light. The entire cycle will be repeated year after year.
Miniature Gloxinias
Closely related to the handsome Sinningia speciosa are miniature Sinningias, most of
which measure 1 to 4 inches across. The miniatures require more humid conditions than their
larger relatives. They also require less light. Artificially lit terrariums create an ideal
environment for these tiny plants. Miniature gloxinias are available from commercial growers
who specialize in gesneriads.
Gondwanaland
Ancient Southern Continent, South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia, New
Zealand. All were part of Gondwanaland, more than 100 million y. ago, separated out by seafloor spreading or plate tectonics, leading to Continental Drift. Gondwanaland continued during
the Triassic and Jurassic.
Before then pollen grains and leaf impressions show ancestors of: Podocarps,
Araucarians, Ginkgo, Lycopods, Ferns. Also modern Podocarps: matai. Miro, Kahikatea, Totara.
No land animal fossils from the Jurassic, but probably: tuatara, Native frog, and many
invertebrates in New Zealand 150 million y.a.
After drifting apart, differences developed because of different climatic conditions.
Break-up began in the Creatceous. By 140 m.y.a. Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica were
all separate. Up till then there were no Angiosperms (flowering plants)
Then in the Cretaceous evolution of Angiosperms. Some evolved before New Zealand
was completely cut off
The sequence of geological formations
in which plant fossils arc found.
EPOCH
PERIOD
YEARS BACK
PROM PRESENT
DOMINANT PLANT TYPES
Cenozoic
LATE CENOZOIC
25, 000, 000
Rise of modern herbs, Great climatic changes.
EARLY CENOZOIC
60, 000, 000
Modernization of flowering plants. Gymnosperms and
cycads dwindle.
UPPER
CRETACEOUS
110.000, 000
LOWER
CRETACEOUS
JURASSIC
140, 000, 000
Mesizoic
175, 000, 000
Rapid rise and distribution of angiosperms Conifers and
cycads still abundant.
Conifers very abundant; cycad-like plants; first known
angiosperms.
Paleozoic
TRIASSIC
200.000, 000
PERMIAN
240, 000, 000
UPPER
CARBONIFEROUS
LOWER
CARBONIFEROUS
280, 000, 000
DEVONIAN
350, 000.000
Early land plants. Possible ancestors of lycopods,
horsetasils and ferns.
SILURIAN
380, 000, 000
First known land plants. Algae dominate.
ORDOVICIAN
440, 000, 000
Marine algae known from this period.
CAMBRIAN
550, 000, 000
Structures considered algae known from this period*
310, 000, 000
Seed ferns disappear; great increase in gymnosperms
Extensive Climatic changes. Some plant group's
become extinct.
Seed-bearing ferns primitive gymnosperms; ancient
lycopods and horse-tails very abundant Great coal
beds formed,
(mya = million years ago)
Time scale is from Berkeley University.
It illustrates some of the differences in time scales
from various sources, as well as giving time ranges.
Phanerozoic Eon
Cenozoic Era
(65 mya to today)
(544 mya to
present)
Mesozoic Era
(245 to 65 mya)
Paleozoic Era
(544 to 245 mya)
Precambrian
Time
(4,500 to 544
mya)
Proterozoic Era
(2500 to 544 mya)
Quaternary (1.8 mya to today)
Holocene (11,000 years to today)
Pleistocene (1.8 mya to 11,000 yrs)
Tertiary (65 to 1.8 mya)
Pliocene (5 to 1.8 mya)
Miocene (23 to 5 mya)
Oligocene (38 to 23 mya)
Eocene (54 to 38 mya)
Paleocene (65 to 54 mya)
Cretaceous (146 to 65 mya)
Jurassic (208 to 146 mya)
Triassic (245 to 208 mya)
Permian (286 to 245 mya)
Carboniferous (360 to 286 mya)
Pennsylvanian (325 to 286 mya)
Mississippian (360 to 325 mya)
Devonian (410 to 360 mya)
Silurian (440 to 410 mya)
Ordovician (505 to 440 mya)
Cambrian (544 to 505 mya)
Tommotian (530 to 527 mya)
Neoproterozoic (900 to 544 mya)
Vendian (650 to 544 mya)
Mesoproterozoic (1600 to 900 mya)
Paleoproterozoic (2500 to 1600 mya)
Archaean
(3800 to 2500 mya)
Hadean
(4500 to 3800 mya)
NZ Gondwanaland examples in garden
The New Zealand landmass, from which New Zealand as we know it today evolved, was
until about 80 million years ago part of the super continent of Gondwana. Continental plate
tectonics activity then moved New Zealand about 2000 km to the east of what became
Australia, where it has remained in isolation since then. During all that time and until now New
Zealand's geological history has been rich: its location at the contact of two continental plates
resulted in continuous volcanic and tectonic activity (earthquakes), and mountain building. The
result is, on a relatively small area, a great variety of landforms and landscapes. Having
remained isolated from the rest of the world for about 60 million years, the original Gondwana
species present in the early New Zealand landmass evolved into the rich, distinctive and often
unique character of modern New Zealand native flora and fauna
Creeping Fuchsia (Fuchsia procumbens) N.Z. 100 spp., all but 5 in S Amer. (4 in N.Z. I
in Tahiti). Various Fuchsia cultivars developed originally from South American species
Kotukutuku Tree Fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata) N.Z.
Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) N.Z.
20 spp. N.Z. to Malaya
Puriri (Vitex lucens) N.Z.
Widespread Genus, tropics and sub-tropics
Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis) N.Z. 15 spp. India, Australia, the Pacific, S.
America
Black mamaku (Cyathea medullaris) N.Z.
Relatives originally in Gondwanaland
Ponga (Cyathea dealbata) N.Z.
Relatives originally in Gondwanaland
Wheki (Dicksonia squarrosa) N.Z
Lord Howe tree fern (Cyathea brownii) Lord Howe Island
Nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida) N.Z. 1 N.Z., 1 Kermadek Is., 1 Norfolk Is.
Guinea
Selaginella
Rimu red pine (Dacrydium cupressinum) N.Z. relatives in Malaya, Indonesia, Fiji, New
Totara (Podocarpus totara)
N.Z relatives in Tasmania, S.-E. Australia
Matai black pine juveniles (Podocarpus spicatus) N.Z.
Kauri (Agathis australis) N.Z.
Family Araucariaceae, 2 genera, Agathis and
Araucaria
Red Beech (Nothofagus fusca)
1 of 4 in N.Z, also S. America, Australia, New
Caledonia, New Guinea (see material under ‘Nothofagus”)
Black Beech (Nothofagus solandh var.solandri) N.Z. (See material under
‘Nothofagus”)
Mosses and liverworts on bank.
Tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) N.Z.
Family Lauraceae, mainly tropical
Kohekohe, with flowers and fruit (Dysoxylum spectabile} N.Z. Family Meliaceae, mainly
tropical /sub-tropical
Hinau (Elaeocarpus dentatus) N.Z.
Family Elaeocarpaceae, most tropical
Cook's Pine (Araucaria columnaris)
Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii)
Australia
Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) Norfolk Island
Monkey-Puzzle (Araucaria araucana) South America (Chile, Argentina, Tierra del
Fuego)
See material under ‘araucaria’
King Fern (Marratia) N.Z.
Taraire (Beilschmiedia tarairi) N.Z.
Tanekaha (Phyllocladus trichomanoides) N.Z.
Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacryoides)
N.Z. relatives in Malaya, Indonesia, Fiji, New
Guinea
Rewa rewa (Knightia excelsa)
N.Z. 3 spp., 2 in N.Z. 1 in New Caledonia
Grevillea
The genus Grevillea is probably the most popular and widely cultivated of all of
Australia's plant genera. The reasons for this are not difficult to find. The plants occur in
numerous shapes and sizes so that there is a Grevillea for almost any conceivable garden
situation. Added to this are the colourful flowers that, in many cases, attract birds.
Grevillea is a member of the Protea family (Proteaceae) and its close relatives include
Banksia, Hakea, Dryandra, Isopogon and Telopea (the Waratah).
Grevillea is named after Charles Francis Greville who was one of the founders of the
Royal Horticultural Society in 1804.
There are over 300 species, the largest genus in the Proteaceae in the genus, most of
which are endemic to Australia but a few species occur in Papua New Guinea and islands to
Australia's north.
The flowers of Grevillea species are quite small but they occur in clusters (an
inflorescence) that, in some species, may consist of perhaps 100 or more individuals. The
inflorescences can be quite variable in arrangement but two that are commonly recognised are
the "spider" flower arrangement in which the flower styles arise from a rounded inflorescence
like the legs of a spider, and the "toothbrush" arrangement, in which the individual flowers are
grouped into a short inflorescence along one side of the floral axis. Another common
inflorescence, particularly in cultivated plants, is the large "brush" shape where the flowers are
clustered into cylindrical racemes usually at the ends of branches where they are very
conspicuous.
Grevilleas can be seen in flower at most times of the year but winter to early spring
would be the peak flowering period. Following flowering, thin-walled seed pods develop, each
containing one or two seeds. The pods open when the seed is mature. Seeds often have a
papery wing to allow them to be distributed by the wind but this is not a universal feature. The
majority of grevilleas occur in areas where bushfires are relatively frequent. Although a few can
regenerate from lignotubers or epicormic buds after a fire, most are killed by fire and rely on
seed germination for their continued survival.
Most grevilleas are small to medium shrubs but some are prostrate and a few can
become large trees. The various species hybridise readily and most of the named cultivars
and hybrids available in nurseries have resulted from chance hybridisation. Some
deliberate breeding is being undertaken by Grevillea enthusiasts.
One of the great features of grevilleas in gardens (apart from the colourful flowers) is
that many attract honey-eating birds which act as pollinators for the plants. A number of
species rely on other methods of pollination, eg, beetles, moths, bees, ants, and even small
marsupials.
Ranging from prostrate shrubs to forest trees, all evergreen. The largest, and bestknown species, is Grevillea robusta, the silky oak.
Grevillea has a long flowering season, and the bush-sized species are among the most
important indigenous garden shrubs in Australia. The tree species are fairly long-lived, but the
shrubs grow very quickly and tend to die out after about ten years. The flowers are rich in
nectar, and are pollinated by birds, so planting Grevillea is a good way to attract birds (and
bees) into the garden.
The Aboriginal people sucked the nectar from the flowers or shook it into water and
drank it. The seeds of some species were eaten. An infusion made from mashed inner bark was
used to treat sores. Dried sap was grated and sprinkled on to sores, burns, and cuts to aid rapid
healing. The caustic coating on the fruits was used to make markings on the skin for ceremonial
purposes.
Hakea
Hakea is another member of the Proteaceae. Features it has that enable it to grow in a
harsh climate are the leaves and the seed capsules. Woody seed capsule protects the seed
from heat and desiccation.
As in Banksia, the flowers contain a lot of nectar, to attract pollinators.
Some Hakeas have lignotubers. Some grow very slowly in dry inland climates. They
produce a close-grained timber which is very hard, and was used by some Aboriginal
people for spear heads, shields, firesticks, spear throwers, digging sticks, axe handles and
corroboree sticks. Children ate the seeds of Hakea arborescens, and an infusion from the leaves
and fruits was used as wash for scabies.
Hakea is a member of the Protea family (Proteaceae) and its close relatives include
Banksia, Grevillea, Dryandra, Isopogon and Telopea (the Waratah).
Hakea is named after Baron Christian Ludwig von Hake a German patron of botany.
There are about 130 named species in the genus with a number of others that are yet to be
formally described. All species of Hakea are endemic to Australia. Hakeas can be found in
many different environments; the tropics, mountains, the coast and desert areas. The most
diversity in the genus occurs in the south of Western Australia.
Although there are many ornamental and colourful species in the genus, Hakea has not
achieved the same popularity in cultivation as its relatives Grevillea and Banksia. In some
ways Hakea forms a link between those two genera having hard woody seed pods with Banksialike seeds while the flowers occur in Grevillea-like clusters.
The flowers of Hakea species are quite small but they occur in clusters (an inflorescence)
which, in some species, may consist of perhaps 100 or more individuals. The inflorescences can
be quite variable in arrangement but two that are commonly recognised are the "spider" flower
arrangement, in which the flower styles arise from a rounded inflorescence like the legs of a
spider (as in many grevilleas), and the "pincushion" shape where the flowers occur in a
globular-shaped cluster. Another arrangement is an elongated "brush" shape where the flowers
are clustered into cylindrical racemes usually at the ends of branches where they are very
conspicuous.
Many (but by no means all) hakeas have stiff leaves with sharp points. This feature has
probably contributed to the relatively slow uptake of the genus in general horticulture but it
does make hakeas excellent plants for boundaries or places where it is desired to restrict
access. It also makes them ideal plants to offer protection to birds from predators such as cats.
Hakeas generally flower in winter and spring. The flowers are followed by hard, woody
seed pods each containing two seeds and, in the majority of species, these pods remain tightly
closed unless stimulated to open by heat, such as following a bushfire, or by the death of the
plant. The seeds themselves have a papery wing that allows them to be distributed by wind.
Those species native to areas where fires occur at regular intervals often have a "lignotuber", a
woody swelling at or below ground level from which regeneration of the plant can occur if the
above ground stems are destroyed.
Most hakeas are small to medium shrubs but some can reach small tree proportions.
There are no truly prostrate species despite the existence of a species called H. prostrata (this
may be prostrate in some forms but is commonly a small tree!). Unlike its relative Grevillea,
chance hybridisation in Hakea is virtually unknown and there are few named cultivars. There is
little or no deliberate breeding being undertaken with the genus.
One of the great features of hakeas in gardens is that many attract honey-eating birds
which act as pollinators for the plants. A number of species rely on other methods of pollination,
eg, beetles, moths, bees, ants, and even small marsupials
They produce a very hard, close-grained timber, that was used by some Aboriginal
people for spear heads, shields, fire sticks, spear throwers, digging sticks, and axe handles. An
infusion made from Hakea was used as a wash for scabies.
Hardwoods:
Dicotyledonous trees, usually broadleaf and deciduous, which can be divided into
two broad timber groups:

Soft hardwoods: Soft-textured hardwoods such as red and silver maples,
liquidambar, tulip tree, magnolia, sycamore, black cherry, willow, and elm.

Hard hardwoods: Hard-textured hardwoods such as sugar maple, birch,
hickory, dogwood, beech, ash, holly, black walnut, mulberry, and all commercial oaks, eucalypts
softwoods: Gymnosperms; CONIFERS, usually evergreen, having needles or
scalelike leaves.

Yellow (hard) pines: Pinus mugo, nigra, sylvestris, tabuliformis, canariensis,
halepensis, pinaster, roxburghii, pinea, taeda, coulteri, sabiniana, torreyana, jeffreyi, muricata,
radiata, patula.

Other softwoods: Cypress, western red cedar, white-cedar, Pinus strobus and
wallichiana, eastern hemlock, spruce, and fir.
Hardwoods
Name
Beech
Uses
A very hard wood
used for
furniture, floors,
veneers and
wooden toys.
Advantages
Hard, tough and
very strong. The
close grain
withstands wear
and shocks.
Boat building,
garden furniture,
quality furniture
and gate posts.
Very strong and
durable. It is both
hard and strong.
Easier to use than
beech.
Turnery, garden
furniture when
correctly treated.
Some furniture.
Elastic, tough,
durable, does not
split easily,
medium weight,
good for use
under water.
It is naturally
durable to
moisture because
of its oil content.
It does not
corrode iron and
steel fittings. it is
hard and strong.
Available in wide
and long boards.
Easy to work,
fairly strong.
It is cheaper than
mahogany.
European
Oak
Elm
Ships decks,
garden furniture,
veneers.
Teak
African
Mahogany
Meranti
Shop fittings,
furniture, and
veneers.
It is a mahogany
substitute,
furniture, and
interior joinery.
Can be used
Disadvantages
Not suitable for
outside work
because it is
not durable to
moisture
changes. It is
difficult to work
and does warp.
It is heavy and
expensive. It is
prone to
splitting and
because of its
tannic acid
content it can
corrode iron
and steel
fittings.
It will warp
unless well
seasoned.
Colour
White or pinkish.
It is difficult to
glue because of
the oil content.
It blunts tools
very quickly.
golden brown.
Warps,
Hardness
varies.
Pink to reddish
brown.
Does not polish
as well as
mahogany.
Dark red or yellow.
Light to dark brown.
Light reddish brown.
outside if
correctly
preserved.
High class
furniture.
African
Sometimes used
Walnut
as teak substitute
in furniture.
Sills, gates,
doors, stairs, and
Afrormosia
floors.
Attractive
appearance.
Available in larger
sizes.
It can be
difficult to
plane and
finish.
Bronze yellowishbrown with irregular
dark lines.
Works well,
durable.
Stains in
contact with
iron and
moisture.
Yellow to dark
brown.
Advantages
Fairly cheap and
readily available.
Easy to work and
finishes well.
Durable.
Disadvantages
Knotty.
Colour
Cream to pale
reddish brown.
The best quality
internal softwood,
attractive grain.
Available in long
and wide boards.
Works easily.
Resistant to
insect attack
because of
natural
preservative oils.
Weather and dry
rot. Knot free.
Very durable.
Very easy to
work.
Water resistant.
Knot free, durable
and easy to work.
Lacks
toughness.
Does tend to
warp and can
be expensive.
Pale yellow with
attractive streaks.
More expensive
than red or
whitewood. Not
that strong.
Dark reddish brown.
Splits easily.
Attractive reddish
brown.
Resistant to
splitting. Easy to
work.
Small hard
knots. Not
durable.
Plain creamy white.
Softwoods
Name
Redwood
Scots
pine,
pine, fir.
Parana
Pine
Uses
Suitable for all
types of inside
work. Used for
wood turning.
Can be used
outside with
suitable
preservatives.
Staircases and
furniture.
Cladding for the
outside of
buildings.
Western
Red Cedar
Douglas
Fir
Whitewoo
d Spruce
Outside
construction.
Ladders and
masts.
General outside
work.
Hector; Sir (Dr) James
The Governors of the NZ Institute, which was the forerunner of the Royal Society of NZ,
together with Dr James Hector, who later became Sir James Hector, as Manager, formed the
Botanic Garden Board, and administered the Botanic Garden for the first 22 years.
James Hector was a medical doctor, geologist and explorer. He was the Director of the
Colonial Museum and Geological Survey, Manager of the NZ Institute, and later Chancellor of
the University as well. He made an outstanding contribution to NZ science. Appointed by the
new central Government set up in Wellington in 1865 as its ‘scientific adviser’, it is interesting
to note that government consultants are nothing new!! He actively encouraged the
Government to establish the Garden (1869)
Heliotropium arborescens
The Garden Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) is a highly fragrant perennial plant, originally from Peru. It
is especially notable for its intense, rather vanilla-like fragrance. Common names include cherry pie and "common
heliotrope"
During the Victorian era in England this plant gained great recognition, often appearing in gardens and the
herbaceous borders of parks. Its popularity may have become less in more modern times, but hardy and colourful
varieties, such as 'Princess Marina', have ensured that this plant still regularly appears in seed catalogues and garden
centres. Other popular varieties include, 'Mary Fox', the highly scented 'White Lady' or 'White Queen' and a taller variety
'Florence Nightingale
Herb Garden
In 1970 the Herb Garden was established with 40,000 bricks from the houses
demolished in Glenmore Street for the site of the Anglican Church Mission. There were limited
funds, insufficient for the whole project, but it was said if the bricks could be got to the site by
Monday at no cost, finance to complete the project would be provided. A call for volunteers was
so successful all the bricks were transported by the time required.
Established with the assistance of the local herb society, it provides an extensive display
of herbs and Maori medicinal plants.
The Herb Garden provides a spectacular view of the Rose Garden.
Thyme
Thymits vulgaris Family: Lamiaceae
Other names: Common thyme, garden thyme. Ancient name
Thymon
Pharmaceutical name: HerbaThymai
Related Species: T.Azorisus (Azores thyme), T.Capitatus
(conehead thyme), T.
Cilicicus (Cicilian thyme), T.x citriodonus (lemon thyme), T.
herbaubarona (caraway thyme), T. pracox (creeping thyme),
T.serpyllum (mother of thyme). T. pseudolamuginosus (woody
thyme) and many variants.
Description: A small bushy perennial with many branches. The
new growth is soft becoming woody with age. They produce
tiny paired, grey-green leaves. In early spring flowers appear
whorls at the end of each stem (usually pale pink).
Propagation: Seed, root and stem cuttings & layering - often self seeds.
Cultivation: As it becomes woody in the 2nd year layering can rejuvenate it. Thyme
enjoys a sunny situation with well drained soils. Trim hard after flowering.
Harvesting: Pick as required including flowers - dry me pruned pieces for later use.
Nutrition: Vitamin B complex, C & d.
Minerals - rich in iodine, smaller amounts of sodium, silicon & sulphur. Home Remedies:
As a gargle for mouth & throat infections, an expectorant for coughs, bronchitis and asthma.
Aids digestion of fatty foods. Include in a vinegar for general cleaning around the home.
Culinary: Thyme is an important culinary herb. Add to stocks, marinades, stuffings,
sauces & soups. Add to chicken, fish, hot vegetables, fruit salads & jams. Companion Planting:
Bee attractant. Dried thyme sprinkled around cabbage family plants, deters white butterfly.
Thyme oil in incense burners purify sick-rooms, the oil is said to be ten times stronger than
carbolic acid as a disinfectant. Character^ A bit pungent, bitter & astringent, warm, dry. Crafts
& Home Remedies: A tea is a soothing digestive remedy and a tonic for exhaustion. Make a
decoction to stimulate circulation and a gargle for sore throats and swallow to clear phlegm as it
is an excellent expectorant. The leaves can be crushed and applied to minor wounds and warts.
Use in baths, facial steams, and ointments for spots 01 in v inegar for a household disinfectant.
Make a tea with rosemary for a hair rinse to deter dandruff. Use in pot pourri. Caution: Not to
be used in excess when pregnant - culinary use is O.K. •
Sage
Salvia officinalis Family: Lamiaceae
Other names: Sage the saviour and protector, ‘sssmssa’.
Species; Salvia has many species to its name but a few which can
be eaten S.dorisiana (fruit scented sage), S. elegans (scarlet
pineapple), S. rutilans (pineapple sage), S. fruticosa (greek sage),
S. lavan-dulifolia (Spanish sage). S. pomifera (apple-bearing sage).
The last three often used as commercial dried.
Description: A reasonably hardy bushy perennial, growing to
60 cms plus in height and 90 cms across. The woody root system
gives rise to many branches each bearing oblong grey-green entire leaves with a wrinkled
surface. The spiked flower heads have papery calices and are usually blue.
Propagation; By seed, root division, cuttings and layering. Cultivation: They thrive in full
sun, well drained rich soil with some wind protection. Prune back in autumn and some woody
stems will produce new growth. Tends to get too woody after 3 or 4 years and often dies. Parts
used: All aerial parts.
Harvesting: Leaves can be picked and used all year. Dry primings for storing and use for
cooking etc.
Nutrition:^- Vitamins- A, C & B complex. Minerals- calcium & potassium as well as small
amounts of sulphur, silicon, phosphorus & sodium Culinary; Best fresh, maybe dried, enhances
the flavour of meat and poultry dishes, use in sausages and stuffings. Great in vegetarian
dishes to. Character; Pungent, bitter, cool & dry. Slightly astringent Companion Plants: Sage
protects carrots from carrot fly and cabbages against the cabbage moth. Cabbages are more
tender when grown near sage. Dried sage sprinkled around plants will protect them from lice
and mildew. Craft & Home Remedies; - Leaves are attractive in wreaths & tussie mussies. Dried
leaves among linen to discourage insects. A smudge burning like incense, deodorises animal &
cooking smells. Sage has antiseptic properties (among others) therefore tea will be good as a
gargle for sore throats and a wash for cuts & grazes. Rub fresh leaf on teeth to whiten and use
as a mouth wash. Use for night sweats during menopause and for drying up breast milk when
weaning .
Caution: Avoid high doses during pregnancy or breast feeding as it dries up body fluids,
and avoid essential oil if suffering from epilepsy.
Globe Artichoke
Cynara scolymus Family Name: Asteraceae (The daisy family). Tribe Cardueae. Species:
Cyndara scolymus and closely related cardoons (C.cardunculus) were grown as vegetables by
the Greeks and Romans.
Other Common or Folk Names: French artichoke. Golden artichoke. Ancient nameSkolymon, Articoccus (latin) artischocke, artiskok, artichaut, artichiocco, cynarae folium,
carciofo
Description: Of the milk thistle family. A large hardy perennial
rosette herb 1 -2 m tall in flower. A name shared by three unrelated
plants, Jerusalem Artichoke, Chinese or Japanese Artichoke. But the
Globe Artichoke is considered the true artichoke. It has stout, ridged
stems, sometimes branching with fine white hairs. Basal leaves deeply
pinnatifid, 30-60x15-40cm with lanceolate lobes becoming smaller near
base, smooth greyish-green above, tomentose beneath, viscid. Midrib
stout and ridged. Stem leaves similar but becoming smaller and less
divided. Flower heads have, initially, fleshy outer and middle bracts,
opening to rich lilac blue. Blooms February -March.
Propagation: Grown from seed or division of clumps. Cultivation;
Easily grown in deep, rich, alkaline soil. The clumps die backafter
flowering. Drought tender but frost resistant. Best in full sun. Three feet
between plants. Parts used; The part we eat is the immature flower bud,
if the buds or 'globes' are not harvested, six inch blue thistle like flower
heads develop The edible portion of the 'globe' is composed of the fleshy
bases of the flower bracts and the receptacle to which the bracts are attached, known as the 'heart'. Or the powdered leaf at meal time. Culinary— Unopened flower
heads are boiled and eaten hot. Hearts of flowers can be baked or fried. Young leaves in salads
in spring—see over for recipes. Medicinal — Leaves contain cynarin a compound which improves
liver and gall bladder function and lowers blood cholesterol levels, these are harvested
continuously which increases cynarin content.
Nutrition: Vitamins A, B1,B2 and C. Minerals—iodine, small amounts of potassium.
Character; Sweet, bitter, slightly salty, cool, moist
Home Remedies: To take advantage of the antioxidant properties of Globe Artichoke, to
maintain a healthy liver. Take 1/2 teasp of the dried leaf powder in a fresh fruit smoothie daily.
If you grow your own plants, then it is easy to dry the leaves, just before the flower forms and
powder them. They will make a 'furry' type of powder not a smooth
one. Crafts: Flower heads, being a stunning blue, are great in floral
arrangements. Cautions: Even though no adverse reactions have
been reported. It has been recommended that pregnant and lactating
women should take care because of a milk curdling enzyme.
Garlic
Allium sativum
treacle
Family: Liliaceae - Yes it is a lily
Pharmaceutical name: - Bulbus Alii Other names: - Poor mans Theriack, countryman's
Description: - A perennial compound bulb usually grown as an annual. It consists of
many bulblets referred to as cloves held together with papery sheaths. Arising from a central
stalk the long narrow green leaves grow up to 30cm plus in length, if left the plant will produce
a stalk with a terminal head of white florets and tiny bulbils.
Propagation: - Traditionally the outer 'cloves' are planted singly on the shortest day of
the year and harvested on the longest ensuring plenty of water in the last month as this is when
bulbs fatten.
Cultivation: - Requires heavy feeding and watering. Garlic really enjoys composted
garden soil in full sun setting the cloves pointed end up 15cm apart. Tolerates frost.
Parts used: - Bulbs, which are divided into single cloves, and during the growing season
the leaves.
Nutrition; - Vitamins - A, Bl, C and E. Minerals—Selenium, germanium, sulphur, calcium,
magnesium, copper, potasium, zinc and some iron. Home Remedies: - Raw garlic has antibiotic
properties , taken as garlic bread (crushed or juiced), as a syrup with honey. Taken raw or
cooked it will lower cholesterol. For colds, mash one clove and mix with 1/2 cup of hot milk.
Repeat three times daily.
Character: - Very pungent, sweet, a bit salty, hot, very dry, stimulating dispersing,
decongesting, dissolving, diluting.
Culinary: - Garlic enhances the flavour of most meats, seafood and many vegetables.
Raw garlic predominates in sauce and is added as a condiment to butter, oil, vinegar and salt.
Companion planting: - Peas, beans, cabbage, strawberries do not like to be near garlic.
Mosquitoes keep away from garlic so planted in pots so that they can be moved around can be
very useful.
Cautions: - Use with care for the under 2 years as it can cause colic like symptoms. Care
should also be taken when eating whole or large amounts of fresh garlic on an empty stomach ,
could give gastro-intestinal disturbances. As it thins the blood, people on blood thinning
medications (I.e. warferin) should not use garlic in excess.
Hippeastrum
More than 70 species of Hippeastrum are natives of tropical South America, and are
found in two main regions: the Eastern slopes, and foothills of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, and
northern Argentina and Eastern Brazil
Almost all of the modern Hippeastrum Hybrids are the result of inter–breeding of 6 of the
largest species from the Andean region. Hybridising of Hippeastum has been carried out for
about 200 years, mainly in Holland and more recently in South Africa.
Cultivation - Dormant leafless Hippeastrums should be kept dry and at a temperature
of around 10 C during the winter. In spring the bulbs should be re-potted if required and the
temperature raised to around 20 C. When the bulb shows signs of growth with the appearance
of new leaves or a flower bud, gradually increase the watering, and make sure the plant has
good bright light. If the bulb is large enough it will flower in about 6 weeks, and a very large
bulb may produce several spikes in quick succession. Once the flowers have finished the plant
should be placed in full sun and kept well watered during the summer. In the autumn the leaves
will eventually begin to turn yellow and wither. As this occurs gradually reduce the water, and
cease watering completely once all of the leaves have died down. When the pot is dry it can be
stored in a cool dry place until spring.
Hippeastrums will normally only need re-potting every 2 – 3 years. Any general potting
mix will do, but a “Pot and Patio” mix is recommended. A newly potted plant will not need any
extra feeding, however, if the plant is not re-potted then supplementary feeding with a bulb
food should be given during the summer.
In regions where the winters are very mild and frosts are few and very light,
Hippeastrums will be quite happy in the garden in a well-drained sunny position, but should be
watered regularly in the summer.
Hippeastrum or Amaryllis?
Hippeastrums are sometimes incorrectly referred to as Amaryllis, their close relatives
from Africa.
Hippeastrums have hollow flower stems and fuzzy scales at the base of their petals. True
Amaryllis lacks these scales and has solid flower stems.
Hydrangea
Collection on Myrtle Way by araucarias
The name Hydrangea is Greek, meaning “water
vessel”. It is derived from the shape of its seed capsule.
This diverse group of plants contains roughly 7-45
different species with some 600 named hybrids. This
group consists of hardy and tender shrubs and woody
climbers. They are mostly deciduous plants, though a
few of the tender species are evergreen. They are natives
of the Himalayas, North and South America, and
central and eastern Asia.
These flowering shrubs have different flower
forms - from the large globes of the "mopheads" to the discs of the "lacecaps" to the thick
cones of oakleaf and panicle hydrangeas. They come in an array of colours from pure white to
brilliant crimson, pale lilac to intense azure. Some varieties produce blossoms with two-toned
colours, while some flowers have contrasting eyes, and some may even be speckled or striped
with another colour.
There are two kinds of florets in the flower heads. The sterile or ray florets are male
and form the large, colourful sepals on the outside of the flower head. The fertile or perfect
florets are small and inconspicuous. They bear the male and female parts and are usually found
in the centre of the cluster.
The flower heads of mophead hydrangeas consist almost entirely of sterile florets.
Besides for their lovely flowers, some hydrangeas are valued for their attractive foliage or bark.
The sizes of the plants range from dwarf (about 3 ft. high) to large bushes with stems over 10
ft. high. There are also climbing hydrangeas whose aerial rootlets can bring stems up to 80 ft.
high.
H. aspera subsp. sargentiana (Sargent Hydrangea) is an attractive medium- to largesized shrub with hairy shoots and large, plush leaves. The large, flat flower heads are produced
in mid- to late summer and are bluish with white ray florets. This variety is excellent for a
sheltered shrub border or woodland, but needs shade and wind protection. H. 'Ayesha' is a
deciduous shrub that has shiny green leaves and flattened, fragrant flower heads consisting of
cup-shaped florets, resembling those of the lilac. They are greyish lilac or pink, depending upon
the soil, eventually turning a greenish-blue to turquoise colour. H. macrophylla 'Altona' is a
mophead hydrangea with flower heads growing up to a foot in diameter. This deciduous plant
forms a small shrub with large, rose-coloured florets. This variety grows best in shade. H.
quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea) is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub valued for its splendid
autumn colours. The large, deeply lobed leaves resemble those of the Oak, thus the common
name. In late summer, conical heads of large, white, sterile florets are produced. H. serratifolia
is a tender, climbing hydrangea that grows best against a wall in sun or shade. It has small,
leathery leaves and columnar panicles, up to 6 inches long, of creamy coloured flowers.
POTTING: Hydrangeas are rather easy plants to grow. They prefer loamy, well drained,
acidic soil (pH 6.5 to 4.5) enriched liberally with organic matter. Most hydrangeas prefer quite a
bit of shade, although H. macrophylla and H. serrata will tolerate much more sun, but will still
flourish in mottled sun for part of the day. It is important to keep the roots moist and well fed
by covering with mulch; this is especially true with those planted near trees. They may also
need protection from spring frosts, which can kill the buds.
In some species, the flowers change colour according to the amount of aluminium and
level of acidity in the soil. H. macrophylla will produce blue flowers in acidic soil where more
aluminium is present. The lower the pH, the bluer the flowers. In neutral soil, they take
up less aluminium and the flowers are pink. On white flowers, only the eye colour of the
male flowers will change. To produce blue flowers even if your soil is neutral or alkaline,
add aluminium sulfate or sulfur to increase acidity. Plants grown in soil with a pH level
higher than 7 (alkaline) can also become chlorotic because of a lack of iron and must
be treated accordingly. Pruning should be done in late winter or early spring. This consists of
cutting off dead flower heads back to the first leaf node that has buds and dead, weak, or
crowded stems back to the base.
PROPAGATION: From April to August (our October to March), cuttings of hydrangeas
may be taken. The cuttings should be made from the ends of non-flowering shoots. Each shoot
should have two or three pairs of leaves. Remove the bottom pair of leaves and cut the stem
just below a joint. Insert them in well-packed sand in a greenhouse propagating case or in a
cold frame that is kept closed until they form roots. Shade them from bright light and sprits
with water on sunny days. Once they've formed roots, a little air should be allowed into the
frame or glass case. A few days after, the little plants can be potted individually in small
containers filled with equal parts of peat, leaf mold, sandy, lime-free loam and coarse grit.
VARIETIES: H. arborescens (Smooth Hydrangea) & var. Anabelle, Grandiflora; H.
aspera & var. Kawakamii group, Macrophylla, subsp. sargentiana (Sargent Hydrangea), Villosa
group; H. 'Ayesha'; H. heteromalla & var. Bretschneideri, Jermyns Lace, Snowcap; H.
involucrata & var. Hortensis; H. paniculata (Panicle Hydrangea) & var. Floribunda, Grandiflora
(Peegee Hydrangea), Greenspire, Kyushu, Pink Diamond, Praecox, Tardiva, Unique; H.
quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea) & var. Snowflake, Snow Queen; H. serrata & var. Blue Deckle,
Bluebird, Diadem, Grayswood, Preziosa, Rosalba.
Following are climbing species - H. anomala subsp. petiolaris (Climbing Hydrangea);
H. seemanii; H. serratifolia.
The Mopheads and Lacecaps that follow are all cultivars of H. macrophylla. The
mopheads have globe-shaped flower heads up to a foot in diameter and the lacecaps have disclike heads about 6 inches across. Unless otherwise stated, all are small, deciduous shrubs hardy
to temperatures as low as -20º F.
.
There are four different kinds of hydrangea: big leaf, oak leaf,
panicle, and smooth.
Hydrangea macrophylla
The bigleaf hydrangea is the
shrub that comes to most people’s
minds when they hear someone
say “hydrangea.” The flowers of
Hydrangea macrophylla can be
blue or pink or some shade in
between, such as lilac or purple.
These deciduous shrubs are
hardy, but in colder winters it may
be necessary to protect the bush
so that the flower buds do not
freeze. Most shrubs in this
category grow on old wood, that is,
branches that were grown the
previous summer. Flower buds are
formed on the stems around
August, September or October for
the following summer's blooms A
hard winter can kill the flower buds, so that the shrub survives but does not flower the following
summer.
Prune Hydrangea macrophylla cautiously. Deadwood can be cut out any time of the year.
In mature shrubs that need revitalization, about one-third of the stems can be removed at
ground level, which will stimulate new growth from the roots. The new stems will not produce
flowers until the following year. If light pruning is necessary to reduce size or shape the shrub,
stems can be cut back in June or July, after the shrub blooms but before buds form for the
following year. Shrubs can be deadheaded as needed.
A few bigleaf hydrangeas will flower on new wood –
branches grown in the current summer. They are often called
‘all summer’ or ‘endless summer’ varieties. These can be
grown and will bloom successfully in colder winter areas than
other Hydrangea macrophylla.
Hydrangea macrophylla grows more than eighteen
inches annually, reaching a mature height of five feet and
mature spread of five feet. There are two kinds of flowers. The
hortensias, or mophead, hydrangea has large, rounded flower
heads. The lacecaps have flatter heads made of showy sterile
flowers in a ring around a center of fertile, bead-like flowers.
The flowers will be blue when grown in acid soil, pink when
grown in alkaline soil. Adding aluminum sulfate will lower the
pH of the soil; adding dolomitic lime will raise the pH.
Hydrangea arborescens
These are sometimes called smooth hydrangeas. The most famous variety in this group
is Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'. Its beautiful flowers appear as pale green globes in early
summer. They slowly grow larger and turn white. The flowers can be as large as 10 inches
across, and may need some support if the shrub’s canes are weak. The flowers will remain on
the shrub for many weeks, slowly turning a pale brown.
‘Annabelle’ is easy to grow. This deciduous hydrangea is hardy from zone 3 to zone 9.
Some growers in zones 2 and 10 have grown the shrub successfully. In general, ‘Annabelle’
prefers cool winters, and it does not do well in the moist heat of Florida.
Hydrangea arborescens prefers rich moist soil, and it can be grown in sun or dappled
shade. Many growers find that it blooms best if it gets morning sun. The growth rate is rapid,
often more than 18 inches in a year. The shrub matures to a height of five feet and a spread of
five feet, with a rounded form.
Hydrangea arborescens blooms on new wood. In colder climates, it will die back to the
ground in the winter. In warmer climates, pruning severely in early spring will encourage larger
flowers. Because it does well with severe handling, it can be grown as an informal hedge.
Hydrangea quercifolia
Hydrangea quercifolia is sometimes called Oak-leaf Hydrangea, because its leaves are
shaped like oak leaves. It turns a bright red color in the fall. The Oak-leaf hydrangea is native
to the United States.
Oak-Leaved Hydrangea is hardy. The top growth dies back in winter, sometimes to the
ground. This shrub may need protection from high winds. It flowers in midsummer. The white
flowers are cone-shaped; they often fade to pink and then to tan.
Hydrangea quercifolia can be grown in sun or shade in moist soil. It will thrive in sunnier
and drier locations than most other hydrangeas can tolerate, but it needs excellent drainage in
wet areas. It is very susceptible to root rot in wet areas. Oak-leaved hydrangea grows twelve to
eighteen inches annually and matures to a height of six feet and a spread of eight feet.
Hydrangea paniculata
The panicle hydrangea is hardy and is native to North America. It bears white, coneshaped flowers in midsummer, which often turn to pink as they age. The most famous variety is
Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora', nicknamed ‘PeeGee’. In fact, this variety has been some
popular that many people call all panicle hydrangeas ‘peegees’.
This deciduous shrub grows more than eighteen inches annually. It matures to a height
of eight feet and a spread of ten feet, and has a rounded form. Panicle hydrangeas tolerate
pruning more easily than other hydrangeas do. They bloom on new wood, so they can be
pruned in the fall, winter, or spring. It is not necessary to prune them every year, although
dead or damaged wood should be removed promptly.
Although there is a large range of land in Great Britain in which Hydrangeas seem happy,
there are other inland and cold districts in which they make poor growth, or are cut down so
frequently that experiments come to little. I made a trial myself on a cool hill-side in Sussex
without getting any bloom or a healthy growth; but on the other hand we see, especially in the
south of England and Ireland, beautiful results in warm valleys and on sandy and alluvial soils
even from the use of one kind.
Related Flowers
Hydrangea Arborescens
Hydrangea Arborescens - A vigorous and hardy shrub, 4 feet or more high, flowering
freely July and August. Flowers a dull white, very small and crowded. Native of eastern N.
America, south of New York State. The variety grandiflora, a very beautiful form, with flowers
large and pure white, is from the mountains of Pennsylvania.
Syn. Hydrangea pekinensis
syn. Hydrangea pekinensis (Hydrangea Bretschneideri) - A Chinese shrub from the
mountains near Pekin. Planted in the full sun is said to make a very handsome shrub, vigorous
and hardy, and flowering in midsummer.
Nettle-leaved Hydrangea
Nettle-leaved Hydrangea (Hydrangea Hirta) - A dwarf shrub, 3 or 4 feet high, with
slender hairy branches and Nettle-like leaves. The leaves and branches become nearly or quite
glabrous with age. This, although not a showy species, seems to be a pretty, compact, dwarf
shrub, with numerous clusters of white flowers. A native of the mountains of Japan.
Hydrangea Hortensia
Hydrangea Hortensia - The common Hydrangea (H. Hortensia), from China, may be
grown well out of doors, but is not always satisfactory in the midlands and the north, being
liable to injury in winter. It likes a sheltered yet sunny spot and good soil. In order to get good
heads of bloom the Hydrangea must be pruned so as to induce the growth of strong shoots. In
favoured spots it reaches a height of 6 feet, making a beautiful object on a lawn or in the
shrubbery margin. From time to time, and especially in recent years, other forms have been
introduced and described, some of them as distinct species. Dr Maximowicz, who has had
opportunities of studying them in European and Japanese gardens, and also in a wild state,
arranges the following forms under H. Hortensia:—
Hydrangea Hortensia acuminata
Hydrangea Hortensia acuminata - A muchbranched shrub, 2 to 5 feet high; flowers blue.
It sports according to locality, and Maximowicz enumerates four such sports, viz.: In open
places and in a rich soil it is stouter, with erect thick branches, large, broad, firm leaves, and
larger flowers, with somewhat fleshy sepals; under cultivation it becomes more showy, passing
into H. Belzonii. In woods and on the shady banks of rivers it grows taller with slender stems,
pointed leaves, and much smaller flowers.
Hydrangea Hortensia japonica
Hydrangea Hortensia japonica - The H. japonica of Siebold and Zuccarinis Flora Japonica,
and the H. japonica macrosepala of Regels Gartenflora. It is exactly like acuminata, save that
the flowers are tinged with red, and the sepals of the barren flowers are elegantly toothed.
Hydrangea Hortensia Belzonii
Hydrangea Hortensia Belzonii - A short stout plant, with beautiful flowers, the inner
sterile ones being of an indigo-blue, and the enlarged sterile ones white, or only slightly tinged
with blue, and having entire sepals. There is a sport of this in which the leaves are elegantly
variegated with white. This was raised by Messrs Rovelli, of Pallanza.
Hydrangea Hortensia Otaksa
Hydrangea Hortensia Otaksa - This has all the flowers sterile and enlarged. A very
handsome variety with rich dark green leaves nearly as broad as long, and large hemispherical
heads of pale pink or flesh-colored flowers, very fine when well grown.
Hydrangea Hortensia communis
Hydrangea Hortensia communis - The old variety with rosy-pink flowers, commonly
cultivated in European gardens. It differs from the last in being perfectly glabrous in its longer,
less-rounded leaves, and in its deeper-colored flowers.
Hydrangea Hortensia stellata
Hydrangea Hortensia stellata - The chief character of this variety is in the flowers, which
are all sterile and double. The variety in cultivation has pink flowers, but they are described as
being either pale blue or rose, finally changing to a greenish color, and distinctly net-veined.
Climbing Hydrangea
Climbing Hydrangea (Schizophragma) - S. hydrangeoides is a Japanese climbing shrub
allied to the Hydrangea, with tall slender stems that send out roots which will fix it to a wall. Its
wood is soft, resembling that of the slower-growing Ivies, and it annually gives off fresh sets of
roots along its branches by means of which it clings to rocks, stone, stucco, bricks, and even
wooden palings. Its leaves are much less in size than those of the climbing Hydrangea, sharply
toothed at the edges, and of a lovely shade of green, which contrasts prettily with the reddish
tinted young wood. It is deciduous, of free growth, and flowers freely in sunny positions. The
sterile flowers, though similar in effect to those of the Hydrangea, are readily distinguished,
being composed of a single bract, whereas the Hydrangea flower is made up of four. I know one
case where a plant has grown in a sunny corner of the house near French windows, up the sides
of which there is lattice-work, and so charmed were the owners with the tender foliage,
feathering the coign of the window, that they made more lattice-work in front of the window so
that the creeper could extend and form a natural sunshade before the glass. In a few years a
plant had grown 11 feet high and as much in width.
Oak-leaved Hydrangea
Oak-leaved Hydrangea (Hydrangea Quercifolia) - This is a fine distinct kind, and though
not showy like the popular kinds, it is an excellent shrub, and one I have noticed growing with
fine vigour in seashore gardens. The leaves have a good deep color in the autumn, and the
flowers are beautiful, while old plants have a picturesque habit.
Hydrangea Sargentiana
Hydrangea Sargentiana - Of the several species of Hydrangea introduced from China,
this is the most distinct. The stems are stout and erect; the large and handsome leaves very
hairy on both surfaces, the upper one of a deep velvety green. The flower-heads are broad, but
the large white sterile blossoms are limited to a few outside the cluster, the small fertile ones
being of a bluish color. From a flowering point of view it is far from the showiest of the
Hydrangeas, but it is a distinct and striking species. An uncommon feature of the plant is the
large scale-like hairs with which the stems and leaf-stalks are covered.
Changing Hydrangea
Changing Hydrangea (Hydrangea Virens) - This is a remarkable and elegant shrub,
varying in height from 2 to 6 feet. The branches, straight, slender, and polished, bearing small,
thin, deeply-toothed leaves, 2 to 3 inches long, yellowish-green above and pale beneath, with
small clusters of flowers, some of which are sterile. Altogether this is a pretty little shrub, and it
is somewhat surprising that it has not been introduced, as it is common in the neighborhood of
Nagasaki in Japan.
Thomas Hogg
The white variety, Thomas Hogg, is a very fine one, now widely cultivated. Most of the
above-named deserve the attention of all who have soil and climate suited to these shrubs.
Related Flowers
Fortune's Hydrangea
Fortunes Hydrangea (Hydrangea Chinensis) - Near the last, but of more robust habit,
with leaves 3 to 5 inches long, and with cymes of flowers much large. If differs from H. virens in
the leaves, being green on both sides, and in the enlarged sepals being nearly equal in size,
much thicker—in fact, almost fleshy—in substance, and remaining on the branches until the
fruit of the fertile flowers is ripe. This species was collected by Mr Fortune in N. China.
Plumed Hydrangea
Plumed Hydrangea (Hydrangea Paniculata) - A shrub or small tree. According to
Maximowicz, the only Japanese Hydrangea that becomes a tree. It grows as much as 25 feet
high, with a dense rounded head and a straight trunk 6 inches in diameter. But it more
commonly forms a shrub a few feet high, bearing enormous panicles of flower. With the
exception of H. Hortensia, it is the commonest species in Japan, growing throughout that
country both in the mountains and the plains, being more abundant in the northern parts, and it
is said to vary very much. It is commonly cultivated by the Japanese. The clusters are often 1
foot long and half as much in diameter, but to get such flowers we must cultivate well and
prune the shrubs hard down in winter.
Idesia polycarpa
The Wonder Tree is a very ornamental plant from E. Asia - China, Japan. The flowers
have a most delicious perfume, which can be wafted far and wide by warm breezes. Trees
produce fruit regularly. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if fruit and seed is
required. Female plants can produce some fruit in the absence of a male plant
Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is a many seeded berry with a pulpy flesh, it is about
10mm in diameter
Ilex aquifolium
Holly is a large genus of some 200 species of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and
trees from temperate and tropical regions of the world. The original or ancient name for holly
was ‘Holm’ incorporated in the UK in the names of many places and homes, a trend sometimes
continued in NZ.
The name holly is derived from the Norse word ‘hulfre’. The normally prickly leaves of
holly were considered to afford protection against enemies; the red of its berries provided extra
protection. It was but a small step to link the spiny leaves with the crown of thorns and the red
berries with drops of Christ s blood.
Holly is associated with the death and rebirth symbolism of winter in both pagan and
Christian lore. In Arthurian legend, Gawain (representing the Oak King of summer) fought the
Green Knight, who was armed with a holly club to represent winter. It is one of the three
timbers used in the construction of chariot wheel shafts. It was used in spear shafts also. The
qualities of a spear shaft are balance and directness, as the spear must be hefted to be thrown.
The holly indicates directed balance and vigour to fight if the cause is just. Holly may be used in
spells having to do with sleep or rest, and to ease the passage of death. In the language of
flowers holly stands for foresight and ivy for fidelity and marriage.
Common holly has been cultivated mostly for shelter for hundreds of years in Europe,
with many forms.
The Main Garden includes a number of holly plants, including the holly hedge by the
sunken/fragrant garden. That hedge is one, if not the, oldest planted feature remaining in
the garden, planted to protect the nursery, essential if the original objectives of the Garden
were to be achieved.
In ancient times, the bark of the holly was used in the preparation of a viscid substance
called ‘birdlime’ that was pasted on twigs and held the feet of small birds, enabling them to be
captured.
Holly parts have also been used to make black ink in medieval times, used in many
ancient documents,
Wood - strong, hard and dense, has an exceedingly fine grain, polishes well, although it
must be well dried and seasoned or else it warps badly. Died black was often used to replace
ebony. It is beautifully white except at the centre of very old trees, and is highly regarded by
cabinet makers though it must be well seasoned. The heartwood of mature trees is used for
printing blocks, engravings, turnery etc. The wood makes a good fuel, burning well even when
green
The plant is poisonous, but only in very large doses
Most parts of the tree were in the past used in medicine, the leaves, and the berries
(as a purgative or as an emetic). With its berries showing at the time of the northern Christmas,
it is always associated with that time of the year.
The leaves have been used as a tea substitute. The roasted fruit has been used as a
coffee substitute. Some caution is advised here, since the fruit can be purgative and emetic
Ink from oak galls oaks
Hundreds of recipes for iron gall ink have been published over the centuries.
It is surprisingly easy to make iron gall ink - the earliest recipes are often the simplest and the ingredients are inexpensive and readily available.
Ingredients
Iron gall ink is essentially created by the chemical reaction between tannic acid and iron
sulfate in an aqueous solution. The primary active components in tannin are gallotannic and
gallic acid. With iron sulfate, these tannic acids produce a black pigment, called
ferrogallotannate upon exposure to oxygen. A small amount of pigment forms by reacting with
oxygen in the water, but much more pigment is produced after the ink has been applied to
paper and exposed to air for several days.
Iron gall ink has been highly prized for centuries for its durability and rich colour
Although tannic acid and iron sulfate in water will produce a colored solution, it is not a
true ink until a water-soluble binder is added to improve the body and flow of the solution so it
may be used with quill, reed or steel dip pens (because of the corrosive nature of the ink, it is
not recommended for use in expensive fountain pens). Other ingredients can be added to
strengthen or change the color of the ink, act as a preservative, or prevent it from freezing. A
brief description of the source and function of each ingredient may inspire you to experiment
with your own ink formulas.
1. Tannic acid
Tannic acid is contained in the galls, bark, leaves, roots and fruits of various plants. The
greatest concentration of gallotannic acid is found in galls; the bulbous growths formed on the
leaves and twigs of trees in response to attack by parasites.
2. Iron sulfate
Pure iron sulfate may be obtained from chemical, specialty art or fabric dye suppliers in
the form of a pale green powder or granules.
3. Water or wine
Most inks are made in water. Of course, the purity of water varies widely, and older
recipes often suggest using rain water, probably because it was thought to be purer than
available standing water sources.
Wine, beer or vinegar were sometimes used instead of water because it was thought to
be a purer liquid. Alcohol may also have prevented the ink from freezing in winter, but, since
some recipes require boiling the alcohol (which would cause it to evaporate), there may be
another explanation for its use. It may be that the glycerin in alcohol increases the rate of
extraction for tannin. Alcohol also reduces the surface tension of the ink solution, allowing it to
soak more quickly into the paper fibres. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a large proportion of
alcohol or vinegar may have a preservative effect, inhibiting mold from growing on the finished
ink.
4. Gum arabic
Gum arabic is a water soluble golden-colored sap collected from Acacia trees native to
North Africa. . Gum arabic keeps the black pigment suspended in the liquid; otherwise, it would
settle to the bottom of the container over time. It also helps to thicken the ink, allowing it to
flow more easily from the pen or brush onto the paper. More importantly, the gum holds the ink
at the surface of the paper for a few extra seconds before sinking into the fibers. This influences
the appearance and durability of marks made with the ink. The ink line is clearer and sharper
than it would be without a binding agent, in part because the ink sinks less deeply into the
paper fibers. However, too much gum arabic will cause the dried ink to become inflexible, and it
can crack and flake off the surface
.
5. Logwood
Because the pigment in iron gall ink does not completely form until it is exposed to air, it
is not very dark when applied to paper immediately after preparation. To bypass this latent
reaction, provisional colorants were often added to the ink to obtain a dark colour as soon as it
flowed from the pen. Natural dyestuffs, including logwood, indigo, and Brazilwood were used
until synthetic aniline dyes replaced them in the late 19th century. Indigo had the further
advantage of imparting a preservative effect to the ink.
Logwood has been used as a colorant since at least the Middle Ages, and was used
widely in ink formulations produced in the first half of the 19th century. It is obtained from the
wood of the campeachy tree Boiled in tap water, logwood creates a blood red solution,
although it will shift to blue in alkaline solutions and to yellow-orange in highly acidic solutions.
Unfortunately, the colorant is not very lightfast, and, unlike the iron gall pigment, it will remain
soluble in water after drying
Integrated pest management
High toxicity pesticides such as organophosphates have not been used for general pest
control in the Lady Norwood Begonia House or Rose Garden since 1993.
Pest control is now based on Integrated Pest Management. This involves monitoring pest
population levels and where necessary, reducing the populations using physical and
environmental means, Biological control, or low toxicity chemical or biochemical means.
Biological controls are used for the pests; 2 spotted mite, white fly, and Mealy bug.
This approach has areas of advantage and disadvantage over traditional methods.
Disadvantages
 Labour intensive -Resources can be stretched at critical times of the year
 Costs - Labour and biological control agents are not cheap.
Advantages
 Safer working environment for staff.
 Perceived safer environment for public.
 Good PR.
The garden in front of the Begonia House includes plants that are attractive to beneficial
insects that assist in reducing pest numbers in surrounding areas.
For full discussion see Mike Wilton’s web page at
http://www.kapiti.co.nz/mw/work/contrl.html
Insects reptiles and frogs
New Zealand’s insect fauna is very diverse (18,000+ species), not only is there a wide
range of archaic endemic species present but there is also a considerable number of introduced
species that have come into the country via overseas cargo imports. In addition, many insects
are blown across from Australia on high altitude jet streams (wind). An example is the summer
arrival of migratory butterflies such as the Australian painted lady (Cynthia kershawi), on the
west coast of New Zealand. Consequently it is not surprising that there is quite a variety of
Australasian insects established here.
Joy Fountain
A bequest from Mr Kilgour resulted in the Joy Fountain which was unveilled in 1946 . It
was made in Hinuera Stone (an artifical compound) by Mr Alex Fraser from a design by Mr
Ellis ,the Art Master at Wellington Technical College . 16 years in the making saw the price
escalate from 120 to 520 pounds .
The Urns - 3 pairs (1906-10) - are made from red brick clay and glazed .
Lamp posts are cast iron and were originally verandah posts on old hotels
Summerhouse was built 1914 for the Carpenters Union to use on their Labour Day float .
Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus)
Karaka produces large (2.5-4 cm long) orange fruits. The wood pigeon is the only bird
large enough to swollen the fruits whole.
Food- Kernels of the fruit, after correct preparation (extensive cooking and washing).
Pharmacy-Upper side of leaf for wounds.
Lepidoptera
Butterflies:
There are about 12 endemic species, however, recent DNA analyses of the common
copper (Lycaena salustius), has discovered that there may be 30 species of what was formally
known as one. Larvae of the Lycaena spp. feed on Muehlenbeckia. Butterflies are found in all of
New Zealand’s different environments and at all altitudes. The most striking is the forest ringlet
(Dodonidia helmsii), its host plants are sedges and
snow grasses. The alpine ringlets and tussock
butterflies are found only in mountain regions of the
South Island, and their host plants are tussocks. Two
of the most common butterflies, are the red admiral
(Bassaris gonerilla), and yellow admiral (Bassaris itea),
their larvae feed on the nettles, Urtica ferox and U.
urens.
The introduced butterflies established in New
Zealand are the cabbage white (Pieris rapae), monarch
(Danaus plexippus), common blue (Zizina otis
labradus), long-tailed blue (Lampides boeticus).
Monarch butterfly: (Also see Asclepias, Swan Plant.)
The monarch butterfly is one of the best known of all North American butterflies
because they make annual migrations across America to avoid winter weather. In autumn, tens
of millions of Monarch butterflies fly south and roost in huge numbers on trees in selected
mountain areas of California and Mexico. Monarch butterflies will use the same trees year after
year. The Monarch butterfly migrates for 2 reasons. They cannot withstand freezing weather in
the northern and central continental climates in the winter. Also, the larval food plants do not
grow in their winter over wintering sites, so the spring generation must fly back north to regions
where the plants are plentiful. Their journey can cover up to 2,000 miles before it ends!
Each butterfly egg is surrounded by a hard outer shell, called the chorion, to protect the
developing larva. The shell is lined with a layer of wax, which helps keep the egg from drying
out. Each egg has one to many tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end, called micropyles.
Since eggs get their hard shell before they are fertilized, this hole, which penetrates all the way
through the shell, allows sperm to enter. The raised areas on an egg shell are called ridges.
They are formed inside the female before she lays the egg. Butterfly and moth eggs vary
greatly in shape
All insects change in form as they grow; this process is called metamorphosis. There are
two kinds of metamorphosis, incomplete (or simple) metamorphosis, and complete
metamorphosis. An example of incomplete metamorphosis is found in grasshoppers. The young
nymphs usually look much like small wingless adults. The wings develop externally, and there is
no prolonged immobile (pupal) stage. Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis,
in which there are four distinct stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, and adult. Hormones
circulating within the body trigger the changes that occur during metamorphosis.
It takes Monarchs about a month to go through the stages from egg to adult, and
then the adults live another two to six weeks in the summer. Monarchs that migrate
live all winter, or about six to nine months.
Monarchs usually lay a single egg on a plant, often on the bottom of a leaf near the top
of the plant. The eggs hatch about four days after they are laid.
Although butterflies and moths do not care for their young after the eggs are laid,
females do lay their eggs on or near a food source. Most females, including Monarchs, secrete a
small amount of glue to attach the eggs directly to a suitable host plant, but a few species
release their eggs over grasses while they are flying!
Monarch butterflies average about 700 eggs per female over two to five weeks
of egg laying, with a record of 1179!
Larvae have three distinct body parts. They have a head, and a body with a thorax and
an abdomen. The head has a pair of very short antennae, mouthparts (upper lip, mandibles,
and lower lip), and six pairs of very simple eyes, called ocelli. Even with all of these eyes, the
caterpillar's vision is poor. The antennae help to guide the weak-eyed caterpillar and the
maxillary palps, which are sensory organs, help direct food into the larva's jaws.
Each thoracic segment has a pair of jointed, or true legs, while some of the abdominal
segments have false legs, or prolegs. There are usually five pairs of prolegs. The prolegs have
tiny hooks on them that hold the larva onto its silk mat or leaf. The fleshy tentacles at the front
and rear ends of Monarch larvae are not antennae, but they do function as sense organs.
Like other insects, Monarchs obtain oxygen through holes in the sides of their thorax and
abdomen called spiracles. The spiracles are connected to a network of long air tubes called
tracheae, which carry oxygen throughout the body.
It is during the caterpillar (larval) stage that butterflies and moths do all of their
growing; in fact this is often just about all that they do. These insect "eating machines" take
few breaks even for resting. Many of them, including Monarchs, begin life by eating their
eggshell, and then move on to the plant on which they were laid. In case you've been
wondering, the word larva refers to the growth stage of all insects with complete
metamorphosis. Caterpillar refers only to a butterfly or moth in this stage. Either word is
correct, but most scientists say larva.
When the caterpillar has become too large for its skin, it molts, or sheds its skin. The
head capsule is the first part of the old skin to come off during the molting process. Then the
old skin peels back from the front of the caterpillar. At first, the new skin is very soft, and
provides little support or protection. The new skin soon hardens and moulds itself to the
caterpillar, which often eats the shed skin before starting in anew on plant food! The intervals
between molts are called instars. Monarchs go through five instars. The best way to tell the
difference between the different instars is to compare the size of their heads - the rest of the
body grows within each instar, but the head size stays constant. The entire larval stage in
Monarchs lasts from nine to fourteen days under normal summer temperatures.
Just before they pupate, Monarch larvae spin a silk mat from which they hang upside
down. The silk comes from the spinneret on the bottom of the head. After shedding its skin for
the last time, the caterpillar stabs a stem into the silk pad to hang. This stem extends from its
rear end and is called the cremaster
When it pupates, a Monarch larva splits its exoskeleton and wiggles out of its larval
skin. When this skin moves far enough down the body, the cremaster appears. The cremaster is
a spiny appendage at the end of the abdomen. The Monarch hooks its cremaster into a silk pad
spun by the larva just before pupation; it will hang from this until it emerges as an adult. The
freshly exposed pupa is very soft and delicate until it hardens. You can see many different body
parts on the pupa, including the wings, abdomen, legs and eyes.
Though the process of complete metamorphosis looks like four very distinct stages,
continuous changes actually occur within the larva. The wings and other adult organs develop
from tiny clusters of cells already present in the larva, and by the time the larva pupates, the
major changes to the adult form have already begun.
Pupae are much less mobile than larvae or adults, but they often exhibit sudden
movements if they are disturbed. Like other butterflies, Monarch pupae are well camouflaged,
since they can't escape from predators by flying away! The function of the beautiful gold spots
on Monarch pupae is unknown. Just before the Monarchs emerge, their black, orange, and white
wing patterns are visible through the pupa covering. This is not because the pupa becomes
transparent; it is because the scale pigmentation only develops at the very end of the pupa
stage.
The body of an adult butterfly is divided into the same major parts as the larva-head,
thorax, and abdomen. There are four main structures on the adult head: eyes, antennae, palpi,
and proboscis.
A butterfly's relatively enormous compound eyes are made up of thousands of
ommatidia each of which senses light and images. The two antennae and the two palpi, which
are densely covered with scales, sense molecules in the air and give butterflies a sense of smell.
The straw-like proboscis is the butterfly's tongue, through which it sucks nectar and water for
nourishment. When not in use, the butterfly curls up its proboscis
Three segments make up the thorax. Each segment has a pair of legs attached to it,
while the second and third segments each have a pair of wings attached as well. The legs
consist of six segments. They end in tarsi (singular, tarsus which grip vegetation and flowers
when the butterfly lands on a plant. Organs on the back of the tarsus "taste" sweet liquids.
Monarchs (and other nymphalid butterflies) look like they only have four legs because the two
front legs are tiny and curl up next to the thorax.
All butterflies and moths have four wings, two hind wings and two forewings. Small
structures attach the wings to the thorax, and muscles attached to these structures move the
wings. The butterfly can also move its wings by changing the shape of its thorax. Wing veins,
tubes with thickened walls, contain trachea, nerves, and space for hemolymph to move
through. Veins give the wings structure, strength, and support.
The abdomen consists of eleven segments, the last two or three of which are joined. On
male Monarch butterflies you can see a pair of claspers on the end of the abdomen. These
appendages grasp the female during mating.
A characteristic of adult butterflies and moths gives the group of insects to which they
belong its name: Lepidoptera. This word comes from the Greek words lepis (scale) and pteron
(wing). All Lepidoptera have two pairs of membranous wings more or less densely covered with
scales. Butterfly scales come in many shapes and sizes, and cover the wings and other body
parts. They give butterflies and moths their coloration, help insulate their bodies, and improve
the aerodynamic efficiency of the wings.
When butterflies and moths emerge from the pupa, their wings are crumpled and moist,
and need to hang down to expand and dry. It usually takes several hours until adults are ready
to fly. During this time, they secrete a fluid that contains the waste materials produced during
the pupal stage. This fluid is called meconium, and has an odour considered unpleasant by
many people.
The primary job of the adult stage is to reproduce - to mate and lay the eggs that will
become the next generation. Monarchs do not mate until they are three to eight days old. When
they mate they remain together from one afternoon until early the next morning - often up to
16 hours! Females begin laying eggs right after their first mating, and both sexes will mate
several times during their lives. Adults in summer generations live from two to five weeks. Each
year, the final generation of Monarchs, which emerges in late summer and early fall, has an
additional job: to migrate to their over wintering grounds, either in central Mexico for eastern
Monarchs or in California for western Monarchs. Here they survive the long winter until
conditions in the United States allow them to return to reproduce. These adults can live up to
eight or nine months.
Male and female Monarchs can be distinguished easily. Males have a black spot on a vein
on each hind wing that is not present on the female. These spots are made of specialized scales
that produce a chemical used during courtship in many species of butterflies and moths,
although such a chemical does not seem to be important in Monarch courtship. The ends of the
abdomens are also different in males and females, and females often look darker than males
and have wider veins on their wings.
No growth occurs in the adult stage, but Monarchs need to obtain nourishment to
maintain their body and fuel it for flight. Nectar from flowers, which is about 20% sugar,
provides most of their adult food. Monarchs are not very picky about the source of their nectar,
and will visit many different flowers. Butterflies use vision to find flowers, but once they land on
a potential food source, they use taste receptors on their feet to find the nectar!
Moths) There are over 1760 moth species in New Zealand, with a high level of
endemicity. The most striking species is the puriri moth Aenetus virescens (Hepialidae), which
is confined to the North Island. It is the largest endemic moth, with a wingspan up to 150 mm
in the female and 100 mm in the male. Females have a dark-brown or black mottled pattern on
the forewings and the hind wings are usually buff coloured
. The male’s forewings are pale green with white markings and the hind wings are
greener than those of the female. The early instar of this moth occupies decaying wood on the
ground for about a year, before moving to a live tree, in which it forms a 7-shaped tunnel. Here
the larva feeds on the cambium at the entrance of the tunnel under a protective webbing of silk,
bark scrapings and frass. Full development takes 4-6 years. The puriri moth adult is most
abundant in September and November.
Puriri moth
peror Gum Moth ranges from north Queensland to Tasmania. Its wingspan
measures 3 and a half to 5 inches. On the front and back wings are two eye-like spots. They are
strong flyers and have large heavy hairy bodies. The caterpillars are large and when fully grown
they turn into a beautiful green colour. Each segment has six red tubercles, each one tipped
with strong blue and a tuft of light yellow spines. The
moth has a wonderful stripe along both sides of its
body.
The caterpillars are common in Australia and
pupate in December. They make tough oval cocoons.
The larvae feed on the leaves of the eucalyptus,
brush box and the introduced pepper trees.
The life cycle often takes less than a year but
may take longer. One example has been recorded as
being 10 years as a pupa. Seen in gums in
Australian Garden.
Hymenoptera (bees and wasps):
The most striking wasps are the spider hunters (Pompilidae), Priocnemis monachus
measures 9 - 26 mm in length and is steel blue-black in colour, while the golden hunter
Sphictostethus wakefieldi measures 8 - 22 mm.
A number of introduced wasps have become serious pests, namely the German wasp
(Vespula germanica), and the common wasp (V. vulgaris). Especially the latter species, is very
aggressive, and in many of the warmer areas of New Zealand, has reached plague proportions;
if not poisoned. In beech forest, the common wasp has become a major competitor for kaka
and the honey eaters that feed on the honey dew extract produced by scale insects, so much
so, that bird breeding success has been significantly reduced in these forests.
A number of paper wasp species (Polistes) have established in New Zealand, they, like
the Vespula species, are a very efficient predator, and there is concern as to what effects they
are having on the native insect fauna.
Several native solitary bees are present but no social species. Bumble bees and honey
bees have been introduced.
Odonata
(dragonflies):
There are seven species
of dragonflies and six species
of damselflies. Four species of
Odonata are self-introduced,
the red perching dragonfly,
Diplacodes bipunctata,
Hemianax papuensis, Aeshna
brevistyla, and Ischnura aurora
aurora. The most interesting
species is the endemic,
crepuscular dragonfly
(Antipodochlora braueri), which
exists only in the North Island,
in slow moving streams flowing
through indigenous forest. New
Zealand’s largest is Uropetala carovei, (see separate listing) with a wingspan of 12.5 cm, and
body length 8.5 cm. The black and yellow adult is a strong flier and can easily catch cicadas and
honey bees. Adults spend a considerable amount of time perched, sunning themselves on rocks
or tree trunks, and in the tops of trees. The terrestrial nymph inhabits burrows in seepages and
stream banks, and takes between five to six years to reach maturity. The red damselfly
Xanthocnemis zealandica and blue damselfly Austrolestes colensonis are very common around
waterways.
Coleoptera (beetles): Beetles make up c. 56% of New Zealand’s insect fauna,
and because of their high level of diversity within different environments, it makes them an
excellent insect group for monitoring the effects of environmental change.
There are no huge beetles like those in the tropics, but there are a few species with
bizarre looking adults. One example is the adult giraffe weevil (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis), it is
a slender insect with an elongate thorax and long snout. Maori considered it to represent the
god of a newly made canoe. The male is much longer than the female, and measures c. 75 mm.
Another beetle of note is the adult huhu longhorn beetle (Prionoplus reticularis), which
measures up to 40 mm or so in length. The brown coloured wing coverings of this beetle are
characterised by a reticulation of pale lines. The pale cream larvae of this insect are borers of
deadwood, and can reach a length of 50 - 75 mm. Maori considered the larvae a delicacy,
however, they only ate the pre-pupae (gut was fully evacuated). Larvae were also used for eel
bait.
Orthoptera (wetas and grasshoppers): Wetas are literally the giants among
the New Zealand insect fauna. They are relatively fearsome in appearance, with heavily spined
legs and sizeable jaws, especially in the males. If disturbed, they can make a stridulating
hissing sound with their raised hind legs; at the same time they gape their jaws. Their bite is
quite capable of breaking the skin. Wetas are mostly nocturnal, and live in a wide range of
habitats, including burrows in the ground, tunnels in trees and just inside cave entrances. There
is a considerable number of weta species in the genera Hemideina and Deinacrida. They range
in size up to 100 mm in the giant weta, from head to tip of ovipositor. The weta are considered
to be New Zealand’s mice, they certainly occupy the same niche, however, it is unfortunate that
some species such as the giant weta are now almost exclusively restricted to off-shore islands,
because of predation by rodents. As recent as 1970, a tusked, ground-burrowing weta
Hemiandrus sp. was discovered on a tiny offshore island. Only the males of this weta have
tusks, and they are an extension of the jaw, used for gripping and pushing opponents during
disputes. Like the tusked weta, many more species of weta are still being discovered. This
reinforces our need to conserve large areas of indigenous habitat, for there is bound to be many
more invertebrates to be discovered, some of which may already be endangered.
The large grasshoppers are common in all alpine regions of New Zealand. These insects
are very interesting in that some species have very restricted distributions, for example, some
are confined to one mountain range. This restricted distribution is thought to have arisen
through the retreating snow line at the end of the last glacial period. Hence the grasshopper’s
associated climatic environment moved up in altitude, so that lowland areas between mountains
became an effective barrier to the dispersal of these flightless grasshoppers. Another interesting
feature in regards to alpine grasshoppers, is that at higher altitudes, they attain a larger size
(30 mm) than those living at lower altitudes.
Hemiptera (cicadas): Cicada song is synonymous with the warmer months of New
Zealand. There is a great number of species; of all different colours, from red, green, yellow
and brown. The most impressive cicadas are the large Amphisalta spp. measuring 19 mm in
length. In some years, there can be large numbers emerging, and near forest edges their song
can be deafening. They also congregate around streetlights, where they will sing throughout the
night. The sound-producing organ, chamber, is located in the abdomen. Muscles flex the wall of
this chamber to produce a sound in the same manner as a popping tin can. The sound is altered
through elevation of the flaps on the undersurface of the abdomen. The song of the cicada is
complex and very varied between species.
Cicada nymphs feed on the xylem of plant roots, and in the Amphisalta spp. the nymphs
probably take between five to eight years to reach full development. Cicadas are found right
throughout New Zealand,
and those in alpine areas,
like the grasshoppers, have
restricted distributions,
probably for the same
reasons.
Spiders: Possibly
2,500 species of spider exist
in New Zealand, with many
never having been described.
There are some very
fascinating spiders such as
the Mygalomorphs or
trapdoor spiders, recognised
by their solid large size, large
fangs and presence of book
lungs on the underside of the
abdomen. These spiders
comprise the ground-dwelling
trapdoor spiders
(Ctenizidae), tree trapdoor
spiders (Migidae), and the
tunnelweb spiders
(Dipluridae).
Of the true spiders,
Illustration Spider hunter, Priocnemis monachus
the most commonly seen in low vegetation is the nurseryweb spider Dolomedes minor, body
length 19 mm. Its web is like a silken sheet entwining a small clump of vegetation. Inside this
web, are the eggs and young spiderlings, are protected from predators. The spiders only leave
the web when large enough to fend for themselves. The velvety light-brown coloured adult
female may sometimes be seen on the outside of the web. A close relative of the nursery web
spider, is the water spider D. aquaticus, body length 23 mm. This spider is not only able to
submerge under the water; it can also walk across the waters surface with the aid of special
hairs on its feet. It is a spider that is commonly found amongst the stones, beside rivers.
New Zealand’s most poisonous endemic spider is the katipo Latrodectus katipo, which is
very reclusive and mostly found underneath driftwood, above the high-tide zone on sandy
beaches. The spider is jet black with a red strip down the centre of the abdomen. In humans,
the venom of this spider mostly affects the nervous system. Extreme pain can develop and
persist for several days, however, with the advent of modern medicine, there is antivenom
available. Death is very rare.
Frogs: New Zealand has 3 species of endemic frog, (Leiopelma hochstetteri, L.
archeyi, and L. hamiltoni). All three species live in damp areas, under logs and rocks in
indigenous forest. These frogs are interesting for they have a number of primitive features not
found in modern frogs. They lay yolky eggs, in which the tadpoles develop, until hatching as
tailed froglets. They do not have external ear drums, and have little or no webbing between the
hind toes.
Three species of frog (Litoria aurea, L. raniformis and L. ewingii) were introduced from
Australia in the 1800s. The first two species of frog are distributed throughout New Zealand,
whereas the latter species, the whistling frog, is restricted to the wetter areas of New Zealand,
the West Coast of the South Island, and Manawatu in the North Island.
The European toad (Bufo bufo) was introduced but did not become established.
Reptiles Tuatara: The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), is considered a "living
fossil" among the modern day reptiles, for it has probably not undergone much evolutionary
change in the past 200 million years. It belongs on its own, to the order Rhynchocephalia. It is
unusual in that it has no external ear; its teeth are an extension of the jaw, not as separate
teeth in other reptiles; it has a third rudimentary, light-sensitive eye on the top-centre of its
head, which is visible only in the young. Tuatara life expectancy may be as much as 150 years.
Males can attain a total length of 610 mm, weighing up to 1 kg. Tuatara was once common
throughout the New Zealand mainland, but through predation, are now restricted to off-shore
islands.
Geckos and skinks (60 species): A great number of tree and ground dwelling
geckos are to be found while many new species are still being discovered, however, most have
very restricted distributions. Skinks are just as numerous. The largest of the lizards is the giant
gecko (Hoplodactylus duvauceli), at 160 mm in length, weighing 120 g. One of the most
attractive is the harlequin gecko (H. rakiurae), known only from the Stewart Island.
The New Zealand lizards are unusual in the fact that they give birth to live young. The
eggs are incubated inside the female, an adaptation to living in a relatively cool climate.
No other groups of reptile have become naturalised, however, the occasional sea snake
or turtle has been found off the New Zealand coast.
Land Mammals: Before human habitation of New Zealand 1000 years ago, bats (3
species) were the only land mammals able to reach New Zealand after its separation from
Gondwanaland. Polynesian man (Maori) brought the Polynesian rat and the dog.
During the 1700s and 1800s, European settlers introduced plants and animals from their
homelands and from neighbouring countries, such as Australia. Many of these introduced plants
and animals became quickly established in an environment that was more favourable for their
dispersal than that of their origin.
The European rabbit, hare, deer, tahr, chamois, and brushtail possum were introduced
for sport or for the fur industry. Including wallabies, goats and pigs, the browsing animals have
been responsible for a major change in forest health and prevention of vegetation regeneration.
Since native plants evolved without browsing mammals, they are unable to sustain long-term
defoliation and in some areas plant diversity has been greatly reduced.
Endemic birds, insects and snails have suffered greatly from predation by the pig, stoat,
weasel, domestic cat, hedgehog, rat, and mouse.
The flightless birds (kakapo, kiwi) and those that are poor fliers such as the kokako,
have become very rare on the main islands. They only exist, in Mainland Island Reserves, and
on offshore islands (such as Tiritiri Matangi and Kapiti), where there is extensive predator
control, or predators have been eradicated.
The Possum: New Zealand's most destructive forest pest (see
separate listing)
From 1837 to 1924 Australian possums were released in New Zealand with the aim of
establishing a fur trade, but it was not until the 1930s that it became clear that considerable
damage was being done to native forests
Possums are good climbers so can forage at all levels in the forest. They eat the foliage
of a wide range of plants including kamani, northern and southern rata and pohutukawa, fivefinger, tree fuchsia, mahoe and wineberry; vines include the lawyers and supplejack, and the
native mistletoes. The result is that many of the plants die and some species have been greatly
reduced. Possums also eat a wide range of flowers, fruits and seeds and so compete with
native birds, lizards and insects.
It is estimated that there are about 70 million possums in New Zealand. At one time
trapping for skins was widespread, but the international campaign against the use of animal fur
in clothing has largely ended this. Poison bait has been used either in bait stations or aerial
drops. Smooth metal bands around their trunks to prevent possums from reaching the crown
have protected individual trees.
JAMES HECTOR
James Hector was a pioneer explorer, geologist, and natural scientist, who founded
many of New Zealand's scientific organisations.
Born 16 March 1834, Hector entered Edinburgh University as a medical student in 1852,
medicine being the only avenue for scientific study then. He also attended lectures in geology,
botany and zoology. In 1856 he graduated MD (Doctor of Medicine) with a thesis on the
Antiquity of Man.
His abilities were recognised at an early stage, and in 1857 he was appointed surgeon
and geologist on a Government expedition for the exploration of western Canada. It started in
Detroit in June 1857, and ended at Vancouver Island in January 1860. Hector made an
outstanding contribution to the success of the expedition. Working in rugged conditions, he
established himself as a field geologist, natural historian and explorer. One of the accounts of
the expedition notes that "Young and eager, the tough little Scot proved a heroic traveller who
left a legendary reputation behind in western North America".
He did not limit himself to Canadian geology. He made observations on mammals,
reptiles, insects and birds, and reported on the customs of the Indians and their language.
Hector left his mark on many geographic features. He is particularly remembered for the
discovery of Kicking Horse Pass, high in the Rockies. One of his most important geological
studies was here, which later became the route of the main Canadian Transcontinental Railway.
It was this study that led to his general recognition. As the name implies, he was injured by a
horse completing this work, and assumed by his companions to be dead. They were about to
bury him when he regained consciousness and winked at them.
Based on his success with the expedition, Hector was appointed Geologist to the
Province of Otago, New Zealand soon after the discovery of gold. From his arrival in April 1962,
he carried out pioneer exploration and geological reconnaissance Otago, including the
inaccessible mountainous area in the west. By September 1862 Hector had explored the
eastern districts of Otago, visited Central Otago, and accumulated a collection of 500 specimens
of rocks, fossils and minerals. During 1863 he extended his investigations to the West Coast,
carrying out a double crossing between Milford Sound and Dunedin, a pioneering effort in
exploration and geological reconnaissance.
The Otago Museum grew out of a suggestion, in the early 1860s, that colonial, gold-rich
Otago should publicly exhibit a representative collection of its diverse rocks. When Provincial
Geologist James Hector’s collection of 5,000 rocks and minerals went on display at the tradepromoting New Zealand Exhibition in Dunedin in 1865, the Provincial Government of Otago
decided to act on the suggestion, by then enlarged to envision a museum of natural history. A
steering committee was formed but nothing emerged, largely because of a lack of funds and a
suitable location.
In July 1868, the impetus for a museum was revived, and this time rooms were made
available in the Post Office building in Dunedin’s Exchange area. On 15 September that year the
Otago Museum was opened to the public. The following year the University of Otago moved into
the same building – the beginning of a long-standing link between the two institutions.
Hector believed that reconnaissance surveys should include all facets of science, and he
assembled a small group of staff, who stayed with him for many years: William Skey to analyse
rocks and minerals, John Buchanan as draftsman and botanical artist, and Richard Gore as clerk
and meteorological observer.
His work in Otago brought Hector to the attention of the New Zealand Government, then
considering the establishment of a colonial Geological Survey to establish the mineral resources
of the country. Hector proposed that it should include a scientific museum and analytical
laboratory. His ideas were largely accepted, and in 1865 he was appointed Director of the New
Zealand Geological Survey and Colonial Museum. Skey, Buchanan and Gore accompanied him
to Wellington.
The work of the Geological Survey followed a regular pattern. In the summer months,
Hector worked strenuously in the field with assistants. For the rest of the year he was based in
the Colonial Museum (close to the site of the present Parliament Buildings) writing reports,
classifying specimens and arranging displays.
As the only scientist working for the Government, Hector became the official adviser on
all matters of science and higher education. In addition to his designated duties, he became
Chancellor of the University of New Zealand, and at different times was responsible for the
Meteorological Department, the Colonial Observatory, the Wellington Time Ball Station and
Botanical Gardens, the Patent Library, and for custody of the official Weights and Measures.
One of Hector's most enduring contributions was the development of the New Zealand
Institute (now the Royal Society of New Zealand) as an independent scientific organisation.
From its inception in 1867, Hector was its Manager and Editor for the next 36 years.
Hector published 45 scientific papers in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute on
geology, botany and zoology, and produced catalogues of material in the Colonial Museum and
Library. He prepared a Handbook of New Zealand in 1879 (revised 1882, 1883, and 1886) that
is the forerunner of the New Zealand Yearbook. In 1886 he published his "Outline of New
Zealand Geology", a summary of the first 20 years of work of the New Zealand Geological
Survey.
Hector also oversaw the production of a series of catalogues, manuals and handbooks by
the Colonial Museum. Between 1871-81 these covered birds, fishes, echinoderms, mollusca,
crustacea, beetles, flies, wasps, grasses and flax. These were pioneer works, in some cases not
replaced by more authoritative works for many years. Hector's dolphin was named in honour of
Hector who examined the first specimen
Hector was predominant in the New Zealand science scene for over 20 years, and
received many honours. He was knighted in 1887. Inevitably he had disagreements with other
scientists and politicians, to some of whom he appeared autocratic and conservative. From the
late 1880s his position at the centre of an official scientific empire began to wane, and several
organisations were removed from his control. From 1892 Hector was only Director of the
Colonial Museum and Manager of the New Zealand Institute, with a greatly reduced staff and
budget. He retired from Government service in poor health aged 69 in 1903.
After retirement, Hector returned to Canada as a guest of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Official recognition of his part in the Expedition 40 years earlier was marred by the sudden
death of his son Douglas who had accompanied him. He returned to New Zealand alone, and
died on 6 November 1907.
Although Hector's death was marked by obituaries in may overseas scientific
publications, he received little recognition in New Zealand. To its shame, the New Zealand
Institute took 16 years to publish an obituary (and even this appears to have been at the
request of the Hector family). Almost 100 years after his death, Hector is now remembered with
more respect for the enormous contribution he made to setting New Zealand science on a solid
foundation.
When the City of Wellington was being planned in London, in the instructions to the
Superintendent of the NZ Company for the establishment of the colony in 1839, he was
directed to establish a city of some 1000 acres. Separating the urban from rural activities, a
strip of land was to be set aside, which we now know as the Town Belt. In addition he was
instructed to set aside land ‘as a botanic reserve’.
Thirteen acres of land for the Wellington Botanic Garden were broadly identified in a City
Plan dated 1840, the site of the current Main Garden, although it was some time later for the
exact area to be formally delineated.
The Governors of the NZ Institute, which was the forerunner of the Royal Society of NZ,
together with Dr James Hector, who later became Sir James Hector, as Manager, formed the
Botanic Garden Board, and administered the Botanic Garden for the next 22 years. James
Hector was a medical doctor, geologist and explorer. He was the Director of the Colonial
Museum and Geological Survey, Manager of the NZ Institute, and later Chancellor of the
University as well. He made an outstanding contribution to NZ science. Appointed by the new
central Government set up in Wellington in 1865 as its ‘scientific adviser’, it is interesting to
note that government consultants are nothing new!!. He actively encouraged the Government
to establish the Garden (1869) utilising the land previously identified, with the following three
objectives.
Firstly, as a trial ground for the Government to examine the economic potential of
plants, especially for forestry.
Secondly, as a scientific reserve, for the collection and study of indigenous and exotic
plants,
and thirdly, as a place of recreation and enjoyment for the public.
Except for the nursery beds near the entrance the Garden was completely unformed,
except for some tracks. William Bramley was the first Superintendent, and he immediately
commenced fencing the Garden, cutting paths, and removing gorse and commencing planting.
The original area was 13 acres, and in 1874 the Wesleyan Reserve of 58 acres was added to
give a total area of 25.5 ha. (68 acres). Unlike the original 13 acres, this reserve still had areas
of native forest remaining on it.
With what was to be great foresight, Dr Hector recognised that the nationally early
settlers had been removing forest so rapidly from the land to provide grazing for animals, that it
might not be long before NZ began to run short of timber for building. The large scale removal
of forest also meant that farmland was exposed to wind and that shelter belts were required,
especially in the areas of tussock land in Otago and Canterbury, Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. He
was also aware in some areas trees were becoming scarce for firewood. With these
requirements in mind the Botanic Garden Board imported timber and shelterbelt species of tree
from around the world, especially from Europe, North America, India, China and
Japan. The Government provided their funding. The Government also provided funding for
trials of other species for their economic potential, for example, cork oak, sorghum, sugar beet,
hops, mulberry, black walnut, pecans, hickory, plums and olives. By 1875 127 different
types of conifers had been planted, some 34 of which remain in the Garden today.
After the trees had been trialled in the Botanic Garden, those that showed potential were
sent to all parts of NZ for further trials. One timber species proved to be extremely successful,
ahead of all the others, in all parts of NZ, for its rapid growth and good timber, and that of
course is the Monterey Pine, or Pinus radiata. The species that proved to be very successful
as a shelter tree was the Monterey cypress, or Cupressus macrocarpa. Both of these trees
come from the Monterey Peninsula in California, where with their stunted and windswept
appearance they bear little resemblance to the massive pine and macrocarpa trees we see in NZ
today.
Monterey Pine comes from three distinct unconnected areas of central coastal
California, named from one locality, the Monterey Peninsula. It is now rare in its natural habitat
because of fungal disease and the encroachment of towns and cities. In recent years
genetically improved trees have been imported back into California from New Zealand, and
these are now cross hybridising with the native stock, raising questions of the status of the
native genotype in its natural habitat. The Garden trees, being from wild collected
natural stock, are therefore important as a store of this natural genotype, and effort is
required to preserve this important resource for future generations
James Hector Pinetum
The James Hector Pinetum was inaugurated on Arbor Day, 23 June 1992.
The first officially planted tree was a Pinus sabiniana planted by the Governor General
Dame Catherine Tizard, aided by Peter Hector, great grandson of Sir James Hector. Other trees
were planted by pupils of the Kelburn Normal School in the presence of Garden staff and
Friends of the Botanic Garden.
The Pinetum was to form a link between the past and the present.
Joy Fountain
Unveiled in 1946, Joy was 16 years in the making. The cost escalated from £120 to
£520. Designed by Mr. Alex Fraser It is made from Hinuera stone.
Juglans nigra (may not be this species as several called American walnut Forestry Conference)
The Black Walnut, or American Walnut, is a large, attractive, fast growing
native of Eastern N. America - Massachusetts to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota
A very ornamental and fast growing plant, sometimes cultivated in N. America for its
edible seed. There are breeding programmes that are seeking to develop cultivars with thinner
shells. Trees in the wild commence bearing seeds when about 12 years old. There are some
named varieties. Trees have been extensively planted for timber in parts of C. and E. Europe
A brown dye is obtained from the nuts, husks bark leaves and stems. It does not require
a mordant. The dye turns black if it is prepared in an iron pot. The leaves can be dried for later
use.
The husks are rich in tannin. The husks can be made into a high quality charcoal and is
then used as a filter used in gas masks.
The leaves repel fleas and have been used as a strewing herb. They are also used as
an insecticide against bed bugs. The ground up husks are also insecticidal.
The leaves and roots produce substances that depress the growth of other plants. These
substances are washed onto the ground by rain and inhibit the growth of plants beneath the
tree.
Black walnut wood is heavy, strong, and highly resistant to shock. It ranks with
the most durable U.S. hardwoods. It can be satisfactorily kiln dried and holds it shape well
after seasoning. Black walnut is normally straight grained, is worked easily with hand tools, and
has excellent machining properties. When finished, the wood takes on a smooth velvety surface
and a handsome grain pattern. Black walnut is used principally for dining room and bedroom
furniture; bookcases; desks; tables; radio, television, phonograph, and piano cabinets; and as
an interior finish in cafes and public buildings. The veneer is used for the highest grade
cabinets and plywood panels. Figured black walnut stocks are prized for expensive shotguns and
sporting rifles
Seed – eaten raw or cooked. A sweet, rich distinctive delicious flavour it makes an
excellent dessert nut and is also widely used in confections, cakes etc. The unripe fruits can be
pickled.. The nuts can leave a permanent stain on clothing.
An edible oil is obtained from the seed. A sweet taste but it tends to go rancid quickly.
Used as a seasoning in bread, squash and other foods.
The tree yields a sweet sap that can be drunk or concentrated into syrup or sugar. It is
tapped in spring.
Juniper
Primarily Northern Hemisphere, there is one species (J. procera) in E Africa to 18°S. The
genus found in many semiarid regions, such as through much of the western USA, northern
Mexico and central & southwest Asia, it provides the dominant forest cover on large
sections of the landscape
The genus is characterised by fleshy cones with hard-shelled seeds, adaptations to avian
seed dispersal; apart from this, all characters common to all of its species can also be found in
other closely allied genera of Cupressaceae, notably Cupressus, Platycladus and Microbiota.
It's not a very long living tree in nature but his lifespan can be largely expanded
when growing in pots. Juvenile and mature growth (needles and scale) can grow on the same
tree at the same time.
The trunk is reddish-brown and peels easily. Foliage colour can vary according the
position of the tree: it's a much lighter green when placed in full sun than when standing in
half-shadow.
Numerous cultivars of Juniperus species are widely used for landscaping. Because the
genus is widely distributed in semiarid regions (it grows particularly well on calcareous soils)
and some are not particularly palatable to domestic goats, it often affords the only tree of
size on the landscape, thus providing an important source of wood for construction, fuel and
other domestic uses. The wood is fragrant, usually reddish or reddish-brown, easily worked,
very durable, and rarely injured by insects. Its resistance to decay makes it particularly useful
for fence posts and other ground-contact applications. However, it seldom achieves the size or
straight grain needed in lumber. Many native peoples have used the aromatic foliage and resins
for medicinal or spiritual purposes. "An essential oil is obtained by distillation from wood and
leaves. The wood is often used for perfumery, sometimes in medicine. Oil from the leaves and
shoots is also used in medicine. They have powerful diuretic properties and stock should not be
allowed to eat branches".
Wood and/or foliage are often burned for incense in Buddhist temples.
Cones of J. communis are used for flavouring gin.
Juniperus is an old Latin name used by Virgil and Pliny
"Mutants”, or "sports," affecting plant habit and foliage are present in all species and are
likely related to single-gene mutations. Many have been given formal names or incorrectly
ascribed to hybridisation.
Juniperus chinensis
The Chinese Juniper belongs to the cypress family and is one of the most
common species used for bonsai. Originally from northeast Asia and, as indicated by his
name, mostly from China. The juniper can have an erect or rampant form. It can reach a height
of 20 to 25 m dioecious, rarely monoecious; bark greyish brown; crown of trees pyramidal to
open, broad and irregular; branches spreading.
This species found in mountains; 1400-2300 m. in China, , Sichuan, E Taiwan, Yunnan,
Zhejiang, and in Japan, Korea, Myanmar, E Russia.
Knightia excelsa
The
Rewarewa or NZ Honeysuckle, is in fact not a honeysuckle, but is a
member of the protea family. It is a tall tree growing to 30 m (100 feet)
Found in lowland to montane forest in North Island and on the northern tip of South
Island
Three species are known, two from New Caledonia and one from NZ.
Its dark, handsomely variegated flecked wood has been used for a number of
decorative purposes in the past, for tables and desks, but is now used more sparingly for
woodturning and veneers. Highly valued for superior woodwork, inlay
It is useless for firewood, and the early settlers called it “bucket of water tree”.
The flowers are very rich in nectar; this can be extracted and used as food. It contains
about 45% sugars. The Maori used to collect its nectar to eat, and now bees produce a dark
rich-flavoured honey from it. Tui, bellbird, and silver-eye eat its nectar. A very good bee plant
Kunzea ericoides
This os one of 20 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees all natives of NZ and
Australia.
Kanuka can be an important pioneer after the destruction of forest by fire, forming a
low dense forest, which is gradually replaced by taller forest species.
Its leaves are not prickly like manuka, and its flowers, unlike manuka, are in clusters,
and are smaller.
Kanuka has a wide range of medicinal properties. Pounded seed capsules were used to
treat running sores.
Essential oils from this family are effective against Staphylococcus aureus.
Kanuka also contains leptospermone, which is an insecticide and an effective remedy
against intestinal worms.
Kanuka leaves were used to make refreshing tea from the young shoot tips.
Its timber is used for outdoor use, and its inner bark is a durable and waterproof
roofing material. It is also good firewood, producing good heat and a pleasant fragrance,
which has led to its destruction in many places.
Kanuka occurs in most of the forest remnants, especially in the drier area above the
Rose Garden. The mature trees probably predate European settlement of the area.
Known also as Leptospermum ericoides
Lamp posts
Cast iron and were originally verandah posts on old hotels
Laurelia novae-zelandiae
Pukatea prefers to grow in damp places like valley floors, and along streams in
lowland semi-swamp and gully forests in North and South Islands, south to latitude 46°s. When
growing in wet places it forms plank-like buttresses at the base of the trunk. It has dark
green shiny leaves with square petioles.
The inner bark was used by early Maori as an infusion for the treatment of ulcers, skin
complaints, neuralgia, and toothache. The leaves have analgesic properties when chewed, and
the bark contains a substance with numbing properties similar to morphine. The leaves are
aromatic.
The multi-coloured wood is used in furniture making and to build boats, for it does not
easily split
Larix decidua
The European Larch is found from SE France, Switzerland, N Italy, S Germany,
Austria, Czechoslovakia and NW Yugoslavia in the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains at (600-)
1000-2200 (-2500) m asl.
It grows up to 100 m and is an important timber tree in Europe, where it has been
planted extensively as a crop. It is grown in North America as an ornamental. Forms extensive
open forests at high altitudes
The young shoots have a delicate mossy fragrance as the leaves unfold
Large quantities of resin are obtained by tapping the trunk. Small holes are bored into
the trunk, most resin being obtained from near the centre of the trunk. When properly made,
the same borehole can be used for 20 - 30 years.
The resin has a wide range of uses including wood preservatives, varnish, medicinal etc.
It needs no preparation other than straining through a cloth to remove plant debris etc. The
hole is made in the spring and the resin extracted in the autum. Resin can be extracted from
our equivalent Nov to April. The yield is about 40 grammes per tree.
A fast-growing tree that establishes itself rapidly and is also said to improve the
quality of the soil, the larch can be used as a pioneer species on cleared and exposed land in
order to assist the establishment of other woodland trees.
The bark contains tannin. This is much utilised in N. Europe, though in Britain the oak is
considered to be a better source. On a 10% moisture basis, the bark contains 11.6% tannin.
Wood - durable, tough, elastic, easy to split, takes a good polish. Larch produces one of
the toughest woods obtained from conifers and is also resistant to woodworm. It is
widely used in construction, for railway sleepers, cabinet work etc
Inner bark - it can be eaten raw or can be dried, ground into a powder and used with
cereal flours in making bread etc. A sweet-tasting manna is obtained from the trunk; it can be
eaten raw but is mainly used medicinally. Another report says the 'Briancon manna' is exuded
from the leaves in the summer. It is white, sweet and almost odourless
Laurus nobilis Bay Laurel
Bay Laurel is the source of the bay leaves, which are used for their flavour in cooking. It
was also the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, and therefore the expression of
"resting on one's laurels". A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games
because the games were in honor of Apollo, and the laurel was one of his symbols ever since his
unsuccessful pursuit of Daphne. In the Bible, the sweet-bay is often an emblem of prosperity
and fame. In Christianity, it symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of Humanity
thereby. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate (laurel berry), and of poet laureate.
Examples of biological activity of Bay laurel:
The bay laurel tree has been cultivated since the beginning of recorded history.[3] The
bay leaf originated in Asia Minor, and spread to the Mediterranean and other countries with
suitable climates. Bay leaf is not grown in Northern regions, as the plants do not thrive in cold
climates. Turkey is one of the main exporters of bay leaves, although they are also grown in
areas of France, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Central America, North America, and India.[1] The
laurel tree that the bay leaf comes from was very important both symbolically and literally in
both Greece and Rome. The laurel can be found as a central component found in many ancient
mythologies that glorify the tree as a symbol of honor.[4] Bay leaves are one of the most widely
used culinary herbs in Europe and North America.
n Chinese folklore, there is a great laurel tree on the moon, and the Chinese name for
the laurel, (traditional Chinese: 月桂), literally translates to "moon-laurel". This is the subject of
a story of Wu Gang, a man who aspired to immortality and neglected his work. When the deities
discovered this, they sentenced Wu Gang to fell the laurel tree, whereupon he could join the
ranks of the deities; however, since the laurel regenerated immediately when cut, it could never
be felled. The phrase (simplified Chinese: 吴刚伐木
伐木 ) ("Wu Gang chops the tree") is sometimes
used to refer to endless toil, analogous to Sisyphus in Greek mythology.
The aromatic laurel leaves are used in many countries of central and southern Europe to
flavour stews, soups, meat dishes, and even fish. They are used to season canned cucumbers or
herring, or added to give aroma to vinegar.
It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in regions with mediterranean or
oceanic climates, and as an indoor plant in colder regions
 The leaf and berries of Bay Laurel are on the U.S. one-dollar bill: in particular, on the
obverse, two bunches of bay laurel leaves with berries prop up the oval, which contains
George Washington.
 Bay laurel leaves are used in the design of the 10-yen coin in Japan.
 In Greek mythology, the tree was first formed when the nymph Daphne changed into it
to escape the lustful pursuit of the Olympian god Apollo; see Apollo and Daphne. Daphne
is the Greek name for the tree.
 The National Emblem of Greece consists of a blue escutcheon with a white cross totally
surrounded by two laurel branches.
 The Scottish Clan Graham also considers this plant to be its clan plant.
 The shield on the Flag of the Dominican Republic consists of one bay laurel and one
palm.
Lavender
39 species, including some hybrids:
The lavenders (Lavandula) are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint
family, Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the
southeast regions of India. The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and
small shrubs. The native range extends across the Canary Islands, North and East Africa,
Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Arabia and India. Because the cultivated forms are
planted in gardens worldwide, they are occasionally found growing wild as garden escapees,
well beyond their natural range. However, since lavender cross-pollinates easily, there are
countless variations within the species. The color of the flowers of some forms has come to be
called lavender.
The most common "true" species in cultivation is the common lavender Lavandula
angustifolia (formerly L. officinalis). A wide range of cultivars can be found. Other commonly
grown ornamental species are L. stoechas, L. dentata, and L. multifida.
Lavandula x intermedia or "Lavendin" is the most cultivated species for commercial use,
since its flowers are bigger and the plants are easier to harvest, but Lavendin oil is regarded to
be of a lower quality
Culinary use
Flowers also yield abundant nectar from which bees make a high-quality honey.
Monofloral honey is produced primarily around the Mediterranean, and is marketed worldwide
as a premium product. Flowers can be candied and are sometimes used as cake decorations.
Lavender flavors baked goods and desserts (it pairs especially well with chocolate), as well as
used to make "lavender sugar".[3] Lavender flowers are occasionally blended with black, green,
or herbal tea, adding a fresh, relaxing scent and flavour.
Though it has many other traditional uses in southern France, lavender is not used in
traditional southern French cooking.[4] In the 1970s, an herb blend called herbes de Provence
and usually including lavender was invented by spice wholesalers,[5] and lavender has more
recently become popular in cookery.
Lavender lends a floral and slightly sweet flavor to most dishes, and is sometimes paired
with sheep's-milk and goat's-milk cheeses. For most cooking applications the dried buds (also
referred to as flowers) are used, though some chefs experiment with the leaves as well. Only
the buds contain the essential oil of lavender, which is where the scent and flavour of lavender
are best derived.
The French are also known for their lavender syrup, most commonly made from an
extract of lavender. In the United States, both French lavender syrup and dried lavender buds
make lavender scones and marshmallows.
Lavender is used extensively in herbalism and aromatherapy.
English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) yields an essential oil with sweet overtones,
and can be used in balms, salves, perfumes, cosmetics, and topical applications. Lavandin,
Lavandula x intermedia (also known as Dutch lavender), yields a similar essential oil, but with
higher levels of terpenes including camphor, which add a sharper overtone to the fragrance.
Mexican lavender, Lavandula stoechas is not used medicinally, but mainly for landscaping.
Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was used in
hospitals during WWI to disinfect floors and walls. These extracts are also used as fragrances
for bath products.
According to folk wisdom, lavender has many uses. Infusions of lavender soothe and
heal insect bites. Bunches of lavender repel insects. If applied to the temples, lavender oil
soothes headaches. In pillows, lavender seeds and flowers aid sleep and relaxation. An infusion
of three flowerheads added to a cup of boiling water soothes and relaxes at bedtime. Lavender
oil (or extract of Lavender) heals acne when used diluted 1:10 with water, rosewater, or witch
hazel; it also treats skin burns and inflammatory conditions.
Lavender is often used as a 'relaxation' drug, called Lavendine (purple sniff) which is
made from ground flowers. It is one of the few legal drugs, and was most popular between
1972 and 1983
History
The ancient Greeks called the lavender herb nardus, after the Syrian city of Naarda. It
was also commonly called nard.[12]
Lavender was one of the holy herbs used in the biblical Temple to prepare the holy
essence, and nard is mentioned in the Song of Solomon nard and saffron, calamus and
cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes, and all the finest spices.[14]
During Roman times, flowers were sold for 100 denarii per pound, which was about the
same as a month's wages for a farm laborer, or fifty haircuts from the local barber. Lavender
was commonly used in Roman baths to scent the water, and it was thought to restore the skin.
Its late Latin name was lavandārius, from lavanda (things to be washed), from the verb lavāre
(to wash). When the Roman Empire conquered southern Britain, the Romans introduced
lavender. The Greeks discovered early on that lavender if crushed and treated correctly would
release a relaxing fume when burned. This is the basis for the lavendine (purple sniff) drug
used for medical purposes today.
Leptospermum scoparium
Manuka, a member of the family Myrtaceae, is widespread throughout the country,
has leaves very similar to those of kanuka. Leptospermum is a genus of about 30 species of
evergreen shrubs from Australia and New Zealand The easiest way to tell the 2 species apart is
to grasp the foliage. If it feels prickly it is manuka; if it feels soft it is kanuka. Manuka
flowers and capsules are twice the size of those of kanuka, the stamens in the flowers are short
and the capsules are hard and woody, not soft.
Manuka is mostly found in open habitats, where it sometimes mingles with kanuka. It
tolerates less fertile soils than kanuka, however, and these may be dry to swampy. It is a
shrub up to 4 m tall with flaking bark. The leaves are 4-12 mm long x 1-4 mm wide, prickly at
the tip, not aromatic when crushed
The white flowers are lateral and single, 1 cm or more in diameter with the stamens
shorter than the petals. The capsules are hard and woody, 1 cm or more in diameter. Flowers
and capsules can be present from spring through to early winter in the following year.
Near North Cape there are populations of manuka with pink to reddish flowers that
provide an attractive sight. A number of popular garden plants have been derived from these
including some double-flowered forms
Manuka twigs are often covered with sooty mould, an unsightly black fungus that feeds
on the honeydew of scale insects
The leaves contain Leptospermone, an antibiotic agent.
It was first called Tea Tree by the expedition of Cook and Banks because Captain Cook,
seeking a remedy for scurvy, was the first to make tea from the leaves of manuka when
moored off the Purangi River in Mercury Bay in 1769
Today manuka honey is being used to treat wounds infected with methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, when the most sophisticated antibiotics have failed.
Libocedrus
Libocedrus was once a catchall genus for a variety of somewhat eccentric, predominantly
austral members of the Cupressaceae. As study proceeded, it became clear that many of these
species warranted distinct, often monotypic genera. Consequently former members of the genus
are now found in Calocedrus, Pilgerodendron, Papuacedrus and Austrocedrus. New Zealand with
2 endemic spp. and New Caledonia has 3 endemic spp.
Wood reddish-brown or brown, fragrant with a spicy resinous odour, durable, easily
worked, finishing with a good surface. Suitable for building purposes where great strength is
unnecessary, the indoor finish of houses, and other work. No species of Libocedrus is sufficiently
common to be of much importance as a source of timber.
Named for the Greek libas, drop or tear, and cedrus, from its resinous character
Libocedrus plumosa
Kawaka, New Zealand Cedar found between Collingswood and Westhaven In
the North Island, from Mangonui to about Rotorua and northern Taranaki. It grows from sea
level to 600 m in lowland and hilly forests.
The wood is fine-grained, often beautifully marked, dark red in colour, durable, easily
worked, and thus suitable for furniture as well as general building work. It was formerly used
for roofing shingles and general building purposes, but is too scarce to be of much commercial
value
Lichens
(also see fungi)
Lichens are made up of two, and some times three, different organisms from
three different Kingdoms, which form a symbiotic relationship with each other for their
mutual survival.
The dominant member is an ascomycetous fungus (Kingdom Fungi), which is incapable
of making it's own food. The fungus forms the visible portion of lichen inside of which, and
protected by them, are cells of an algae (kingdom Protista) or some times cyanobacteria
(Kingdom Monera), once known as blue-green algae. Some lichen can consist of all three
organisms at once.
The algae provide nutrients, as they contain the pigment chlorophyll, which it uses
during photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates the same way as green plants do. Thus the
fungus obtains nutrients from the algae, the fungal tissue in turn provides shelter for the algae
allowing it to grow in harsh conditions such as rock
surfaces where it would otherwise be destroyed.
Lichen-forming fungi can reproduce sexually
or asexually thus they have a number of different
methods of reproduction.
Asexual Reproduction - Most lichens are very
brittle when dry, some simply relying on breakage's
of the thallus to produce fragments that are
dispersed by wind, rain, or insects and birds. Others
make non-sexual reproductive packages known as
soredia (tufts of a few algal cells wrapped in
hyphae), or isidia (cylindrical, finger-like projections from the upper surface) or lobules
(miniature lobes developing along the margins) that break off and are dispersed as described
above.
Sexual Reproduction - Ascomycetous lichens produce fruiting bodies called apothecia,
which are typically disc-shaped from which are
produced spore. These are then dispersed by wind
and rain etc. After the spore germinates they need to
find a new algae partner to form into lichen. Some
are able to steal them from other lichens, others by
luck just happen upon suitable algae.
Lichens are remarkable in that they can
tolerate the most extreme environments, thus they
can live in hot dry places as well as arctic conditions
and the wettest of rain forest. Although they can
tolerate salt spry and immersion in water they are
not aquatic.
Lichens can live on soil, woody debris, rocks, tree bark, tree leaves, other lichens, desert
sand, animal bones, and rusty metal. For this reason they are nature's pioneers. Being first to
colonise the most inhospitable places from there they begin the slow process of creating the
foundation for other habitation. They often prefer airy, even windy, habitats.
To assist their survival in such inhospitable conditions, lichens are able to shut down
metabolically during periods of unfavourable conditions then with the appropriate amount of
light and moisture, clean air, and freedom from competition, lichens will continue to grow. Most
lichens grow very slowly, often less than a millimetre per year.
Another method that helps with there survival is that lichens can produce an arsenal of
more than 500 unique biochemical compounds that serve to control light exposure, repel
herbivores, kill attacking microbes, and discourage competition from plants.
What are the lichen growth forms?
Lichens can be divided into three basic forms depending on the form of the thallus.
Crustose: Crust-like, adhering tightly to the substrate by their entire lower surface.
Some endolithic lichens are embedded in their rock substrate.
Foliose: Leaf-like with a distinct upper and lower surface that are attached to their
substrate only by small root-like structures (rhizines)
Fruticose: Shrub-like, pendulous strands or hollow stalks called podetia, usually
attached to the substrate at the base or holdfast.
Liquidambar styraciflua
The American Sweet Gum grows in Eastern America, and is primarily used for
lumber, veneer, and plywood. The lumber is used to make boxes, crates, furniture, interior
trim, and millwork. The veneer is used primarily for crates, baskets, and interior woodwork.
Sweetgum is also used for cross ties and fuel, and small amounts go into fencing, and
pulpwood. Sweetgum is one of the most important commercial hardwoods in the Southeast
and the handsome hard wood is put to a great many uses. Sweetgum is perhaps one of the
most adaptable hardwood species in its tolerance to different soil and site conditions
Sweetgum is a large, native, long-lived, deciduous tree that reaches maturity heights of
15-45 m (50 to 150 feet)
The small seeds are eaten by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.
Liriodendron tulipifera
The Tulip Tree is known locally in its native North America as Yellow Poplar. It is a
tall, deciduous, long-lived, broadleaf tree. It is related to the magnolias. The genus consists
of only 2 species, this one North American, the other Chinese.
Its wood is used for construction grade lumber and plywood. . It has straight grain fine
grained, little shrinkage, and excellent gluing qualities, easily worked, durable, brittle, not
strong but does not split. In the past is used for carriage bodies, shingles, saddle frames, and
interior finish wood. It is currently used for cabinets, veneer, furniture, and pulp. It has only
fair value as a fuel wood but good value as kindling. It is much used for interior finishes,
furniture, construction and plywood
It has been valued as an ornamental since 1663. The tulip like flowers and leaves are
aesthetically pleasing. The flowers are also valuable nectar producers. The flowers from a
20-year-old tree produce enough nectar to yield 4 pounds (1.8 kg) of honey. The flowers are
tulip like in size and shape, and are fragrant but are difficult to see in the spring foliage unless
viewed from above
It was used medicinally in the late 1800's
A gold-coloured dye is obtained from the bark.
Parts are used for a number of medicinal uses.
The root is used as a lemon-like flavouring in spruce beer, where it also serves to
correct the bitterness of the beer. The bark of the root and branches have a pleasant rather
pungent scent
Listening and Viewing Device
Sculpture by Andrew Drummond on Druid Hill was presented to the City in 1993.
The artist notes ”I call it a device so I’m not mystifying it at all. It is a device for viewing and
listening. Yuu can grab hold of it, you can get inside it and look up it. You can move it round.
I’m interested in all these relationships.“
Little boys’ statues
2 cast iron statues on Ludlam Way were placed in the Garden in the early part of this
century under Glen's administration. One was stolen in 1997, the other removed for
safekeeping. Reproductions re-installed 2002.
Lophostemon confertus
Brush Box is another member of the Myrtaceae family. It grows to over 50m in
height, and 2m in diameter. It is widespread in the margins of rainforests and eucalypt forests
along the coast and tablelands in Queensland and NSW. It is regarded as an environmental
weed in the Sydney area in Royal National Park. It invades or becomes overabundant in areas
affected by too infrequent fire, low intensity fire and associated mesic shift. It is often
associated with higher nutrient levels due to polluted run-off. It is used as a street tree to a
large extent.
Ludlam; Alfred
He arrived in Wellington in 1840 and for a period manufactured some of the earliest
bricks made in Wellington. He was a foundation member of the Wellington Horticultural
Society.
Provincial Government came to the country in 1853, and elections were held. Alfred
Ludlam, a Hut Valley settler was successful, and continued being active in politics for the next
twenty years, also serving in the House of Representatives.
In 1865 he first proposed the formation of a Colonial Botanic Garden.
In 1869 Ludlam prepared and presented to Parliament “An Act to establish and regulate
an Institution called the Botanic Garden of Wellington”.
He served on the Botanic Garden Board as a nominated member from the NZ Institute
for 6 years from the date of its first meeting on 28 September 1869 when he was appointed
Treasurer. He worked very closely with William Bramley during the first years establishment
of the Garden.
Out of his own pocket and time he was a major benefactor of the Garden, influencing the
choice of plants and personally procuring many of them during the fist five years, personally
unpacking the Wardian Cases when they arrived.
He resigned from the board in 1876 when he travelled to UK where his wife died. He
died shortly after returning the NZ in 1877.
His contribution to the Garden is commemorated in Ludlam Way.
Macropiper excelsum
On Kawakawa male and female flowers are on separate trees. Kawakawa occurs in all
of the forest remnants. It is sometimes called the NZ Pepper Tree. It si related to the true
peppers and the fruit and leaves are highly aromatic, hence the common name of Pepper Tree.
The fruit, bark and leaves all have medicinal properties. Maori gardeners set fire to
the wet green leaves laid out amongst their crops. The acrid smoke produced killed the insect
pests.
The branches and leaves contain a substance that interferes with the metamorphosis of
the insects. The caterpillars of the kawakawa moth, however, are resistant to this
substance although virtually every leaf shows holes where they have been chewed. .
Magnolia
There are few sights more spectacular in a garden during spring, than a magnolia in
flower. Magnolias are a diverse group of trees, growing to various sizes and producing flowers in
a multitude of shapes and colours. Since the first trees were introduced to the western world
over two hundred years ago, they have been intensely hybridised, resulting in numerous different
cultivars being produced. In saying that though, they are still one of the most underrated and
underused trees in the home garden.
Magnolias were named after the French botanist Pierre Magnol, by the Swedish botanist
Carol Linnaeus. They are reputed to be one of the oldest types of angiosperm that are still
growing in the world today. At one time, they may have had a wide distribution across the
northern hemisphere, although this changed following the last ice age (Bryant, 1999). Today,
magnolias are now confined to two main areas in the world - eastern North America, and
southeast Asia. There are both deciduous and evergreen species found in both regions, with over
120 species having been discovered and identified. Magnolias are just one of several genera
within the family Magnoliaceae, with the other notable ones being Michelia, Manglietia and
Liriodendron.
Magnolias first arrived in Great Britain in 1689, when the English missionary John
Bannister sent a sweet bay magnolia - Magnolia virginiana - back to the Bishop of London, from
the United States (Gardiner, 2000). The first Asian magnolia did not arrive in the West until
1780, when Sir Joseph Banks returned from i journey to China with a Magnolia denudata
(Gardiner, 2000). One of the first hybrids to be produced between two different magnolia
species was Magnolia x soulangeana, through a cross of Magnolia denudata with M. liliiflora by the
retired French soldier Etienne Soulange-Bodin in the 1820 (Barrett, 2002). In nore recent times,
New Zealand has managed to establish a reputation as one of the premier producers of new
magnolia cultivars, particularly through the work of Os Blumhardt, Felix Jury and his son Mark
Jury.
Among the best performers in terms of growth and floral display of the many New
Zealand bred cultivars are Magnolia 'Star Wars' - an Os Blumhardt creation; as well as
'Iolanthe', 'Vulcan', and 'Black Tulip'- produced by the Jury family. Other good cultivars include
M. campbellii subsp. mollicomatd 'Lanarth', M. stellata, M. x soulangeana, M. denudata, M.
nitida and M. grandiflora. Scattered throughout the camellia and magnolia collections there are
also a number of michelias which are both attractive and fragrant during the spring. These include
Michelia doltsopa, M. 'Touch of Pink', M. 'Mixed Up Miss' and M. maudiae. The other relative of
the magnolia that is attractive, although not so fragrant when in flower, is Manglietia insignis.
What we are attempting to achieve in the magnolia collection is to not only showcase as
many different types of magnolias as possible, but to also allow comparisons as to which
magnolias work best in certain situations. This in turn allows visitors to not only appreciate
magnolias for their varied and vibrant colours when in flower, but hopefully encourages them to
grow a magnolia in their own garden.
Magnolias, apart from being one of the most ancient angiosperms still growing in the world
today, are one of the most attractive trees available for spring colour in the garden. They come
in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours which, depending on your preferences, can suit almost
any garden. Although not all varieties are available in New Zealand, there are a number that are,
and well worth the investment in time and money. The magnolia collection at the Botanic Gardens
displays a wide variety of both pure species and hybrids, from New Zealand as well as overseas.
It exists not only for the enjoyment of visitors but to hopefully encourage them to go home and
grow a magnolia in their own garden.
Shaun Rice Specialist Gardener Auckland Botanic Garden
A valuable genus of some 80 species of trees and shrubs natives of most parts of the
world in the Northern Hemisphere. There are specimens of M. campbellii and the alba form in
the Garden.
The alba in the Camellia garden was obtained from the Duncan and Davies nursery in
New Plymouth by the then curator Mac. McMenzie. When it flowered he was disappointed to
see that it was white and not the normal coloured variety he expected. On complaining to the
nursery he was told that he had been lucky to get the ‘rare’ alba form, and it certainly is
spectacular in flower.
The hybrid soulangeana group of hybrids was obtained by crossing M. denudata with
M. liliflora. Attractive in flower, there are equally attractive bare of the leaves in winter when
their twisted branches are revealed.
Magnolia campbellii
Very tolerant of atmospheric pollution. A very ornamental plant. Native of E. Asia Himalayas to S.W. China
Trees take at least 20 years from seed before they flower
Wood - very soft. Used in construction
Magnolia grandiflora
The Southern Magnolia, often called the Evergreen Magnolia, is native of SE
USA at low altitudes (below 60 m ASL), growing in warm temperate to semitropical areas. It is
regarded as one of the ‘most splendid forest trees’ and is a popular ornamental planted around
the world. A number of varieties have been bred for ornamental purposes. 18-24 m tall they
live 80 to 120 years and it grows well in urban areas as it withstands sulphur dioxide.
Its wood hard and fairly heavy, but weak and not durable, is marketed to make
furniture, pallets, and veneer. White when first cut, it turns brown on exposure to air
Florists prize its leathery foliage. It has showy white flowers.
Its bark, wood, leaves and fruit yield a variety of extracts with application as
pharmaceuticals.
The flowers are very large (up to 25 cm across) and have a delicious and very powerful
scent. This is perhaps the most strongly scented flower in the world. They can be
produced in trees as young as 10 years old
1737 The magnificent Southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora (introduced from
Southeastern North America to Europe by 1730) flowered in August at the London home of
Charles Wagner, First Lord of the Admiralty. Georg Ehret immortalised this event with a
sumptuous and justifiably famous illustration. Ehret, an apprentice gardener, had learned his
artistic skills from his father during his youth in Heidelberg, Germany.
Mallee
Mallee is a form of growth, not a particular species,
which can occur as a response to stress conditions, the
major ones of which are fire, water shortage, termites or
felling. Mallee also describes areas where these trees
grow.
A mallee tree begins growing like other trees with a
single, and sometimes a double, trunk in low rainfall areas.
It grows about 100mm every 100 years to be very strong
and so dense that it will not float even when completely
dry. It is usually fire that causes the trunks to die. A new
cycle starts. New shoots begin to grow, gaining nutrients
from the underground lignotuber, from which they emerge. These lignotubers grow to about
1.5m in diameter, but the largest recorded was measured at 10m across, with 301 living stems.
When fire is extra hot, numerous new shoots grow. Within 20 years half of these trunks will die.
There are over 100 species of mallee eucalypt, 71 of which occur in Western Australia.
Dr Syd Shea of CALM (Department of Conservation and Land Management), said that planting
mallee eucalypts in agricultural areas was a most important strategy for fighting salinity, and
that a key to this strategy working was to develop profitable products from the mallee eucalypt.
Oil from the eucalypt leaves can be used as a commercial solvent, and CSIRO studies have
shown that the wood fibre from the stems could be used for medium density fibreboard. It is
also suitable for use in cement fibre composition products as cladding for homes. Initial studies
have been done which show that cineol, the main part of eucalyptus oil, may have properties
that allow it to replace petrochemical-based lubricants. Dr Shea said that mallee can be used
for landcarc and also for the development of many environmentally friendly
commercial
products in Western Australia.
One particular mallee, Eucalyptus drurrvndii, with its stems hollowed by termites, is
used by Aborigines for making didgeridoos, and a licensing system has been set up by CALM in
WA. to protect this species.
The trees regarded until recently as a menace are now to be nurtured as a means of
saving the wheat belt.
References: http://www.wadidge.com.au/ mallee html
http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/news/NewsData/html
Maori use of plants
Notes compiled by Jenny Hickman in two parts
Akeake (Dodonaea viscosa) Honeybees collect pollen and nectar from the flowers.
Akeake timber is one of the hardest native woods, so hard that an axe can bounce off it. It was
very useful to the Maori for making clubs and weapons. Although the Maori used the leaves and
the lemon-eucalyptus smelling seeds to make a kind of perfume, they do not seem to have
used it medicinally. It was used medicinally in Australia, Peru, Panama, and throughout the
Pacific for a variety of ailments
Hangehange (Geniostoma rupestre var. ligustrifolium) Maori Privet
Early Maori used bundles of hangehange leaves as a form of flavouring. They tied them
around food, such as lengths of ti kouka roots, before placing them in a hangi.
The sap was used to treat skin disease in children, and the bark was used to treat
scabies.
Maori also used the bark to produce a pure black colour for dying flax. The bark was
pounded to a pulp, then soaked in water.
Hinau (Eleaocarpus dentatus) Wood pigeon eat the fruit.
When the hinau flowered, Tuhoe Maori knew it was time to burn off the bracken fern
fronds to improve the crop from the fern’s edible roots.
A decoction of the bark was also said to cure even the worst cases of skin disease. It
also provided the Maori with a black dye for dyeing flax. An exudation from the tree was used to
make a black pigment for tattooing. The bark was also used to make simple water containers.
Most important of all to Maori was the thin flesh of the fruit as food. The berries were
collected from under the trees, placed in a wooden trough, and pounded to remove the meal
from the hard stones. Sometimes the berries would be steeped in water for a long time,
perhaps even months, and then rubbed between the hands. Then, after straining and
separating out the stalk, skin, and stones, the meal would be shaped into a cake and baked in
an umu, or earth oven. A small hinau cake would be baked for about two hours, and a large one
could take up to two days. Gruel was then made from the remaining flesh still adhering to the
stones, the flesh being removed by washing and rubbing. After throwing out the kernels, the
mixture of water and meal would be heated by dropping hot stones into the water. The gruel
would then be drunk. It was considered to be a good food for invalids.
Colenso rated the flesh of the hinau fruit as the third most valuable native plant food.
Houhere (Hoheria populnea) Lacebark In mature houhere, just underneath the
outside bark, is a layer of lacy, matted fibres, 2-3 cm thick. This was an important fibre source
for the early Maori. Strips of this inner bark were twisted into rope, and even beaten to make
felted bark sheets, similar to the tapa cloth of the Pacific Islands. Thin strips were made into
headbands, and flax plaits were woven like straw into broad-brimmed hats, once admired for
their softness and lightweight.
Maori made a jelly by soaking the inner bark in cold water, and used it both externally
for sore and weak eyes, and internally for soothing the digestive system.
Pigeon eat the leaves during the winter.
Huruhuru Whenua (Asplenium oblongifolium) Shining Spleenwort Huruhuru
Whenua means ‘altogether glowing.’
Early Maori ate the young curled shoots as greens. They have been described as ‘very
succulent and mucilaginous.’
Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) The juicy, orange-red base that holds the
kahikatea seed was an important food of early Maori. They are sweet, with a slight piney
aftertaste. Pigeon, kaka and tui also eat the fruit. Bees collect the pollen from the catkins in
September and October.
A tonic medicine was made by leaving chips of wood to steep in boiling water and
drinking the liquid. Kahikatea was a favoured wood for making bird spears. The soot obtained
from heartwood provided a pigment for tattooing.
Kaikomako (Pennantia corymbosa) Komako is one of the Maori names for the
bellbird, hence Kaikomako means food of the bellbird. The fruit is small and black. The fruit is
popular with bellbird and whitehead.
Maui learnt the secret of making fire with kaikomako from Mahuika, the goddess of fire.
Kaikomako has very hard wood and was used with a slab of soft wood, such as mahoe
(Melicytus ramiflorus) or pate (Schefflera digitata) to start a fire. A thoroughly dry and pointed
stick can be scraped along the grain of a slab of soft wood, making a groove that fills with fine
dust. The dust gradually accumulates at the end of the groove, and if the rubbing is vigorous
enough, will eventually start to smoke. With skill, patience, and fanning, the smouldering dust
will eventually catch alight.
Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum) The ripe orange fruit were eaten raw, after
spitting out the tiny, spicy, black seeds. The fruit was also used to flavour a kind of jelly made
from seaweed. Wood pigeons also enjoy the fruit.
The fruit, bark and leaves all have medicinal properties. A root extract can be used to
treat urinary troubles, the leaves and bark for treating cuts and wounds, and for stomach pains.
The leaves were also used to treat a skin complaint called paipai, kidney trouble, rheumatic
pain, colds, boils, and bruises. The leaves were chewed to alleviate toothache, or reduced to a
pulp in hot water, and applied to the face where swollen. The leaves contain a substance similar
to that in cloves, which are also used to alleviate toothache.
To kill insects that damaged their kumara crops, Maori gardeners set fire to the wet
green leaves and branches of kawakawa laid in rows between their crops. The acrid smoke
produced poisoned the insect pests. The branches and leaves contain a substance that kills
insects by interfering with their metamorphosis. The caterpillars of the kawakawa moth, which
make the holes in kawakawa leaves, however, are resistant to this substance.
Kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile), which grows to a height of 15 m is a member of
the same family as mahogany (Meliaceae) and other tropical trees. Kohekohe has long drooping
panicles of greenish-white, waxy flowers, which sprout from its trunk and branches in early
winter. This is called cauliflory, and is a feature found in tropical trees. Individual trees flower in
alternate years, as there are no flowers in the year that the tree is maturing its fruit capsules.
Maori used kohekohe wood for building canoes. The fruit, bark, and leaves were used
medicinally by Maori and have a long list of healing properties. The astringent, orange-red pulp
of the fruit was used to treat tuberculosis, but generally it was the bark and leaves that were
used medicinally. Both taste bitter, and were regarded as an effective tonic. Among the long list
of healing properties attributed to them are the use of brewed bark and leaves to relieve
coughing, a tea made from the leaves was used as a gargle to soothe sore throats, and a brew
made from the bark was used to stop bleeding.
Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium) is a small tree growing to 8 m. In the autumn it
produces round dark seed capsules, which split to reveal sticky black seeds. Birds are attracted
to the seeds. The bees collect pollen and nectar from the small, dark red flowers in the spring.
Kohuhu produces three different fragrances: one from the crushed leaf, one from the
gum or the broken branchlet, and one from the flowers at night. So it is not surprising that the
early Maori used kohuhu to make perfumes. By bruising the bark, or by making short vertical
cuts in it, they were able to collect the gum for scenting the hair oil that they made from titoki
seed oil and kohia seed oil. They also used the gum to perfume ointments made from pigeon
fat. Leaves were used in scent sachets.
The gum was also mixed with the bitter dried sap of puha and chewed as a form of
chewing gum.
Kohuhu was used medicinally to treat scabies, eczema of the scalp, and other skin
diseases. (Which part of the tree that they used is unclear.)
Kanono (Coprosma grandifolia) Maori children ate the berries, although older people
would eat them too when better berries were scarce. They are sweet and juicy, with a slightly
bitter aftertaste.
(Although not relevant to this walk, the seeds of taupata (Coprosma repens and karamu
(Coprosma robusta) have been roasted and ground, and used to make coffee).
Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) produces large (2.5-4 cm long) orange fruits
during the summer. The wood pigeon is the only bird large enough to swollen the fruits whole.
The properly prepared kernels of the karaka fruit were extremely important as a food to
the early Maori, and it was one of the few trees that they cultivated. The unprepared kernels
are highly poisonous, causing violent convulsions, followed by permanent paralysis. However,
after they have been cooked for several days, then left to soak in a running stream for several
weeks, they apparently taste rather like sweet chestnuts.
The leaves were used to heal wounds. For healing, the upper green shiny surface had to
be in contact with the wound. The underside of the leaf was used to draw out pus.
Karaka wood was once used for making canoes.
Karamu (Coprosma robusta) Early Maori sometimes ate the fruit, it was mostly the
children that ate the fruit, but sometimes the adults ate it when other food was scarce. The fruit
is very popular with the native birds.
A decoction of the leaves was used to reduce fevers and to treat kidney trouble. An
infusion of young shoots was used to treat bladder problems. Small quantities of the liquid from
the boiled inner bark were used to treat stomach-ache and vomiting.
Most importantly, however, was the ceremonial use of a branch by tohunga to lift illnesscausing ‘spells.’
Maori used the bark to produce an ‘old gold’ colour for dying flax clothing.
Korokio (Corokia cotoneaster) NZ wire netting bush The yellow, orange, or red
berries of korokio are an attractive food for the birds.
Koromiko (Hebe stricta) Maori used an astringent infusion of the leaves to treat
dysentery and diarrhoea. It was such a valuable treatment that it became the only NZ native
plant to be listed in the 1895 edition of the British Extra Pharmacopoeia. During the Second
World War, quantities of the dried leaves were sent to the NZ troops at the North African front
as an effective remedy for dysentery. The active ingredient was originally thought to be tannins,
but it is now known to be a phenolic glycoside. Other traditional Maori uses include treatments
for ulcers, sores, headaches, kidney and bladder troubles.
Kotukutuku ( Fuchsia excorticata) Tree Fuchsia has loose papery bark and dark
purple berries, which are edible. The flowers grow straight from the main trunk and branches, a
phemenon known as cauliflory, which is a feature of tropical trees or trees of tropical origin. The
pollen is a deep blue, which is rare. Fuchsia is one of our few native trees that are deciduous.
The tree fuchsia is probably the largest fuchsia in the world. Birds eat the nectar and the fruit.
Kowaowao (Microsorum pustulatum) Hound’s Tongue Fern. Kowaowao means to
overgrow or choke. This fern is also known as paraharaha.
The young fronds were cooked as greens in a hangi, and eaten by the Tuhoe people of
the Urewera district. The growing tip of the rhizome (underground stem) can be eaten as well.
Kowhai (Sophora microphylla) Kowhai is the Maori word for ‘yellow.’ The flowering of
kowhai marked, for some Maori, the time to plant kumera.
Kowhai wood was used to make handles for axes.
Although all parts of the tree contain toxic alkaloids, the bark, flowers, leaves, and root
sap, were all used medicinally. An infusion of inner bark was used for itch, and an infusion of
kowhai and manuka barks mixed with wood ashes was allowed to dry and then rubbed into the
skin for various skin diseases. The bark, crushed and steeped in boiling water, was used for
bathing bruises. It was also said to help in the healing of fractures.
Kowharawhara (Astelia species) There are 13 species of native Astelia. Astelia
means ‘without a stem.’
Early Maori ate the ripe fruit of Astelia, and the leaves of several kinds were used for
fibre. Women used the white fibres from the undersides of the leaves to decorate their hair.
Mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus) Whiteywood belongs to the Violet family, and has
small yellow scented flowers, and purple berries. The birds like the fruit and the bees collect
the nectar and pollen. Maori used a slab of the soft mahoe wood to start a fire, using a pointed
stick of a hard wood, such as totara or kaikomako.
Mahoe leaves were boiled and the liquid was used to bathe parts of the body affected
with rheumatism. The boiled leaves were bandaged on to the skin to treat areas affected with
scabies. A plaster of steamed leaves was placed over a stomach wound. The inner bark was
frayed and applied as a pack on to burns.
Mamaku (Cyathea medullaris) Black Tree Fern Our tallest tree fern, up to 20 m.
Frond stalks black and very thick. Flattish oval scars on the trunk from fallen fronds. The white
pith from branches was an important food of the Maori, but it is extremely slimy unless first
steamed in a hangi. The flavour improves if it is then dried before it is eaten.
The pith was used also either raw or cooked as a poultice for sores and wounds. The
reddish gum was used to treat worms and diarrhoea.
Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) Red tea tree
Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) White tea tree
There is a long list of medicinal properties for manuka and the closely related kanuka.
Pounded seed capsules of kanuka were used to make a poultice for running sores. They both
contain leptospermone, an insecticide, and an effective treatment for intestinal worms. The gum
of kanuka was applied to scalds and burns, and taken to relieve coughing. A decoction of bark
was used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. Leaves were boiled with water and the vapour was
inhaled for colds. Seed capsules were boiled and the fluid was applied externally to reduce
inflammation, e.g. in congestion of the chest. The inner bark was boiled and the liquid was used
as a mouthwash and gargle.
Maori used the timber to make the shafts of bird spears, and the inner bark was used as
a durable and waterproof roofing material. The gum from manuka was used to scent hair oil.
The flexible seedlings of manuka were used for making crayfish traps.
The sugary gum found occasionally on the young manuka branches was highly thought
of as a food by the Maori. It was called pia manuka, and occurs when boring insects, such as
the lemon tree borer, have attacked the branches. It was given to babies, and adults ate it to
alleviate coughs. It apparently both tastes and looks like a lump of damp icing sugar
Miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) fruit is a favourite food of the wood pigeon and kaka.
Early Maori ate the ripe fruit raw. It tastes and smells like turpentine. The aromatic oil was
squeezed from the fruit and used by the Maori as a body perfume. It was used also to reduce
fevers, and rubbed on the skin as an insect repellent. Gum from the bark was placed on wounds
to stop bleeding and to heal ulcers.
An infusion of bark was used to treat stomachache.
Maori used Miro bark to make water containers.
Mouku (Asplenium bulbiferum) Hen and Chickens fern The common name of this
fern refers to its habit of sprouting young plants from its fronds. These root when the old fern
drops to the ground.
Early Maori cooked and ate the succulent unexpanded shoots, which are said to taste
rather like asparagus. Tuhoe people used the fronds for making mat-like bed blankets.
Ngaio (Myoporum laetum) The fruit and leaves of ngaio should not be eaten, even
though the Maori ate the ripe berries. Modern research has shown that both the fruit and the
leaves of ngaio contain a liver toxin. Several native birds eat the fruit.
Maori rubbed the young shoot, or an infusion of the leaves on their skin, as an insect
repellent, to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes and sandflies.
The liver toxin (Ngaione) has fungicidal and bactericidal properties. The leaves, when
bruised and warmed to release their oil, were used as a poultice for septic wounds. The leaves
were also used in elaborate recipes for bruises.
Nikau (Rhopalostylis sapida) The ripe red fruit looks edible, but it consists mainly
of hard seed. Wood pigeon eat the fruit, and sometimes kaka and kakariki eat it as well.
However while the fruits are still young and green they are quite edible. Their thin hard skin
encloses a soft watery centre, which has a slightly nutty flavour. The pink immature flowers,
while still enclosed in their green sheaths are edible.
Maori used the fronds as roofing material, and leaf strips were woven into baskets. The
rounded base of the fallen frond made a useful bowl-like container.
(Nikau belongs to the same family as the coconut palm. The name ni-kau means barren
coconut palm- ni is the polynesian word for coconut, and kau means barren.)
Pakau (Pneumatopteris pennigera) Gully fern Early Maori used the fronds to
flavour vegetable food in a hangi, by placing them around, under, or over the food. Tuhoe Maori
also ate the young fronds. In the Whangarei district, scraped roots were made into poultices for
boils.
(Also known as pakauroharoha.)
Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) The flowers are an important source of nectar
for bellbird and tui.
Maori collected the nectar for food and to treat sore throats. It was sucked from the
flower through a reed, but you can poke your tongue into the flower like the tui and bellbird.
An infusion of the inner bark was used to cure dysentery and diarrhoea. Pohutukawa
contains ellagic acid, an astringent used to treat both ailments.
Ponga (Cyathea dealbata) Silver tree fern Maori used the pith as a poultice for skin
rashes.
More commonly, the fronds were used as matting on the floors of sitting and sleeping
rooms. The fronds were placed with the silver side down, to avoid skin irritation from the
spores. The fronds were used with the silver side uppermost to mark tracks used at night. The
orientation of the tips marked the direction.
Maori used wheki, the rough tree fern (Dicksonia squarrosa) to build the walls of their
whare, as it lasts well in the ground. It was also used to build fences to enclose sections of pa.
Pukatea (Laurelia novae-zelandiae) The inner bark was used by early Maori as an
infusion for the treatment of ulcers, skin complaints, neuralgia, and toothache. The leaves have
analgesic properties when chewed, and the bark contains a substance with numbing properties
similar to morphine.
Puriri (Vitex lucens) Wood pigeon, tui, and kaka eat the fruit of puriri. The nectar is
eaten by bellbird, tui, and silver-eye.
Maori used infusions of puriri leaves for bathing muscular aches and sprains, and as a
remedy for sore throats and ulcers. Today, a patented germicide is derived from a compound
found in the leaves.
Rata (Metrosideros robusta) Northern rata Bellbird, tui, kaka, and kea eat the
nectar.
Early Maori used the nectar for food and to treat sore throats. Rata flowers contain
antiseptics, such as gallic acid. An infusion of inner bark was used to treat diarrhoea. The outer
bark was used as well. A lotion made from the bark was used for ringworm, aches, pains, and
wounds. The bark was crushed, steeped, and boiled, and the liquid was applied externally to
bruises, and taken internally for colds. The young leaves were chewed for toothache.
Rarahu (Pteridium esculentum) Bracken The prepared rhizome, or root-like
underground stem (aruhe), of bracken was early Maori’s most important wild vegetable food,
providing a whitish starch that could be eaten alone, made into cakes, or sweetened with flax
nectar. Correct preparation of the rhizomes and the furry brown fiddleheads was essential since
both have been proven to be carcinogenic when eaten raw. Bracken is also known as rahurahu,
and the fronds as rauaruhe.
The rhizomes were eaten before a sea voyage to prevent seasickness. The ashes and
charcoal dust of burnt fronds were applied to severe burns. The tender shoot was eaten to cure
dysentery. Fern root was also eaten for dysentery
Rengarenga (Arthropodium cirratum) Rock lily Early Maori ate the rhizomes
(underground stems) after cooking them in a hangi. There is some evidence that Rengarenga
may even have been cultivated for food, since it tends to grow larger when cultivated, and was
often found near deserted Maori homes. William Colensoi lists Rengarenga as fourteenth in
importance out of eighteen major food plants.
A poultice for ulcers was made from the bases of the leaves. The roots were scraped,
roasted, and beaten to a pulp for applying warm to unbroken tumours and abscesses.
Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) Maori ate the juicy red cup that holds the rimu
seed. The inner bark was pulped to put on burns. The bitter gum was used to stop bleeding,
and the leaves were used on sores.
Rewarewa (Knightia excelsa) NZ Honeysuckle To Maori, rewarewa was one of
their calendar plants. The appearance of the velvety, red and yellow flowers in November
indicated the sixth month of their calendar.
The Maori used to collect its nectar to eat. The picked flowers were tapped on the inside
of a gourd vessel. Tui, bellbird, silver-eye, and bees also eat the nectar.
The inner bark was bandaged over a wound to stop bleeding and speed its healing.
Tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides) Lemonwood The leaves of lemonwood are
lemon-scented when crushed, and the yellowy-cream flowers are sweet scented. Bees collect
the pollen and nectar. Early Maori used the tarata for perfume. They mixed flowers or crushed
leaves with bird fat for body lotion. Gum was bled from vertical grooves cut on the trunk and
mixed with the crushed seeds of titoki or kohia to make scented body oil. The gum was also
chewed to cure bad breath or mixed with the bitter dried sap of puha to make chewing gum.
Tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) Pigeon and kaka eat tawa fruit, and bees collect the
nectar and pollen.
When perfectly ripe, the purple black flesh of the fruit has a sweetish, slightly turpentine
flavour, but it was the cooked kernels which were most prized by the early Maori as food. The
kernels were sometimes dried and stored for years as a standby. They were usually steamed in
a hangi for two days, but also occasionally boiled or roasted in embers. They taste similar to
potato, but are slimy in texture. Roasting is better. When stored kernels were to be eaten they
were steamed again, or placed in a wooden trough in water and hot stones were thrown in.
The bark was used medicinally for stomach pain and colds.
Taraire (Beilschmiedia taraire) The fruit of taraire is 3.5 cm long and dark purple,
and is enjoyed by the wood pigeon. The kernal of the fruit was one of the staple fruits of the
forest dwelling Maori. The thin flesh surrounding it, though sweet enough to be eaten by
children, often tastes too strongly of turpentine to be of much use. Traditionally the kernels
were steamed in a hangi for a couple of days, but they can also be boiled for an hour, or
roasted in the embers of a fire. The texture is like a slimy version of a potato, though the
sliminess is greatly reduced by roasting.
Titoki (Alectryon excelsus) is a small attractive tree reaching 17 metres. The new
growth and the helmet-shaped seed capsules are covered in brown fur. Titoki fruits in late
spring and early summer. The seed capsule splits to reveal a large shiny black seed sitting in
juicy red pulp. Wood pigeons and other birds eat the fruit. The fruits were not an important food
supply for the Maori, though the red pulp was eaten in times of shortage and also by children.
The pulp was eaten to treat the symptoms of tuberculosis. Those who have written of
the flavour of the fruit agree that it looks nicer than it tastes, as it is quite astringent. The oil
from the seed was highly prized by the Maori and was used for hair oil and body lotion, and as a
soothing and healing lotion for the skin. The green oil was applied to weak eyes, sores, wounds,
chapped skin, bruises, painful joints, and into the ear for earache.
Titoki belongs to the same family (Sapindaceae) as the lychee (litchi) and ake-ake
(Dodonaea viscosa).
Totara (Podocarpus totara) is a large forest tree reaching 30 metres. The fruit of
totara is a seed sitting on a swollen red base. The totara fruits in autumn. Although the fruits
are small, the Maori men would climb the tall trees and collect the fruits by the basketful. The
berries were washed in a stream and eaten raw. Totara berries are apparently quite sweet and
juicy, though the taste of turpentine, characteristic of the Podocarp family, which includes rimu,
kahikatea, matai and miro, takes some getting used to. Tuis eat the fruit, and bees collect the
pollen in the spring.
The huge Maori waka taua (war canoes), capable of carrying 100 warriors, were, and still
are, often hollowed out from a single totara log. It has been the preferred wood for large
carvings and framing for whare. The inner bark was used for roofing and for storage containers,
and the outer bark was used as a splint to support fractured bones.
Maori used the hard wood of totara to start a fire. They used a sharp pointed stick of
kaikomako or totara and rubbed it up and down a slab of soft mahoe wood making a groove,
with the fine dust accumulating at the end of the groove. Eventually this dust would start to
smoulder, if the rubbing was vigorous enough. With much patience, and fanning, the dust would
eventually catch alight.
Smoke from the burning wood was used to treat paipai, a skin complaint. The inner bark
of totara and manuka were boiled together, and the extract was kept in a closed bottle for a
week. The resulting sweetish liquid was used to reduce fevers.
The fruits of other native podocarp trees, such as rimu, kahikatea, miro, and matai, also
were eaten by the Maori.
Whauwhaupaku (Pseudopanax arboreus) Five finger (Known as puahou in the Bay
of Plenty area)
To Tuhoe Maori, the fruiting of whauwhaupaku marked the fourth month of the calendar
(September). The ripe berries are extremely bitter, and quite inedible. Tui and silver-eye,
however, eat the fruit. The bark was sometimes used to make small water-carrying containers.
N.Z. Native Plant Food, Fire, Fibre, Fabric, and Pharmacy Trail
Notes:
Buchanan Way skirts Sound Shell Lawn and runs up to the Stables, then continues up to
join Wakefield Way. Its early name was Dray Road but after it was widened to link with
Wakefield Way it was renamed to honour John Buchanan, the Garden’s first botanist and
draughtsman.
The valley that runs up from the Stables is known as Stable Gully. The Stables were built
in 1911, on what was the Wesleyan Reserve, not the 13-acre Reserve. The area around the
Stables is known as Nursery Glen, as it, and the Sunken Garden, were the site of the Garden’s
first nursery.
* denotes not naturally occurring in Wellington Ecological District.
+ denotes not naturally occurring in the Botanic Garden
Treehouse
Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) +
Karaka produces large (2.5-4 cm long) orange fruits. The wood pigeon is the only bird
large enough to swollen the fruits whole.
Food- Kernels of the fruit, after correct preparation (extensive cooking and washing).
Pharmacy-Upper side of leaf for wounds.
William Wakefield Way
Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) * +
Food- Nectar
Pharmacy- Nectar: sore throats. Inner bark infusion: dysentery and diarrhoea.
Harakeke (Phormium tenax) New Zealand Flax +
Fibre-Most important fibre plant for Maori. Leaves: mats, cloaks, skirts, baskets, sandals,
ropes, fishing lines, nets, tukutuku panels. Flower stalks: floats, rafts, kindling.
Fabric- dressed fibre for dressing wounds and napkins.
Food- Nectar.
Pharmacy- Gum-burns, sunburn, old sores, wounds, diarrhoea. Hot poultice of leaf base
or root for abscesses, tumours, swollen joints. Warmed roots: cuts and ringworm.
Ti kouka (Cordyline australis) Cabbage tree +
Planted to mark tracks through swamps, burial grounds, river crossings, off-shore fishing
grounds.
Food- Tap roots, tender shoots.
Fibre- Leaves: baskets, bird snares, rope, string, rain capes, sandals, thatching.
Pharmacy- Leaf infusion: dysentery, diarrhoea, cuts. Leaf scrapings: cuts, cracks in skin,
sores.
Kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile)
Mahogany family. Cauliflory.
Wood- Canoes.
Pharmacy- Fruit pulp: Tuberculosis. Brewed bark and leaves: Coughing. Leaf infusion:
Sore throats. Bark infusion: To stop bleeding.
Titoki (Alectryon excelsus)
Same family as lychee and akeake.
Pharmacy- Pulp of fruit for tuberculosis. Oil from seed: Hair lotion, body lotion, healing
lotion for skin. Green oil: weak eyes, sores, wounds, chapped skin. Bruises, painful joints,
earache.
Houhere (Hoheria populnea var. populnea) Lacebark * +
Fibre- Lacy bark: Rope, headbands, hats.
Pharmacy- Inner bark: Jelly for sore and weak eyes, indigestion.
Hangehange (Geniostoma rupestre var. ligustrifolium) Maori Privet
Food- Leaves: Flavouring.
Pharmacy- Sap: Skin disease. Bark: Scabies.
Dye- Bark: Black colour for dyeing flax.
Koromiko (Hebe stricta)
Pharmacy- Leaf infusion: Diarrhoea and dysentery. Dried leaves sent to NZ troops in N.
Africa in World War Two. Treatments for: Ulcers, sores, headaches, kidney and bladder
troubles.
Buchanan Way
Akiraho (Olearia paniculata)
The leaves are yellowish-green on top, and white and hairy underneath.
Horoeka (Pseudopanax crassifolius) Lancewood +
The adult and juvenile leaves are quite different, the juvenile are long and narrow, the
adult less than half as long and are twice as wide as the juvenile.
Fibre- Midribs of young leaves: Laces, mending bridles and harnesses.
Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum)
Food- Fruit eaten raw. Jelly made from fruit and seaweed.
Pharmacy- Leaves were chewed to relieve toothache. Leaves: Skin complaint, kidney
trouble, rheumatic pain, cold, boils and bruises. Leaves and bark: Cuts, wounds, stomach pains.
Root extract: Urinary troubles.
Pesticide- Acrid smoke to kill pests in kumera crops. Caterpillars of the kawakawa moth
are resistant to the insecticide in the leaves.
Akeake (Dodonaea viscosa) +
Wood- One of the hardest of native timbers, and was used by Maori for clubs and
weapons. Early settlers used it for machine bearings.
Pharmacy- Maori used the seeds to make perfume.
Mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus) Whiteywood
Mahoe belongs to the Violet family, and has small yellow scented flowers, and purple
berries. The birds like the fruit.
Wood- Maori used a slab of the soft mahoe wood to start a fire, using a pointed stick of a
hard wood, such as totara or kaikomako.
Pharmacy- Boiled leaves: scabies. Steamed leaves: stomach wounds. Liquid from boiled
leaves: rheumatism. Inner bark (frayed): burns.
Whauwhaupaku, Puahou (Pseudopanax arboreus) Five finger
The fruiting of whauwhaupaku marked the fourth month of the calendar (September) for
Maori. The ripe berries are extremely bitter, and quite inedible. Tui and silver-eye, however, eat
the fruit. Bark sometimes used to make small water-carrying containers.
Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium)
Birds are attracted to the sticky black seeds produced in autumn. Kohuhu has small,
dark red flowers.
Food- Gum was mixed with the bitter dried sap of puha and chewed as a form of
chewing gum.
Wood- Twice the strength of English oak but is not durable in the ground.
Pharmacy- Kohuhu produces three different fragrances: one from the crushed leaf, one
from the gum or the broken branchlet, and one from the flowers at night. Maori used these to
make perfumes. The gum was collected by bruising the bark, or by making short vertical cuts in
it. It was used to scent the hair oil made from titoki seed oil and kohia seed oil, and to perfume
ointments made from pigeon fat. Leaves: scent sachets. Kohuhu was used to treat scabies,
eczema of the scalp, and other skin diseases.
Tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides) Lemonwood
The leaves of lemonwood are lemon-scented when crushed, and the yellowish-cream
flowers are sweet scented. It was one of the first plants sent from NZ to the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew.
Pharmacy- Early Maori used the tarata for perfume. Flowers or crushed leaves: mixed
with bird fat for body lotion. Gum: bled from vertical grooves cut on the trunk and mixed with
the crushed seeds of titoki or kohia to make scented body oil. Also chewed to cure bad breath
or mixed with the bitter dried sap of puha to make chewing gum.
Wood- Strong and elastic and was once used for the handles of carpenters’ tools, and for
wood turning.
Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) Tea tree
The leaves of manuka are prickly to touch, unlike kanuka. The flowers are larger than
kanuka flowers and not in clusters. The seed capsules are broader than those of kanuka. The
manuka blight fungus that grows on the honeydew secreted by an Australian scale insect causes
the sooty coloring on the bark and twigs.
Food- Captain Cook and his crew brewed the leaves to make tea and beer. Maori ate the
sugary gum-like deposit found occasionally on the young manuka branches. It occurs when
boring insects, such as the lemon tree borer, have attacked the branches. It was given to
babies, and adults ate it to alleviate coughs. It looks and tastes like a lump of damp icing sugar.
Fibre- Bark: Used by early Maori for making water containers. Inner bark: durable and
waterproof roofing material, and waterproof capes. Straight poles: battens and rafters in whare,
and shafts of bird spears or paddles. Flexible seedlings of manuka: crayfish traps. Early
settlers: Manuka twigs used for brooms, the bark for dyeing wool, the stems for hop poles, tool
and implement handles, firewood, and the sawdust for smoking fish.
Pharmacy- Early Maori used the true gum from to scent hair oil. Manuka contains an
insecticide called leptospermone, an effective remedy for intestinal worms. The essential oil is
used in soap making. Manuka honey is used to treat wounds infected with methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, chronic wounds, leg ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and skin graft sites.
Rarahu (Pteridium esculentum) Bracken
Food- The prepared rhizome, or root-like underground stem, of bracken was early
Maori’s most important wild vegetable food, providing a whitish starch that could be eaten
alone, made into cakes, or sweetened with flax nectar. Correct preparation of the rhizomes and
the furry brown fiddleheads was essential since both have been proven to be carcinogenic when
eaten raw.
Pharmacy- Early Maori: Rhizomes: seasickness prevention. Ashes and charcoal dust from
burnt fronds: severe burns. Tender shoot: dysentery. Fern root: dysentery.
Karo (Pittosporum ralphii) * +
The leaves are white underneath and densely hairy. The flowers are dark red. Occurs
from Thames south to Wanganui and Dannevirke.
Ponga (Cyathea dealbata) Silver tree fern
The rhizomes of tree ferns are drawn out into long woody trunks that produce a crown of
fronds at the top. The fronds of Cyathea tree ferns have both scales and hairs. The sori are
positioned away from the pinna margins. The fronds are softer to the touch than Dicksonia tree
ferns. Ponga has prominent peg-like frond bases on the trunk. The stipe (stalk) and the
underside of the frond are silvery-white.
Fibre- Fronds: matting on the floors of sitting and sleeping rooms, placed with the silver
side down, to avoid skin irritation from the spores. Fronds: with the silver side uppermost to
mark tracks used at night. Orientation of the tips marked the direction.
Pharmacy- Maori used the pith as a poultice for skin rashes.
Tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa)
Pigeon and kaka eat tawa fruit.
Food- Fruit: Purple-black flesh (sweetish, slightly turpentine flavour). Kernels: a valuable
food for the early Maori; were sometimes dried and stored for years as a standby. Usually
steamed in a hangi for two days, but occasionally boiled or roasted in embers. Taste similar to
potato, but slimy in texture. Roasting is better.
Pharmacy- Bark: stomach pain and colds.
Tanekaha (Phyllocladus trichomanoides) Celery pine * +
Phyllocladus is unique among the conifers in that what appear to be leaves are in fact
flattened branchlets functioning as leaves, and are called phylloclades. The phylloclades of
tanekaha resemble the leaves of celery, hence its common name. The seed cones develop on
the margins of the phylloclades. You can get a better look at the leaves on another tanekaha at
the end of Buchanan Way near the Sound Shell.
Dye- Maori used the bark to dye flax a red-brown colour. Bark was exported in the late
19th century as a source of dye, and as a mordant.
Pharmacy- Bark: dysentery.
Wood- Very flexible, suitable for fishing rods.
Rewarewa (Knightia excelsa) NZ Honeysuckle
To Maori, rewarewa was one of their calendar plants. The appearance of the velvety, red
and yellow flowers in November indicated the sixth month of their calendar.
Food- Maori collected the nectar to eat. Flowers were tapped on the inside of a gourd
vessel. Tui, bellbird, silver-eye eat the nectar.
Pharmacy- Inner bark: bandaged over a wound to stop bleeding and speed healing.
Kowaowao (Microsorum pustulatum) Hound’s tongue fern
Kowaowao means to overgrow or choke. Shiny fronds.
Food- Young fronds were cooked as greens in a hangi. Growing tip of the rhizome
(underground stem) can be eaten as well.
Kanono (Coprosma grandifolia)
Food- Maori children ate the berries, although older people would eat them too when
better berries were scarce. They are sweet and juicy, with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
Karamu (Coprosma robusta)
Food- Karamu belongs to the coffee family. The seeds of both karamu and taupata (C.
repens) have been roasted and ground and used as coffee in the late 1870s. Fruit sometimes
eaten by early Maori.
Pharmacy- Leaf decotion used to reduce fevers and for kidney trouble. Infusion of young
shoots used for bladder inflammation. Liquid from boiled inner bark used for stomach-ache and
vomiting.
Dye- Bark used to produce a gold colour to dye flax.
Ngaio (Myoporum laetum)
Food- Fruit and leaves of ngaio contain a liver toxin (ngaione). Several native birds eat
the fruit.
Pharmacy- Maori rubbed the young shoot, or an infusion of the leaves on their skin, as
an insect repellent, to prevent bites from mosquitoes and sandflies. Ngaione has fungicidal and
bactericidal properties. Leaves: bruised and warmed to release their oil, were used as a poultice
for septic wounds. Leaves: also used in elaborate recipes for bruises.
Mapou (Myrsine australis)
Pharmacy- Early Maori used an infusion of leaves for toothache. Mapou was also used to
treat arthritis, intestinal worms, and as a tonic.
Wood- Strong, pale red-veined. Was used by cabinetmakers, as solid wood and as a
veneer. Also used to make chairs and the handles of carpenters’ tools. Not durable in the
ground, but has been used for rafters, beams and joists.
Huruhuru Whenua (Asplenium oblongifolium) Shining Spleenwort
Huruhuru Whenua means ‘altogether glowing.’ ‘Spleenwort’ is an old English name for
Asplenium ferns generally, and refers to a reputation dating back to the first century AD of one
species (A. ceterach) in healing large spleens, liver, and kidney complaints.
Food- Early Maori ate the young curled shoots as greens.
Rangiora (Brachyglottis repanda)
The flowering of rangiora signalled the fourth month of the Maori calendar (September),
the time to plant kumera.
Food- Maori used the leaves for wrapping hangi meals and as lids to cover stored food.
Pharmacy- Leaves: applied to wounds and old ulcerated sores. Gum: (collected from
cuts in the bark) used to scent hair oils and ointments by heating it until it dissolved in the seed
oil or pigeon fat base.
Hinau (Eleaocarpus dentatus)
This tree is thought to be the oldest in the Botanic Garden. Wood pigeon eat the fruit.
For Maori the flowering of hinau indicated it was time to burn off the bracken fern fronds to
improve the crop from the fern’s edible rhizomes.
Food- Fruit: the thin flesh was a very important food to the Maori. The berries were
pounded to remove the meal from the hard stones. The meal was strained, then shaped into a
cake and baked in an umu, or earth oven. Gruel was then made from the remaining flesh still
adhering to the stones. The flesh of the hinau fruit was the third most valuable native plant
food.
Pharmacy- Bark decoction: skin disease.
Dye- Bark: black dye for dyeing flax. An exudation from the tree was used to make a
black pigment for tattooing.
Fibre- Bark: was used to make simple water containers.
Rereti (Blechnum chambersii)
Food- Early Maori steamed the young fronds as greens in hangi.
Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides)
Kahikatea is our tallest native tree, and is also believed to be our most ancient, with
pollen remains dating back over 100 million years.
Food- The juicy, orange-red base that holds the kahikatea seed was an important food of
early Maori. The fruit is sweet, with a slight piney aftertaste. Pigeon, kaka and tui eat the fruit.
Wood- Between 1885 and the 1940s kahikatea timber was used to make butter boxes,
as the timber is odourless and lightweight. The vast majority of NZ’s kahikatea stands
disappeared overseas with the butter. Was used by Maori for making bird spears.
Pharmacy- A tonic medicine was made by steeping wood chips in boiling water.
Dye- Soot obtained from heartwood provided a pigment for tattooing.
Upper small track
Kauri (Agathis australis) * +
Wood- Maori: canoes and large carvings. Early settlers: houses, ships, carts, church
pews, and post office counters.
Gum- Both fresh gum and sub-fossilised resin were dissolved in linseed oil to make
varnish, and the raw material for making paint and linoleum. Maori burnt old gum to make a
tattooing pigment, and used fresh gum for chewing. They also burnt it to deter pests in the
kumera crops.
Puriri (Vitex lucens) * +
Wood pigeon, tui, and kaka eat the fruit of puriri. Nectar: eaten by bellbird, tui, and
silver-eye.
Pharmacy- Maori: infusions of puriri leaves for bathing muscular aches and sprains, and
as a remedy for sore throats and ulcers. Today, a patented germicide is derived from a
compound found in the leaves.
Wood- NZ’s strongest and most durable. Was used for piles, fence posts, railway
sleepers, and bridges. Has a swirling grain and is difficult to split. Still valued for wood turning
and furniture.
Peka-a-Waka (Earina mucronata) Bamboo orchid
Orchids, like this one, that grow on forest trees have developed special tactics to retain
moisture. The covering of the roots is pierced with many tiny holes that fill with water when it
rains. The water then passes to special cells that store water for later use. It flowers in spring.
Mouku (Asplenium bulbiferum) Hen and Chickens fern
The common name of this fern refers to its habit of sprouting young plants from its
fronds. These root when the old fern drops to the ground.
Food- Early Maori cooked and ate the succulent still coiled shoots, which are said to taste
rather like asparagus. Fronds were used to make mat-like bed blankets.
Wheki-Ponga (Dicksonia fibrosa)
This tree fern has a very thick trunk made up of a huge mat of aerial roots, and a heavy
skirt of dead fronds. Fronds are harsh to the touch, and have hairs only. Sori occur at the
margins of the pinnae. The slowest growing of NZ’s tree ferns; some are several hundred years
old.
Fibre- Maori split the fibrous trunks to form slabs for lining buildings, especially food
stores, as they made a rat-proof barrier.
Mamaku (Cyathea medullaris) Black Tree Fern
Our tallest tree fern, up to 20 m. Frond stalks black and very thick. Flattish oval scars on
the trunk from fallen fronds.
Food- White pith from branches was an important food of the Maori, but is extremely
slimy unless first steamed in a hangi. Flavour improves if it is dried before it is eaten.
Pharmacy- Pith: used either raw or cooked as a poultice for sores and wounds. The
reddish gum was used to treat worms and diarrhoea.
Rengarenga (Arthropodium cirratum) Rock Lily +
Food- Early Maori ate the rhizomes (underground stems) after cooking them in a hangi.
Rengarenga may have been cultivated for food, as it was often found near deserted Maori
homes. William Colensoi lists rengarenga as fourteenth in importance out of eighteen major
food plants.
Pharmacy-Bases of leaves: poultice for ulcers. Roots: scraped, roasted, and beaten to a
pulp for applying warm to unbroken tumours and abscesses.
Rata (Metrosideros fulgens) Rata Vine +
Food- Nectar (slightly pink and tasting like dry cider) can be sucked from the flowers.
Pharmacy- Bark: treatment for dysentry. Sap: used on wounds, for coughs and eye
problems. Inner bark: for healing sores and to stop bleeding.
Fibre- Early Maori used the vines to tie up fences, platforms, and the framework of
houses. Early settlers used them for making garden seats.
Tawhai Rauriki (Nothofagus solandri) Black Beech +
Beech does not occur naturally on the Wellington Peninsula. Occurs on the Eastbourne
hills, and on the Rimataka Range.
Food- Honey dew honey is exported. Honey dew is a secretion from a scale insect that
sucks the sap of the beech tree. Honey dew provides food for tui, kaka, bellbird, kea, silvereye,
wasps, possums, and a soot-like mould.
Pharmacy- In the 1930s honey dew was used as a component in cough mixture.
Tanning- In the 19th century the bark was used as a source of tannin.
Wood- Once used for bridges, beams, decking, flooring, wall paneling, railway sleepers,
gateposts, fence rails, cartwheel spokes, and furniture. It contains a lot of silica and quickly
blunts tools.
Lower small track
Melicope mantelli +
A hybrid between wharangi (Melicope ternata) and poataniwha (Melicope simplex).
Occurs only in the Wellington region, in coastal areas.
Pakau (Pneumatopteris pennigera) Gully fern
Food- Early Maori used the fronds to flavour vegetable food in a hangi, by placing them
around, under, or over the food. Tuhoe Maori also ate the young fronds.
Pharmacy- Scraped roots: poultice for boils.
Tawhai Raunui (Nothofagus fusca) Red Beech +
Common name derived from the colour of the wood or the colour of the leaves of young
trees in winter.
Food- Honey dew used as bee food, or harvested for export. Honey dew provides food
for birds.
Dye- Maori obtained black dye from the bark to dye flax and cabbage tree leaves.
Wood- Sleepers, mine props, houses, wharves, bridges, boat building, furniture.
Makawe (Asplenium flaccidum) Hanging Spleenwort
Makawe translates as “hair of the head, or ringlets.” This fern usually grows in trees to
get enough light.
Raupeka (Earina autumnalis) Easter orchid
Raupeka flowers in the autumn.
Mokimoki (Microsorum scandens) Fragrant Fern
When fresh, this fern smells of freshly cut grass. After drying, it emits a strong and
lasting sweet marzipan-like fragrance. Fronds dull.
Pharmacy- Maori used it to perfume hair and body lotion, make sachets for wearing
around the neck or perfuming a house when guests were expected.
Panako (Blechnum filiforme) Thread Fern
Panako has three different types of fronds, ground fronds with small, roundish pinnae,
climbing fronds with long pointed pinnae, and fertile fronds with thread-like fronds.
Tawhai (Nothofagus menziesii) Silver Beech +
Silvery white bark on young trees.
Dye- Maori produced a black dye for flax and cabbage tree leaves.
Wood- Not durable outdoors. Good for furniture and steam bending e.g. tubs, baskets,
wine casks.
Buchanan Way
Piupiu (Blechnum discolor) Crown Fern +
Crown fern is often the main undergrowth in beech forest. The undersides of the leaves
are pale. Bent-over fronds have been used as emergency track markers, visible even at night. It
survives browsing by deer and possums, possibly because of the high concentration of tannins
in the young leaves.
Para (Marattia salicina) King fern * +
King fern is not common now in the wild.
Food- Maori cut horseshoe-like bracts from the underground stems, which they cooked
for food. Its rarity is partly because one person can eat in one day the growth of five years.
Taraire (Beilschmiedia taraire) * +
The fruit of taraire is 3.5 cm long and dark purple, and is enjoyed by the wood pigeon.
Food- Fruit: The kernel was one of the staple fruits of the forest dwelling Maori. Flesh: can be
eaten, but often tastes too strongly of turpentine. Kernels: steamed in a hangi for a couple of
days, but can be boiled for an hour, or roasted in embers. The texture is like slimy potato,
though less so when roasted.
Korokio (Corokia cotoneaster X C. buddleioides) * +
The yellow, orange, or red berries of korokio are an attractive food for the birds. In
spring it is covered in many small yellow flowers. It is grown in England where it is known as
the NZ wire-netting bush, because of its divaricating habit.
Phyllocladus alpinus Mountain Toatoa, Mountain Celery Pine * +
Found throughout NZ in subalpine forest and above treeline. It can spread laterally by
rooting where the branches touch the ground and by underground stems. It has small seed
cones on the stalks of the phylloclades.
Nikau (Rhopalostylis sapida) * +
Nikau belongs to the same family as the coconut palm. The name ni-kau means barren
coconut palm- ni is the polynesian word for coconut, and kau means barren.
The ripe red fruit looks edible, but it consists mainly of hard seed. Wood pigeon eat the
fruit, and sometimes kaka and kakariki eat it as well.
Food- Fruits are edible while still young and green. Their thin hard skin encloses a soft
watery centre, which has a slightly nutty flavour. The pink immature flowers, while still enclosed
in their green sheaths are also edible.
Fibre- Maori used the fronds as roofing material. Leaf strips were woven into baskets.
Rounded base of the fallen frond: useful bowl-like container.
Xeronema callistemon Poor Knights Lily * +
This is a very impressive flowering plant, from the volcanic terrain of the Poor Knights
Islands off the northeast coast of NZ. It has iris-like leaves and brilliant red flowers, with long
stamens massed into a 15cm brush. They are held horizontally to provide a perch for the
nectar-eating birds that pollinate them. They can be grown in containers, but you have to wait
about seven years for them to flower.
Kowhai (Sophora microphylla) +
Kowhai is the Maori word for ‘yellow.’ The flowering of kowhai marked, for some Maori,
the time to plant kumera.
Wood-Handles for axes.
Pharmacy- All parts of the tree contain toxic alkaloids, but the bark, flowers, leaves, and
root sap were all used medicinally. Infusion of inner bark: was used for itch. An infusion of
kowhai and manuka barks mixed with wood ashes was allowed to dry and then rubbed into the
skin for various skin diseases. Bark, crushed and steeped in boiling water, was used for bathing
bruises, and for healing of fractures.
Kowharawhara (Astelia chathamica) * +
There are 13 species of native Astelia. Astelia means ‘without a stem.’
Food- Early Maori ate the ripe fruit of Astelia.
Fibre- Leaves were used for fibre. Women used the white fibres from the undersides of
the leaves to decorate their hair.
Fuchsia procumbens * +
Is rare in the wild. Found in coastal areas from North Cape to Coromandel. Small round
bright green leaves, arising from sprawling stems. Unlike other Fuchsia species the flowers face
upwards. The flowers are yellow, with red filaments and blue anthers. The fruits are large, and
pinkish-red.
Kowhai Ngutu-kaka (Clianthus puniceus) Kaka beak * +
Large clusters of bright red flowers, reminiscent of a kaka’s beak. Native to northern
NZ, it is now rare in the wild.
Taroraro (Muehlenbeckia astonii) +
Small heart-shaped leaves, and small red zig-zag branches. Male and female flowers
occur on separate plants. Found only at the eastern end of Wellington’s south coast, Wairarapa
coast, Kaitorete Spit (L. Ellesmere), and inland Malborough. DoC rates it in the most
endangered species category. In 1998, DoC planted hundreds at Turakirae scientific reserve on
the Wainuiomata coast, to increase numbers.
Koru (Colensoa physaloides syn. Pratia physaloides) * +
Found in shady areas and along streams in Northland and on northern offshore islands.
It has purple-blue tubular flowers, followed by dark blue berries.
Tecomanthe speciosa * +
All the plants of this species in cultivation have originated from one remaining plant in
the wild on Great Island in the Three Kings group. This plant died, but six plants had layered
from the original. The large creamy-white tubular flowers are produced in winter.
Whau (Entelia arborescens) Corkwood * +
Becoming rare in the wild, due to browsing by goats, sheep, and cattle.
Wood- Whau has very large thin-walled cells, and the dry wood is extremely light, about
half the weight of cork, and only one and a half times the weight of balsa. Early settlers called it
cork wood or cork tree. Maori used the wood to make the framework of small rafts, and the
floats for fishing nets.
Totara (Podocarpus totara)
Totara is a large forest tree reaching 30 metres. The fruit of totara is a seed sitting on a
swollen red base. The totara fruits in autumn.
Food-Maori ate the small fruits, which were eaten raw. Fruits sweet and juicy, but taste
of turpentine, characteristic of the Podocarp family, which includes rimu, kahikatea, matai and
miro. Tui eat the fruit.
Wood- The huge Maori waka taua (war canoes), capable of carrying 100 warriors, were,
and still are, often hollowed out from a single totara log. The preferred wood for large carvings
and framing for whare.
Fibre-Inner bark: roofing and for storage containers.
Pharmacy- Outer bark was used as a splint to support fractured bones. Smoke from the
burning wood was used to treat a skin complaint.
Fire- Maori used the hard wood of totara to start a fire. They used a sharp pointed stick
and rubbed it up and down a slab of soft mahoe or pate (Schefflera digitata) wood making a
groove, with the fine dust accumulating at the end of the groove. Eventually this dust would
start to smolder, if the rubbing was vigorous enough. With much patience, and fanning, the
dust would eventually catch alight.
Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) White tea tree
Food- Kanuka leaves: have been used for brewing tea. Captain Cook was the first to do
this.
Fibre- Maori used the inner bark as a durable and waterproof roofing material.
Wood- Maori used the timber to make the shafts of bird spears.
Pharmacy- There is a long list of medicinal properties for kanuka. Pounded seed
capsules: a poultice for running sores. Kanuka contains leptospermone, an insecticide, and an
effective treatment for intestinal worms. Gum: applied to scalds and burns, and taken to relieve
coughing. Decoction of bark: to treat diarrhea and dysentery. Leaves: boiled with water and the
vapour was inhaled for colds. Seed capsules: boiled and the fluid applied externally to reduce
inflammation, e.g. in congestion of the chest. Inner bark: boiled and the liquid used as a
mouthwash and gargle.
References
Botanica. 1997. Bryant, G., Ed. David Bateman Ltd, North Shore City.
Brooker, S.G., Cambie, R.C. and Cooper, R.C. 1987. New Zealand Medicinal Plants.
Heinneman, Auckland.
Cave,Y., and Paddison, V. 1999. The Gardener’s Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Native
Plants. Random House, Auckland.
Crowe, A.1990.Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton.
Crowe, A. 1992. Which Native Tree? Viking. Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd. Auckland.
Crowe, A. 1994. Which Native Forest Plant? Viking. Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd. Auckland.
Crowe, A. 1994. Which Native Fern? Viking. Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd. Auckland.
Crowe, A. 1995. Which Coastal Plant? Viking. Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd. Auckland.
Dawson,J., and Lucas, R. 2000. Nature Guide to the New Zealand Forest. Random
House, Auckland.
Salmon, J.T. 1986. The Reed Field Guide to New Zealand Native Trees. Reed Publishing
New Zealand (Ltd), Auckland.
Notes compiled by Jenny Hickman (2003)
Marattia salicina
The King Fern was once abundant in the North Island south of Taranaki in deep
densely forested gullies.
The massive stem is filled with starch that was prepared by the Maori for food. Since
European settlement, pigs in particular have greatly reduced this species.
This fern is also found in Queensland.
Melicytus ramiflorus
Mahoe or Whiteywood belongs to the Violet family. Found in the lowland to
montane light forest and forest margins, North, South and Stewart Islands. Produces small
yellow scented flowers, and purple berries. The birds like the fruit and the bees collect the
nectar and pollen. It has patches of white lichen on its trunk.
Maori used a slab of the soft Mahoe wood to start a fire. They used a sharp
pointed stick of Kaikomako or Totara and rubbed it up and down the slab making a groove, with
the fine dust accumulating at the end of the groove. Eventually this dust would start to
smoulder, if the rubbing was vigorous enough.
Infusions of the leaves were used to treat rheumatism and scabies, and the inner bark
was used to treat burns.
A charcoal is produced from the wood
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of around 170 species in the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae).
However, there are many unnamed and incorrectly named species and the true number is
probably well in excess of 200. The majority of species are endemic to Australia but several
occur to the north (eg. Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Malaysia).
The first plants of the genus were, in fact, collected in the mid 1600s in Indonesia by
George Runf, a Dutch merchant. These two species are now known as M. leucadendra and M.
cajuputi and both also occur in tropical Australia.
Today, tea tree oil, which has antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, is
commercially extracted from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia. Cajeput oil, which is used in
medicine, is extracted from the leaves of Melaleuca leucadendra and M. cajuputi. Essential oils
are extracted from Melaleuca linearifolia.
Several paperbarks have strong wood that never rots (M. dealbata, M. nervosa).
Melaleucas are commonly known as "Paperbarks" in the tree forms and "Honey
Myrtles" in the smaller forms. These names refer to the flaky bark of many species and the
nectar produced in the flowers. The term "Tea Tree" is also applied occasionally by this is more
commonly used with the related genus Leptospermum.
The botanical name for the genus means "black and white" and presumably refers to the
blackened lower bark and white upper bark of some species, resulting from fire.
In nature, melaleucas are often found along watercourses or along the edges of swamps.
They are generally plants of open forest, woodland or shrub land and are popular for gardens
and landscaping both in Australia and overseas. With one exception, melaleucas have not
become weeds outside of their natural habitat. M. quinquenervia, however, a large tree from
eastern Australia, has become a serious pest in the Florida everglades in the USA. This
particular species is widely used as a landscaping plant in many parts of Australia.
Melaleuca is closely related to Callistemon ("Bottlebrushes") and differs from that
genus in the way that the stamens are connected to the floral tube
The showy parts of the flowers of Melaleuca are the stamens, the petals being small and
inconspicuous. The stamens are often brightly coloured with red, pink, mauve, purple and
yellow being common. The Melaleuca "flower" is really an inflorescence formed by a cluster of
small flowers.
Peak flowering for most species is spring (September to November in Australia),
however, a spasmodic flowering at other times is not unusual. The flower clusters may occur
terminally at the ends of branches or in short spikes along the branches.
Following flowering, three-celled woody seed capsules develop with each capsule
containing many small seeds. The seed pods usually remain tightly closed unless stimulated to
open by fire or by the death of the plant.
Most melaleucas are small to medium shrubs but a few can become medium to large
sized trees.
Very few species of Melaleuca have commercial uses. The timber of M. leucadendra
and M. quinquenervia been used for fairly minor applications such as railway sleepers, fence
posts and mine props and these species are also useful in honey production.
The most significant use of the genus is in the production of Tea Tree Oil. M. alternifolia
is most commonly used species and there has been significant expansion of the industry in the
past decade or so. Tea Tree Oil is particularly valuable as a germicide and is used in a number
of products including shampoos, antiseptic creams and soaps.
Melaleuca and Callistemon are two of the best known Australian members of the Myrtle
family. All of the Callistemons and many of the Melaleucas have flowers arranged in
"Bottlebrush" fashion clustered together in cylindrically shaped spikes. But only Callistemons are
commonly called "Bottlebrushes" ; Melaleucas are usually called "Paperbarks" or "Honey
Myrtles" or sometimes "Tea Trees" although that name is more appropriate to another related
genus, Leptospermum.
Tea Tree Oil is derived from one species of Melaleuca alternifolia. Although the
species grows naturally in only one region in the world, between Grafton and Murwillumbah on
the north coast of New South Wales, it is not uncommon and exists in large areas. As early as
1770, M. alternifolia attracted attention. When exploring the above area, Captain James Cook
wrote how he collected leaves from what he described as "Tea Tree" and boiled them to make a
spicy tea. Sir Joseph Banks, who was on the expedition with him, collected samples of the same
leaves and took them back to England for further study.
One hundred and fifty years later in 1923, an Australian Chemist, Dr A R Penfold
discovered that not only was the pale lemon tinted oil distilled from the tea tree leaves
pleasant smelling, it was also non-poisonous, non-irritant and had exceptional
antiseptic and fungicidal properties whilst in its purist form. In 1933, journals such as the
Australasian Journal of Pharmacy, stated that "the oil is a powerful disinfectant,... and has been
used successfully in a wide range of septic conditions."
During World War II, tea tree oil was so popular it was an essential item for every first
aid kit issued to army and naval units in tropical regions. Demand however eventually
surpassed supply and synthetic alternatives gained popularity.
By the 1970s concern over possible side effects from toxic substances and synthetic
medicines rekindled interest in natural therapies and stimulated further research into the
medicinal value of tea tree oil. Subsequently, a world interest in the oil led to the formation of
the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association, the establishment of many plantations and the
development of a multi-million dollar industry.
For therapeutic purposes, only authentic antiseptic grade Melaleuca alternifolia should be
used.
Uses for tea tree oil include:
 Use neat or diluted in water to treat mouth ulcers, cold sores, sprains, boils,
bites, leeches, ticks, pimples, burns and warts.
 Five drops to a glass of water makes a gargle or mouthwash for sore throats, sore
gums and bad breath.
 A few drops added to humidifiers or vaporisers relieve nasal and chest
congestion.
 Ten drops in bathwater provides relief of muscle aches.


As a mixture of 1 part tea tree oil to 10 parts of almond oil, it can be used to
relieve arthritic pain and heal cuts, abrasions, dry skin, dermatitis and cradle cap.
Ten drops of oil added to 250 ml of human shampoo improves dry or oily hair and
itchy scalp, and treats head lice. Added to pet shampoo it kills fleas, and soothes
rashes, itches and cuts.
Melaleuca viridiflora
Broad-leaved Paperbark is another member of the Myrtaceae family. Its name
comes from the Greek words “melas” meaning “black”, and “leakos” meaning “white”, alluding
to the black trunk and white branches of some Melaleuca species.
Melaleuca viridiflora occurs across the tropical north of Australia. It grows to a height
of 10m (30 feet). The trunk and branches are clothed in thick papery bark, which gives it its
common name. Its leaves are amongst the largest in Melaleucas, up to 10 cm (4 inches) long
and 5 cm (2 inches) wide. It has bottlebrush type flower spikes, which are greenish-cream, but
can be pink or red. The flowers have showy stamens, and the profuse blooms produce nectar,
which is an excellent food source for native bees, birds and animals, such as flying foxes. It
likes sunny positions and tolerates poorly drained soils. It is used extensively in urban
landscaping, because of its tolerance of pollution, salt winds, saline soils, wet, and even
boggy conditions, but prefers well drained conditions. Although it is a warm climate plant, it will
withstand cold if given full sun. It is remarkably free from pests and diseases.
Flowers sprout on the current season’s growth, each inflorescence bearing a cluster of
30-40 serotinous capsules, each containing 250 seeds. Fire was the main factor giving rise to
seed release, but freezing temperatures, herbicides, natural pruning due to shading, and radial
growth of the branches can also trigger this. A single tree can produce over 20 million
seeds.
Paperbark maintains a more constant temperature for the bulk of the tree trunk. The
bark provides good insulation against fire. Paperbark smoulders rather than burning. Indigenous
peoples sometimes used it for cooking, as we use steamers today, and for storing food. It was
also used for bandages, bedding, fire tinder, watercraft, fish traps, and for wrapping corpses.
They also used it in place of wrapping paper, mattresses, containers, toilet paper, and roof tiles.
Some peoples used it for swaddling babies, for patching canoes, as a fire tray and as shelters.
Some Aboriginal women used it to make dress-barks. The early settlers used the bark for
patching their huts, as trays, and in place of products we now make of cardboard. Today,
some people use paperbark in place of foil for barbecuing fish. Paperbark is also used to
line hanging baskets, for a more natural look.
The trunk contains slightly salty water that may be tapped. The trunks were also
used to make canoes. The Aboriginal people made an infusion from the leaves, which was
drunk, inhaled, or used as a bath to treat coughs, colds, congestion, headache, fever, and
influenza.
Aborigines applied the crushed leaves of Melaleuca symphocarpa as a chest
decongestant, as a linament to treat aches, sprains and general illness, for head massage, and
also for an inhalant for colds, headache, and running noses. An infusion was drunk as cough
medicine. The timber was used to make spears, spearheads, pegs for spear-throwers, digging
sticks, and fighting sticks.
The leaves of Melaleuca leucadendra were used to flavour cooking. Children suck the
nectar from the flowers
The leaves are thick, broadly elliptic, aromatic and 7–19 cm long. Flowers are cream,
yellow or yellow-green spikes, 1.5-2.5 cm long. Fruits are woody capsules containing numerous
fine seed. The bark is papery.
M. viridiflora is used by Aborigines for multiple uses. The bark is peeled off in layers and
is used for shelter, bedding, containers, storing and cooking food, fire tinder, water craft, fish
traps and wrapping corpses.
An infusion from leaves is drunk, inhaled or used for bathing to treat coughs, colds,
congestion, headache, fever and influenza.[1]
M. viridiflora from western Cape York is used as a bushfood spice, and is called kitchakontoo.
Niaouli oil is extracted from Melaleuca viridiflora (also known as Melaleuca
quinquenervia) of the Myrtaceae family.
This essential oil is used in aromatherapy as it has excellent antiseptic and stimulating
qualities. It is extensively used to clear infections such as bronchitis, catarrh and sinus, as well
as acne, boils, burns, ulcers and cuts.
Niaouli oil has a slightly sweet, fresh smell and its color varies from colorless to pale
yellow and greenish.
This large evergreen tree is native to Australia, New Caledonia and the French Pacific
Islands and has a flexible trunk, spongy bark, pointed linear leaves and spikes of sessile
yellowish flowers.
Because the falling leaves covering the ground act as a strong disinfectant, it makes for
a healthy environment, and it also purifies water. It was assigned its botanical name in 1788
during Captain Cook's voyage and was historically used in French hospital obstetric wards
because of its antiseptic properties. It is still a popular ingredient for toothpaste and mouth
sprays.
Niaouli oil is considered a safe oil, since it is non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing.
The therapeutic properties of niaouli oil are analgesic, anti-rheumatic, antiseptic,
bactericidal, balsamic, cicatrisant, decongestant, expectorant, febrifuge, insecticide, stimulant,
vermifuge and vulnerary.
Niaouli oil helps to increases concentration and clears the head, while lifting the spirits.
Since it has wonderfully antiseptic properties, it is most useful to fight infections such as colds,
fevers, flu, chest infections, bronchitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, whooping cough, asthma,
sinusitis, sore throats, catarrh and laryngitis.
It furthermore is useful against enteritis, dysentery, intestinal parasites, cystitis and
urinary infection and to relieve the pain of rheumatism and neuralgia.
As a disinfectant, niaouli oil is valuable for washing wounds to clear up ulcers, acne,
blemishes, boils, burns, cuts, insect bites, as well as acting as a decongestant on oily skin.
Paperbark trees have got their name from their bark, which can be pulled off the tree
trunk like paper. It was very useful for Aboriginal people who used it as bandages, cradles,
sleeping mats and wrapping food when cooking. Other Melaleucas were used as bush medicine,
particularly the famous Ti Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), which is still today used for its essential
oil that is antibiotic. Melaleucas have got evergreen leaves and flowers that can be red, pink,
yellow or greenish. Their height can vary between 2 and 30 metres. They are related to Bottle
Brush Plants (Callistemon), and the main difference between the two is how the stamens are
grouped on the flowers. Melaleucas are mostly found in open forest, scrubland and woodland,
and they often grow near the water like along swamps and riverbanks
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
The Dawn Redwood, sometimes called the Water Larch, is described as a ‘living
fossil, a status it enjoys with Ginkgo biloba. .
Fossil records reveal it was a dominant tree of subtropical and temperate forests for millions
of years through Europe, Asia and America. . The last fossil found is some 20 million years old.
A very successful plant of its time, it is sometimes called the ‘weed of the Tertiary period’.
The reasons for its disappearance are not clear. It was first identified as part of the fossil
record in 1855, although these were originally thought to be those of the bald cypress. In 1941
it was first formally described in Japan by Shigeru Miki.
A Chinese forester Tsang Wang discovered an enormous and unusual redwood living by a
shrine in the middle of a rice paddy also in 1941. The locals used its wood for cabinet
making. Samples were collected in 1944 and in 1946 its identity was finally established. When
shown to experts it was identified as being identical to the fossil Metasequoia glyptostroboides.
In 1946, in association with the US Arnold Arboretum, an expedition visited the site of
the original discovery, and despite instructions not to do so, four pounds of seed was
collected. This was distributed throughout the world. NZ received three seeds; one tree was
subsequently planted in Christchurch, one in Nelson, and one in the Wellington Botanic Garden
around 1948.
For 35 years during the Cultural Revolution no further collections were allowed.
Subsequently 1000 trees have been found in a valley with an elevation of 3400 feet.
It makes an attractive specimen, and is now grown throughout the world. It grows in a
full pyramidal shape 20-30 metres high. It is a hardy fast growing tree
Metrosideros genus
The genus contains some 60 species of trees shrubs and lianas. They are found in South
Africa, Philippines, New Guinea NE Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and some
Polynesian islands. 11 species are found in NZ and of these 5 are trees, and the remainder
lianas. All NZ species are endemic.
Pohutukawa and rata are known as New Zealand's native Christmas tree because of the
bright red blooms that decorate the trees during the Christmas/summer season. They trigger
memories of long summer days and holidays spent with friends and family in, on, around and
under these magnificent trees.
Northern Rata on rimu.
Pohutukawa and rata belong to the myrtle
family (Myrtaceae) that is made up of about 3000
different tropical and warm temperate trees, shrubs and vines. Eucalyptus, feijoas, cloves,
guavas and bottlebrushes are a few family members.
In New Zealand myrtles are represented by some of our best known plants: kanuka,
manuka and some less familiar, but nevertheless significant species like swamp maire and
ramarama.
Both pohutukawa and rata belong to the genus Metrosideros, the iron hearted
myrtles, a reference to their hard, very heavy, and dark red heartwood.
There are two native pohutukawa (mainland and Kermadec) and six species of rata vine,
a shrub and three tree rata.
…………………………
The pohutukawa is well known to New Zealanders as the tree that produces a
spectacular display of red flowers about Christmas time. It grows naturally in the northern
North Island and is widely planted further south and elsewhere in the world — in parts of South
Africa it has been so successful it is regarded as an invasive weed.
The genus Metrosideros, to which pohutukawa belongs, is very much a Pacific group,
ranging from New Zealand and New Caledonia to French Polynesia and Hawaii. As well as
pohutukawa, we have several other species of this genus, some of which should be grown more
by gardeners. They are generally known as ratas and fall into two groups — tree ratas and
climbing ratas.
The tree ratas include the widespread northern rata and southern rata and the rare
North Cape Metrosideros barflettii, distinguished by its small white flowers. These trees and
pohutukawa have been hybridised and several cultivars are available.
Though it has smaller leaves, lacking furry undersides, and smaller flowers, northern
rata sometimes hybridises naturally with pohutukawa where they occur together in the north.
It is notable for its distinctive lifestyle, similar to that of some unrelated trees in the
tropics. The thread-like seeds blow into the crown of a tall tree, often a rimu, and some of these
germinate to form a shrub that eventually sends a root to the ground. This root enlarges and
branches to become quite massive and when the supporting tree dies and rots away, the
northern rata becomes a tall tree standing on its root system.
Northern rata can also establish on the ground, especially where forest has been
destroyed by fire. In this case, the trees are much shorter and are multi-trunked like
pohutukawa. Despite its smaller flowers, it can be just as spectacular as pohutukawa in flower
and deserves to be more widely planted horticulturally
Southern rata also has smaller leaves than pohutukawa, but its flowers are about the
same size and in a good flowering year the tree crowns are entirely red. A disadvantage of
southern rata in cultivation is that it is slow growing. Perhaps this reflects the colder climates it
is adapted to in the South Island, Stewart Island and the subantarctic Auckland Islands.
There are six climbing ratas, four of them with showy flowers and the others with small
white flowers. Their seeds germinate on the ground and the stems of the seedlings climb tree
trunks by means of special attaching roots. Once good light is reached, non-climbing branches
extend away from the tree trunk and these bear flowers and then seed capsules. The stems of
these vines become quite woody and are particularly massive in Metrosideros fulgens and
Metrosideros perforata. None of them become independent trees.
Metrosideros carminea, in particular, is now widely cultivated. In nature it is restricted to
the northern North Island, so it is frost tender. It is most successfully grown on north-facing
walls, which it covers quite rapidly with its small but thick leaves. The adult branches produce
masses of bright red flowers in early spring. Using cuttings from adult branches, it can be grown
as a tub plant.
Metrosideros fulgens is the other species with brightly coloured flowers, but it has a
wider natural range — throughout the North Island and in the west of the South Island. The
leaves are larger than those of M carminea, as are the flowers clustered at the tips of shoots.
There is quite a range in flower colour from vine to vine, from deep red, through bright red, to
orange and yellow. A range of these colour forms are sold as tub plants. The flowering period in
populations of this species is remarkably long, though the peak seems to be in the winter. If it
is possible to hybridise these two species, attractive cultivars could result.
Metrosideros parkinsonii is not well known. It is a shrub to small tree in the northwest of
the South Island and on Great Barrier and Little Barrier Islands. The flowers are bright red in
clusters on woody twigs.
• John Dawson
Metrosideros excelsa
At the time of European settlement the New Zealand Pohutukawa was confined to the
coastal area of the North Island from the Three Kings Islands southwards to Poverty Bay and
the east coast and around the mouth of the Urenui River on the west coast. It also grew
around the shores of some of the Rotorua lakes. It has subsequently been extensively planted
throughout the country.
It grows best close to the sea
where its branches can overhang water.
It likes to cling to steep banks with
numerous roots extending from its
lower branches, these aerial roots often
seen even in cultivated plants on flat
sites. Flowering in December and
January, it produces a spectacular
display. It is attractive out of flower.
There are now a number of varieties.
Its wood is hard dense tough
and durable, very strong and was
much used in the early times in NZ
for boat building. Its curved roots
and branches made it possible to
construct boats angled stems and keel
from a single piece of timber. Also used for bearings, machine beds etc
Plants can be used as a
Pohutukawa
hedge, succeeding in exposed
maritime positions.
Can live for 1,000 years.
Pohutukawa Mac (McKenzie) Curator of the Garden from 1918 to 1947 was responsible
for planting many in the garden.
Food- Nectar
Pharmacy- Nectar: sore throats. Inner bark infusion: dysentery and diarrhoea.
Collected- 1769
'Metrosideros' translates to 'heart of iron' and is known as the 'iron-hearted myrtle'
because of the very hard, dark red heartwood. 'Excelsa' means 'tall'. Known as the New
Zealand's Christmas tree its beautiful red floral display at Christmas time is iconic and, for many
New Zealanders, represents summer holidays at the beach. It is at risk from possum browsing,
which can seriously damage and even kill trees. Project Crimson, a charitable conservation trust
was set up in 1990 to protect pohutukawa and related rata. Solander's name has been
honoured in numerous ways, as testimony to his contribution as a fine botanist and naturalist.
Metrosideros robusta.
The Northern Rata forms, when fully grown, one of the largest trees in the New
Zealand forests.
The strong, tough, hard, and durable timber has been used for shipbuilding, but little
rata finds its way to the commercial market nowadays.
This tree commences life from a seed lodged in the fork of almost any other large
forest tree. It grows first as an epiphyte, then produces aerial roots which grow towards the
ground. Clinging to the host tree trunk other roots encircle the trunk so that two or more aerial
roots become connected by these side roots. In time the host tree is entwined and killed. The
aerial root stems of the rata may ultimately fuse into a single enormous hollow trunk, which
supports a huge canopy of branches and leaves. This in turn becomes infested with epiphytes
such as astelias and ferns whose weight in time destroys it, thus bringing to an end a cycle of
growth and decay covering several hundred years.
When the seed of the northern rata germinates on the ground it produces a stunted,
twisted tree that never attains to the size of its true epiphytic form.
Decoctions of the bark, sap and the nectar of the flowers are all recorded as having
medicinal uses
Metrosideros umbellata
The Southern Rata grows from the ground into a tree up to 25 m tall. This tree
occurs from sea level to 760 m altitude from Whangarei south, but is rare and local in the North
Island. It is especially common on the West Coast of the South Island.
It grows to a handsome canopy tree. In the mixed forest canopy the older trees form
perfect, symmetrical domes that, during December and January, become smothered in a blaze
of crimson and red flowers. The flowers are a more brilliant red that its northern counterpart,
and does not begin life as an epiphyte.
Other rata species occur as lianes some prefer the lower levels of the forest while
others clamber up to reach the light in the canopy. The sap of the rata vine M. fulgens was
known to the Maoris for its antiseptic and astringent properties.
Michelia doltsopa
. This species, known as the Sweet Michelia, was introduced from China in 1918,
being native of China and Tibet, from the Himalayas. Showy flowers are wonderfully fragrant
and long lasting.
: This group consists of about fifty species of tender, evergreen trees and shrubs
belonging to the family, Magnoliaceae. These plants are natives of tropical and subtropical
Southeast Asia.
M. doltsopa is a small to medium-sized shrub with tough leaves, 6 to 7 inches long, Their fragrant,
numerous-petalled, white flowers are borne in the spring
There are also several species of Michelia that form large trees in their native tropical forests and
whose wood is used for building purposes.
THE GREATEST JOURNEY
National Geographic March 2006
BY
JAMES
SHREEVE
Everybody loves a good story, and when it's finished, this will be the greatest one ever
told. It begins in Africa with a group of hunter-gatherers, perhaps just a few hundred strong. It
ends some 200,000 years later with their six and a half billion descendants spread across the Earth,
living in peace or at war, believing in a thousand different deities or none at all, their faces aglow in the
light of campfires and computer screens.
In between is a sprawling saga of survival, movement, isolation, and conquest, most of it
unfolding in the silence of prehistory. Who were those first modern people in Africa? What compelled a
band of their descendants to leave their home continent as little as 50,000 years ago and expand
into Eurasia? What routes did they take? Did they interbreed with earlier members of the human family
along the way? When and how did humans first reach the Americas?
In sum: Where do we all come from? How did we get to where we are today?
For decades the only clues were the sparsely scattered bones and artifacts our ancestors left
behind on their journeys. In the past 20 years, however, scientists have found a record of ancient
human migrations in the DNA of living people. "Every drop of human blood contains a history book
written in the language of our genes," says population geneticist Spencer Wells, a National
Geographic explorer-in-residence.
The human genetic code, or genome, is 99.9 percent identical throughout the world. What's
left is the DNA responsible for our individual differences—in eye color or disease risk, for example
—as well as some that serves no apparent function at all. Once in an evolutionary blue moon, a
random, harmless mutation can occur in one of these functionless stretches, which is then passed
down to all of that person's descendants. Generations later, finding that same mutation, or marker,
in two people's DNA indicates that they share the same ancestor. By comparing markers in many
different populations, scientists can trace their ancestral connections.
In most of the genome, these minute changes are obscured by the genetic reshuffling
that takes place each time a mother and father's DNA combine to make a child. Luckily a couple of
regions preserve the telltale variations. One, called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), is passed down intact
from mother to child. Similarly, most of the Y chromosome, which determines maleness, travels intact
from father to son.
The accumulated mutations in your mtDNA and (for males) your Y chromosome are only
two threads in a vast tapestry of people who have contributed to your genome. But by comparing the
mtDNA and Y chromosomes of people from various populations, geneticists can get a rough idea of
where and when those groups parted ways in the great migrations around the planet.
IN THE
MID-1980S the late Allan Wilson and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, used mtDNA
to pinpoint humanity's ancestral home. They compared mtDNA from women around the world and
found that women of African descent showed twice as much diversity as their sisters. Since the
telltale mutations seem to occur at a steady rate, modern humans must have lived in Africa twice as
long as anywhere else. Scientists now calculate that all living humans are related to a single
woman who lived roughly 150,000 years ago in Africa, a "mitochondrial Eve." She was not the only
woman alive at the time, but if geneticists are right, all of humanity is linked to Eve through an
unbroken chain of mothers.
Mitochondrial Eve was soon joined by "Y chromosome Adam," an analogous father of us all,
also from Africa. Increasingly refined DNA studies have confirmed this opening chapter of our story
over and over: All the variously shaped and shaded people of Earth trace their ancestry to African
hunter-gatherers.
Looking more closely at DNA markers in Africa, scientists may have found traces of those
founders. Ancestral DNA markers turn up most often among the San people of southern Africa and the
Biaka Pygmies of central Africa, as well as in some East African tribes. The San and two of the East
African tribes also speak languages that feature a repertoire of unique sounds, including clicks.
Perhaps these far-flung people pay witness to an expansion of our earliest ancestors within
Africa, like the fading ripples from a pebble dropped in a pond.
WHAT SEEMS VIRTUALLY CERTAIN now is that at a remarkably recent date—probably
between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago—one small wavelet from Africa lapped up onto the shores of
western Asia. All non-Africans share markers carried by those first emigrants, who may have
numbered just a thousand people.
Some archaeologists think the migration out of Africa marked a revolution in behavior that
also included more sophisticated tools, wider social networks, and the first art and body
ornaments. Perhaps some kind of neurological mutation had led to spoken language and made our
ancestors fully modern, setting a small band of them on course to colonize the world. But other
scientists see finely wrought tools and other traces of modern behavior scattered around Africa
long before those first steps outside the continent. "It's not a 'revolution' if it took 200,000
years," says Alison Brooks of George Washington University.
Whatever tools and cognitive skills the emigrants packed with them, two paths lay open
into Asia. One led up the Nile Valley, across the Sinai Peninsula, and north into the Levant. But
another also beckoned. Seventy thousand years ago the Earth was entering the last ice age, and
sea levels were sinking as water was locked up in glaciers. At its narrowest, the mouth of the Red
Sea between the Horn of Africa and Arabia would have been only a few miles wide. Using primitive
watercraft, modern humans could have crossed over while barely getting their feet wet.
Once in Asia, genetic evidence suggests, the population split. One group stalled
temporarily in the Middle East, while the other followed the coast around the Arabian
Peninsula, India, and beyond. Each generation may have pushed just a couple of miles farther.
"The movement was probably imperceptible," says Spencer Wells, who heads the National
Geographic Society's Genographic Project, a global effort to refine the picture of early
migrations (see page 70). "It was less of a journey and probably more like walking a little
farther down the beach to get away from the crowd."
Over the millennia, a few steps a year and a few hops by boat added up. The
wanderers had reached southeastern Australia by 45,000 years ago, when a man was buried at
a site called Lake Mungo. Artifact-bearing soil layers beneath the burial could be as old as
50,000 years—the earliest evidence of modern humans far from Africa.
No physical trace of these people has been found along the 8,000 miles from Africa to
Australia—all may have vanished as the sea rose after the Ice Age. But a genetic trace
endures. A few indigenous groups on the Andaman Islands near Myanmar, in Malaysia, and in
Papua New Guinea—as well as almost all Australian Aborigines—carry signs of an ancient
mitochondrial lineage, a trail of genetic bread crumbs dropped by the early migrants.
People in the rest of Asia and Europe share different but equally ancient mtDNA and
Y-chromosome lineages, marking them as descendants of the other, stalled branch of the
African exodus. At first, rough terrain and the Ice Age climate blocked further progress.
Europe, moreover, was a stronghold of the Neandertals, descendants of a much earlier migration
of pre-modern humans out of Africa.
Finally, perhaps 40,000 years ago, modern humans advanced into the Neandertals'
territory. Overlapping layers of Neandertal and early modern human artifacts at a cave in
France suggest that the two kinds of humans could have met. How these two peoples—the
destined parvenu and the doomed caretaker of a continent—would have interacted is a potent
mystery. Did they eye each other with wonder or in fear? Did they fight, socialize, or dismiss
each other as alien beings?
All we know is that as modern humans and distinctly more sophisticated toolmaking
spread into Europe, the once ubiquitous Neandertals were squeezed into ever shrinking
pockets of habitation that eventually petered out completely. On current evidence, the two
groups interbred rarely, if at all. Neither mtDNA from Neandertal fossils nor modern human DNA
bears any trace of an ancient mingling of the bloodlines
DNA studies have confirmed this opening chapter of our story over and over: All the variously
shaped and shaded people of Earth trace their ancestry to African hunter-gatherers, some
150,000 years ago.about the same time as modern humans pushed into Europe, some of the
same group that had paused in the Mjddle East spread east into Central Asia. Following herds of
game, skirting mountain ranges and deserts, they reached southern Siberia as early as 40,000 years
ago. As populations diverged and became isolated, their genetic lineages likewise branched and
rebranched. But the isolation was rarely if ever complete. "People have always met other people,
found them attractive, and had children," says molecular anthropologist Theodore Schurr of the
University of Pennsylvania.
Schurr's specialty is the peopling of the Americas—one of the last and most contentious chapters
in the human story. The subject seems to attract fantastic theories (Native Americans are the
descendants of the ancient Israelites or the lost civilization of Atlantis) as well as ones tinged with a
political agenda. The "Caucasoid" features of a 9,500-year-old skull from Washington State called
Kennewick Man, for instance, have been hailed as proof that the first Americans came from northern
Europe.
In fact most scientists agree that today's Native Americans descend from ancient Asians who
crossed from Siberia to Alaska in the last ice age, when low sea level would have exposed a land bridge
between the continents. But there's plenty of debate about when they came and where they originated
in Asia.
For decades the first Americans were thought to have arrived around 13,000 years ago as the Ice
Age eased, opening a path through the ice covering Canada. But a few archaeologists claimed to have
evidence for an earlier arrival, and two early sites withstood repeated criticism: the Meadow-croft Shelter
in Pennsylvania, now believed to be about 16,000 years old, and Monte Verde in southern Chile, more than
14,000 years old.
The DNA of living Native Americans can help settle some of the disputes. Most carry markers
that link them unequivocally to Asia. The same markers cluster in people who today inhabit the
Altay region of southern Siberia, suggesting it was the starting point for a journey across the
land bridge. So far, the genetic evidence doesn't show whether North and South America were
populated in a single, early migration or two or three distinct waves, and it suggests only a rough
range of dates, between 20,000 and 15,000 years ago.
Even the youngest of those dates is older than the opening of an inland route through the
Canadian ice. So how did the first Americans get here? They probably traveled along the coast:
perhaps a few hundred people hopping from one pocket of land and sustenance to the next,
between a frigid ocean and a looming wall of ice. "A coastal route would have been the easiest way
in," says Wells. "But it still would have been a hell of a trip."
Beyond the glaciers lay immense herds of bison, mammoths, and other animals on a
continent innocent of other intelligent predators. Pushed by population growth or pulled by the lure
of game, people spread to the tip of South America in as little as a thousand years.
The genes of today's Native Americans are helping to bring their ancestors' saga to life.
But much of the story can only be imagined, says Jody Hey, a population geneticist at Rutgers
University. "You can't tell it with the richness of what must have happened."
With the settling of the Americas, modern humans had conquered most of the planet. When
European explorers set sail 700 years ago, the lands they "discovered" were already full of people. The
encounters were often wary or violent, but they were the reunions of a close-knit family.
Perhaps the most wonderful of the stories hidden in our genes is that, when unraveled,
the tangled knot of our global genetic diversity today leads us all back to a recent yesterday,
together in Africa
Mosses
see also lichens, and fungi
Clubmosses (Lycopodiaceae)
The club mosses are small, creeping, terrestrial or epiphytic, vascular plants, which lack
flowers and reproduce sexually by spores. The sporophyte consists of true roots, an aerial stem
and scale-like leaves which are microphylls. These are small and spirally arranged on an
elongated stem.
The spores are generally borne singly in the axils of specialised leaves (sporophylls), and
these are often aggregated into cone-like strobili. It's these sporophylls that resemble clubs and
give this group it's name.
New Zealand has around 10 species, some of which are common. They were the
dominant plant group in the Carboniferous period, where they attained the size of trees, and
were the main contributors to the coal deposits found today.
Fork Ferns (Psilotaceae)
Fork fern sporophytes lack true roots, but have creeping subterranean rhizomes. They
also lack true leaves but have a green photosynthetic stem containing vascular tissue xylem
and phloem with scale-like leaves that lack vascular tissue.
Psilotaceae are represented in New Zealand by two genera, Psilotum (1 of) and
Tmesipteris (4 of). Tmesipteris normally grow, as epiphytes on tree ferns, but are occasionally
terrestrial, while Psilotum prefers warm ground and is common in thermal areas.
Horsetails (Equisetaceae)
Horsetails are generally small "strange" looking plants. They grow from perennial
creeping rhizomes, from which grow a single hollow, jointed stem, with bristle-like branches
growing from the joints.
Horsetails reproduce by means of spores. The spores are contained in small cones at the
tips of the stem or its branches, or sometimes on a separate stalk in the spring.
In prehistoric times, some plants of this family grew to be large trees. Fossil records
show that at one time there were horsetails in New Zealand but they have long since died out.
Unfortunately Equisetum arvense has been reintroduced in recent times and is now considered
to be a weed pest.
Quillworts (Isoetaceae)
Quillworts are small, spore-bearing, vascular plants, with narrow elongated leaves, which
are microphyllous. The leaves contain air chambers that take up carbon dioxide. Leaves are
attached in a spiral fashion to a subterranean short corm-like stem. At the base of each leaf
below the triangular shaped ligule is found the sporangia. Below the corm-like base are found
the roots, which have no vascular tissue. The life cycle is heterosporous similar to that of
Selaginella.
New Zealand has only one reported species, which is aquatic. It can be found in some of
the North Island lakes but is more common in the lakes of the South Island.
Spike moss (Selaginellaceae)
Spike mosses mainly have a tropical distribution, growing in moist shaded habitats,
although a few are found in deserts. They are terrestrial, perennial or annual plants, without
true roots. The stems are usually branched, with small simple leaves that are arranged in four
rows, with two rows having long leaves, and two with small leaves. A small outgrowth called
ligule is located on the upper surface of each leaf, close to where it joins the stem.
These plants are heterosporous, that is it reproduces through two type of spore.
Sporangia are borne by specialised leaves called sporophylls, which are usually aggregated into
strobili. Microsporangia produce many microspores, which germinate to form short-lived
microgametophytes that produce sperm. Megasporangia produce a few larger megaspores each,
and these form megagametophytes that produce eggs in specialised organs called archegonia.
To reach an archegonium and fertilise an egg, a sperm cell must swim in a film of water.
New Zealand has no native species in the Selaginellaceae family. Unfortunately one
species Selaginella kraussiana has been introduced and has become naturalised. It can be found
in lowland forest in the North Island along walking tracks, and beside streams. It's a serious
nuisance in many places, pushing out native species.
True Ferns (Polypodiophyta)
Ferns are one of the most diverse group of living land plants. It is estimated that there
are 11,000 species in 300 genera. Ferns are typically found in moist forested areas although
some hardy species can be found in coastal, urban, and even in desert locations. They vary in
form and size. Some aquatic ferns
have fronds less then 25 mm,
where as tree ferns can grow to 10
meters in height, with fronds as
long as 3 meters. With many
smaller plants the stem is
underground, and the fronds being
the only visible parts.
New Zealand has around 164
different fern species many of which
are endemic.
Muehlenbeckia
This genus is restricted to
the southern hemisphere, especially
South America, Papua New Guinea,
Australia and New Zealand.
Some are tiny alpine matforming plants whereas others
Muehlenbeckia australis
are vigorous vines with masses
of dark stems and minimal small bronze-tinged leaves. They are relatives of rhubarb and
Vietnamese mint.
They are usually dioecious, that is, there are separate male and female flowers, and the
fruits on female plants are normally white with a visible dark brown seed.
Muehlenbeckia astonii
the wiggy-wig bush
The shrub forms are divaricates (see separate entry), forming tight ‘balls’ of closely
interlinked branches able to survive moas feeding..
This species is from coastal Wellington (Makara) and some other locations. . Male and
female plants are separate, and some populations have the different sexes some distance apart,
causing breeding difficulties in some colonies, and therefore they are regarded as threatened
plants.. Population at one stage was only 37 plants in the North Island.
Mature Height: 1.8 metres.
The shrubby tororaro is a very ecologically and culturally significant shrub.
The species acts as an important host for insects. These insects then become a
significant food source for many native species of bird and lizard. The tororaro also has valued
medicinal properties.
To Maori, these aspects make the shrub a taonga species of cultural and spiritual
importance.
The shrub produces delicate white flowers during summer and autumn. Male and female
flowers occur on separate plants though a few male plants occasionally set seed. Fruits are
small and white, possibly making up part of lizards' diet. The plant may grow to 4 metres in
height, and lives for up to 80 years.
The total population in the wild is estimated to be 2800 plants. The largest population is
on Kaitorete Spit, where there are around 2500 plants.
Most Muehlenbeckiaare non-descript scramblers or even weeds, the exception being M. astonii,
or shrubby tororaro which is a medium to large-sized shrub found in four discrete areas: coastal
Wellington, northeastern Marlborough, north Canterbury and Kaitorete Spit just south of
Christchurch And why 'wiggy-wig bush'? This delightfully descriptive name derives from a
newspaper article by Ted Reynolds, who at the time had retired to a property on the north side
of the Awatere River close to Seddon. In an edition of his regular feature article (Out in the
Country) in the Marlborough Express of 18 June 1996 he talked about the large igloo-like plant
of M. astonii that had been discovered on his property and suggested that, "And all there was to
view was the world's biggest wiggy-wig bush". And - so the name has stuck!
Common Name(s): Shrubby tororaro, wiggywig, mingimingi
The survival in the wild of Muehlenbeckia astonii is threatened by lack of regeneration
due to competition from exotic grasses, browsing animals and trampling. It is also threatened
by loss of its original habitat through disturbance, fragmentation and fire. Many of the shrubby
tororaro that survive in the wild are single plants isolated from others of their species. Because
male and female flowers occur on separate plants, these specimens have no opportunities to
reproduce.
Muehlenbeckia australis
Wire Vine
A climber found in lowland and mountain forests. Juvenile and adult leaf forms, with leaf
loss in winter. Greenish flowers and black shiny seeds.
Flowering and fruiting occur from late spring to autumn.
Mulberries
There was a great deal of interest in the possibility of a silk industry for NZ. The
English Silk Supply Association was keen to obtain more silk and asked Colonial Governments in
countries with suitable climates to look at the possibility of establishing a silk industry. Mr T. C.
Batchelor of Nelson was very keen, and already had some silk worms. Hector wrote a report on
the best way to grow mulberry trees, to import silkworm eggs, and to process the silk. He
recommended that the trees be planted in areas sheltered from summer gales and suggested
that the Acclimatisation Societies and the Botanic Garden plant out groves of mulberry trees.
In 1871, 600 white mulberry trees were imported from San Francesco. The white
mulberry (Morus alba) is the species that has always sustained the silk industry of China and
Japan. It can grow to a height of 13 m (40 feet). Black mulberry, (Morus nigra), is the common
mulberry of Britain and northern Europe, and is grown for its fruit. It is thought to come from
China. Its leaves can be used to feed silk worms, but it is not as good for this as white
mulberry).
One hundred and fifty white mulberry trees were given to the Botanic Garden, and they
were planted in groups "on the other side of the spur near the Keeper's House." The remaining
trees were given to Acclimatisation Societies in Auckland and Dunedin, the Canterbury Botanic
Gardens, Mr Batchelor, and the Mayor of Queenstown. Broken rocky subsoil was recommended
for them.
Two years later, in 1873, Hector informed the Government of his conclusions. He
concluded that all attempts to establish a silk industry in NZ had failed because of a lack of food
for the worms at the proper season. He did not think any further steps could he taken to
establish the industry.
But wait a minute! Surely the trees were still very small, and one would doubt that they
had ever had time to become established in two years. There was little shelter in the Botanic
Garden in the early 1870s, so the mulberries would have been subjected to the northerly gales
that would have hindered their establishment. Another 200 were sent to the Botanic Garden in
1874, but we have no records of their establishment.
The Board was asked to test them again in the 1880s, and the Board said they would, if
funds were available, but none were. In 1884 Hector concluded that the mistake that had been
made in the past was to plant mulberry trees in positions that would suit the production of fruit
rather than for an abundance of succulent leaves. Hector recognised the limitations of the
resources of the Geological Survey. The Government did not understand the difficulties involved
in carrying out plant trials.
Mulberry trees will grow in Wellington, as Peter Tijsen has told me that there is a
mulberry tree that is about 5 m high in Hataitai.
Musa acuminata
Edible bananas originated in the Indo-Malaysian region reaching to northern Australia,
all descended from Musa acuminata although there are some other species, Musa a Colla, M. X
paradisiaca L. (hybrid). In prehistoric times it is believed seedless varieties were selected, and
most modern plants descended from these plants.
Related species Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricossum Cheesman), Musa balbisina
Colla, M. ornata Roxb., M. textilis Nee There are many cultivars.
The true origins of bananas are to be found in the region of Malaysia. By way of curious
visitors, bananas travelled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali
writings dating back to the 6th century BCE. In his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the
Great relished his first taste of the banana, an usual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is
even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. According to Chinese
historian Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 CE. These bananas grew
only in the southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became
popular with the Chinese masses until the 20th century.
Eventually, this tropical fruit reached Madagascar, an island off the southeastern coast of
Africa. Beginning in 650 CE Islamic warriors travelled into Africa and were actively engaged in
the slave trade. Along with the thriving business in slave trading, the Arabs were successful in
trading ivory along with abundant crops of bananas. Through their numerous travels westward
via the slave trade, bananas eventually reached Guinea, a small area along the West Coast of
Africa. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the luscious tropical fruit in their travels to the
African continent and populated the Canary lslands with their first banana plantations.
Continuing the banana's travels westward, the rootstocks were packed onto a ship under the
charge of Tomas de Berlanga, a Portuguese Franciscan monk who brought them to the
Caribbean island of Santo Domingo from the Canary Islands in the year 1516. It wasn't long
before the banana became popular throughout the Caribbean as well as Central America.
Arabian slave traders are credited with giving the banana its popular name. The bananas that
were growing in Africa as well as Southeast Asia were not the eight-to-twelve-inch giants that
have become familiar in the supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's
finger, and therefore the name banan, Arabic for finger was given. The Spaniards, who
saw a similarity to the plane tree that grows in Spain, gave the plantain its Spanish name,
platano.
It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas
to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a
celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. Instructions on how to eat a banana appeared in the Domestic
Cyclopaedia of Practical Information and read as follows: "Bananas are eaten raw, either alone
or cut in slices with sugar and cream, or wine and orange juice. They are also roasted, fried or
boiled, and are made into fritters, preserves, and marmalades."
Note: The banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world's largest herb!
Bananas and plantains are today grown in every humid tropical region and constitute the
4th largest fruit crop of the world. The plant needs 10 - 15 months of frost-free
conditions to produce a flower stalk. All but the hardiest varieties stop growing when the
temperature drops below 53° F. Growth of the plant begins to slow down at about 80° F and
stop entirely when the temperature reaches 100° F. High temperatures and bright sunlight will
also scorch leaves and fruit, although bananas grow best in full sun. Freezing temperatures will
kill the foliage. In most areas bananas require wind protection for best appearance and
maximum yield. They are also susceptible to being blown over. Bananas, especially dwarf
varieties, make good container specimens if given careful attention. The plant will also need
periodic repotting as the old plant dies back and new plants develop.
Growth Habit: Bananas are fast-growing herbaceous perennials arising from
underground rhizomes. The fleshy stalks or pseudostems formed by upright concentric
layers of leaf sheaths constitute the functional trunks. The true stem begins as an
underground corm which grows upwards, pushing its way out through the centre of the stalk
10-15 months after planting, eventually producing the terminal inflorescence which will later
bear the fruit. Each stalk produces one huge flower cluster and then dies. New stalks
then grow from the rhizome. Banana plants are extremely decorative, ranking next to palm
trees for the tropical feeling they lend to the landscape.
Musa textilis aka Abacá
Closely related to the banana is Abacá, from Spanish "abacá"
(pronounced "ah buh KAH"), or Musa textilis, a species of banana native to the
Philippines, grown widely as well in Borneo and Sumatra. . The plant is of great
economic importance, being harvested for its fibre, called Manila hemp,
extracted from the large, oblong leaves and stems. The fibre is used for making
twines and ropes as well as the Manila envelope.
The sheaths contain the valuable fibre. The coarse fibres range from 5 to
11½ feet (1.5 to 3.5 metres) in length. They are composed primarily of
cellulose, lignin, and pectin. After the fibre has been separated, it is sold under
the name Manila, Fibre for paper making is also extracted from the leaf
sheaths. Handmade papers are produced, and the fibres are also used in brown
Manila envelopes and tea bags.
The fibres can be pulped and processed into speciality paper used in tea
bags, vacuum bags,currency, and more.
Myrtaceae The myrtles
The Myrtaceae (myrtle) family in Australia includes Eucalyptus, paperbarks
(Melaleuca species), bottlebrushes (Callistemon species), tea trees (Leptospermum
species), and lilly pilly trees (Acmena species). The Myrtaceae dominate the
Australian vegetation, with around 1700 species.
In NZ, the Myrtaceae family includes manuka (Leptospermum), kanuka (Kunzea),
pohutukawa and rata (Metrosideros), Eugenia, Lophomyrtus, and Neomyrtus, with a total of
about 18 species for the family. Myrtle Way is presumably named that for the pohutukawas
(and eucalyptus) planted in the vicinity.
In general it is not the 4-5 petals of the flower that make the ornamental members of
the family the beautiful plants that they are, but the innumerable stamens with their long
coloured filaments, for example, the flowers of pohutukawa and rata. Many members of the
family are valuable herbs and medicinal plants.
A well known member of the family is Syzygium aromaticum (S. caryophyllus), the
clove tree, from the Moluccas (Islands west of New Guinea), which are also the home of
nutmeg and pepper. The cloves we use are dried flower buds. They are also a source of oil of
cloves that have pharmaceutical and cosmetic uses.
1. Most members of the Myrtaceae produce a lot of small seeds in woody capsules.
The seeds have small food reserves, and are easily dispersed by wind. The large numbers of
seeds increase the chance of some reaching suitable places to germinate. The woody capsule
protects the seeds from heat and dehydration.
2. Most members of the Myrtaceae have thick, stiff, leathery leaves. It helps the
leaves to resist wilting.
3. Members of the Myrtaceae have oil glands in their leaves. If you hold a leaf up to
the light you can see the glands, eg Callistemon. Its leaves smell slightly of lemon. The
myrtaceous oils are usually quite unpalatable, and protect the plants from grazing animals
like kangaroos, and from insect attack.
4. The oils are quite flammable and are found among the fire-promoting plants. The
plants benefit from fire to sustain themselves against competition from invading plants. The ash
provides nutrients for the germinating seedlings.
Native forest
Of our 2,500 native species of conifers, flowing plants and ferns, over 80% (2000) occur
nowhere else in the world.
Our forests have evolved in complete isolation for many millions of years, they contain
animals unique to New Zealand alone In addition, and they are free from danger. Where else in
the world can you sit on a mossy bank or log, confident that you won't be attacked by soldier
ants, venomous scorpions and spiders, snakes, leeches or hornets?
WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT OUR FOREST PLANTS AND ANIMALS?
• Our flowering plants are neat but not gaudy: Native forest plants are not noted
for their flamboyant and colourful flowers. On the contrary, many of the significant flowering
plants are wind-pollinated, with very small inconspicuous flowers that produce abundant pollen
but no nectar. These include the beeches, coprosmas, grasses and sedges. Other New Zealand
forest plants, including mahoe and tawa, have small yellowish green flowers that are pollinated
by insects including flies, and pale or white flowers pollinated by moths.
• Divaricating shrubs are common: These unusual shrubs are remarkable for their
densely interlaced twigs and very small leaves The twigs are profusely branched and spread
apart at wide angles, giving them a zig-zag appearance. Although divaricates do occur
elsewhere in the world, New Zealand has an unusually large number. There are more than 60
species in a number of unrelated families; several of these are the juvenile stage of small trees.
Various explanations have been put forward for this phenomenon. Some believe divaricating
shrubs evolved as a protection against browsing moa, others suggest they are hardy plants
developed in response to the colder climate of the Ice Age.
• Many plants have striking Juvenile forms: A significant number of native trees,
shrubs and vines are remarkable for their juvenile forms that are strikingly different from the
adults in leaf form and sometimes branching pattern. provide the most notable example of this.
The intriguing juvenile form looks rather like a collapsed umbrella, with a single trunk and long
narrow downward-pointing leaves that can be coarsely jagged. As the tree mature, it branches
and the new leaves are shorter, wider and less coarsely toothed
In some trees (for example, Pennantia corymbosa) the juvenile is a divaricating shrub,
but 3 m above the ground there is a change to the adult form with much larger, more efficient
and presumably more palatable leaves. The explanations for juvenile forms are similar to those
proposed for divarication—that they are a defense against moa browsing or cold.
• Many species hybridise naturally: Plants resulting from a cross between 2 species
of the same genus are unusually frequent among New Zealand natives. The most surprising are
those involving small-leaved divaricating shrubs such as Coprosma propinqua and much largerleaved karamu, C robusta.
• Leaves often have unusual colours: In some trees and shrubs pigments other than
chlorophyll are so strongly developed that they mask the green of the chlorophyll. In New
Zealand the notable example is the mountain horopito (Pseudowintera colorata, which has
leaves blotched with red and yellow and sometimes no green at all. The shrubs appear to be in
a permanent state of autumn coloration, which is most marked at colder altitudes.
Some young New Zealand native plants have distinctive brown leaves, for example
seedling lancewoods, the divaricating juvenile of pokaka and some seedlings of the vine
Parsons/a heterophylla. Among conifers young kauri and some young kahikatea and matai
have brown leaves. Yet again, one suggestion is that this coloration is a camouflage against
browsing moa.
• We have only 2 native land mammals: Our only native land mammals are 2
species of bat. It has been suggested that in the absence of forest mammals, the flightless kiwi
and extinct bush moa may have filled the niche of larger mammals and the relatively large and
flightless weta, related to the cricket, the role of smaller mammals such as mice. Even the
short-tailed bat is able to scramble round on the forest floor to find food using its folded wings
as a second pair of legs.
Since human settlement, a number of mammals have been introduced and many of
these pose threats to native plants and animals
• There are surprisingly few native birds: New Zealand's forests have been referred
to as 'silent forests' because of the noticeable lack of bird song. However, this has not always
been the case. Since humans arrived in New Zealand about 1000 years ago, approximately 40
percent of the more than 60 species of forest birds have become extinct and some of the
survivors have very restricted distributions. In some places where possums have been
eliminated or greatly reduced there has been an encouraging increase in native birds. We won't
be able to regain the pre-human bird diversity in our forests but they may at least become less
silent.
• We have many flightless birds: Flightlessness is common among birds on isolated
islands, and New Zealand has many notable examples such as the kiwi, moa, weka and kakapo.
The lack of mammal predators may have meant these birds evolved to fill the niches normally
occupied by ground-dwelling mammals.
• We have giant carnivorous snails: New Zealand has an abundance of native snails.
One ancient group of snails have giant shells up to 10 cm in diameter, many exquisitely
patterned in shades of brown and gold. They are also unusual in being carnivorous, some even
eating their relatives. The carnivorous snails are widespread, but another small group of
vegetarian giant snails is restricted to the northern tip of the North Island.
• Our frogs do not have a tadpole stage: Our 3 small frog species are unusual in
that they do not have a free-swimming tadpole stage. Neither do they croak like other frogs—
the best they can manage is faint squeaks.
• Our native lizards do not lay eggs: All but one of our many species of skinks and
geckos have young that are born alive, unlike most lizards, which lay eggs. This may have been
an adaptation developed during the Ice Age when the eggs would have been vulnerable to the
cold
• The forest is evergreen: There are few deciduous trees as compared with most
overseas forests, the tree fuchsia is one of the few that exists.
TYPES OF FOREST
There are 2 main types of forest in New Zealand - conifer-broadleaf and beech.
Conifer-broadleaf forest, the most complex type, favours warmer climates and
features many vines and epiphytes. The forest canopy or roof is usually a continuous layer of
broadleaf (flowering) broken at intervals by very tall emergent conifers.
In the northern North Island, conifer-broadleaf forests tend to be dominated by the giant
kauri. Throughout the country, swamp forests feature another conifer, kahikatea, often in
association with the broadleaf pukatea. However the most widespread conifer-broadleaf forest,
found from Northland to Stewart Island, is that dominated by rimu, often in association with
northern rata.
The main canopy of rimu dominated forest in Northland, below the emergents, features
taraire, which is replaced further south or at higher altitudes by tawa or kamahi. There are
many other species of trees, shrubs and forest floor plants and a wide range of vines and
epiphytes. The number of species in this type of forest decreases as one goes from north to
south.
Conifer-broadleaf forest is generally replaced by beech forest at higher altitudes. It
has few or no vines or large epiphytes, although mistletoe parasites can be conspicuous. The
canopy is dominated the southern beeches and forms a uniform layer without emergents.
Beech forest is sometimes absent from places where we would expect to find it, for example Mt
Taranaki and the central west coast of the South Island. An explanation for this is that it hasn't
yet spread to its fullest extent after the last Ice Age glacial period
Native plants outnumbered
New Zealand's native plants are officially in a minority for the first time, out-numbered
by wild exotic species.
New Zealand has about 2350 native plant species but exotic plants that have naturalised
in the wild now number 2400, according to records from the country's herbariums, or plant
collections.New plants are added to the collections by botanists, regional councils, Biosecurity
New Zealand and the Department of Conservation and it is the first time exotics have
outnumbered natives.
"It's just appalling really," said New Zealand Plant Conservation Network spokesman
John Sawyer. "This is a major milestone for the country but it's a step backwards. "We've got
major problems in the future if we want to keep native plants thriving."
Auckland Museum botany curator Ewen Cameron said of about 25,000 exotic species
cultivated in New Zealand gardens, around 10 per cent now grew in the wild. It was estimated
about 15 new exotic species naturalised in New Zealand each year. "It's a very big concern that
the number is increasing at such a rate," he said. "Even if we allowed no new plants, the ones
already in people's gardens will jump the fence for decades or centuries to come."
Plants such as privet, climbing asparagus, old man's beard and ginger were out of
control and the only hope to limit their spread was bio-control. The recent introduction of the
tiny gall fly to help control the invasive mist flower weed offered some hope for the future, he
said. Mr Cameron said Cook's scurvy grass, voted New Zealand's favourite plant in the
network's website poll, was listed as threatened and was an example of a native plant under
threat from foreign species. The grass was once common. "You would struggle to find it
anywhere in the North Island now," he said.
Native Forest in the Garden
Thirteen acres of land were set aside from the Town Belt Reserve in 1844, but it was not
until 1869 that the Botanic Garden Act was passed by Parliament, and a Botanic Garden Board
was appointed to manage the Garden. During the intervening years squatters had moved on to
the land, removed trees, grazed animals, and had even built houses on it. The Thirteen-acre
Reserve extended as a narrow strip from the Founders' Entrance on Tinakori Road, (now
Glenmore Street), along the side of Glenmore Street up to the Mariri Entrance.
Although the Wellington area was heavily clad in forest, very little was recorded about
the forest in the Thirteen-acre Reserve in the 1840s at the time of European settlement. There
are no known photographs of the Reserve taken before 1869. However, a watercolour painting
by J. Pearce, in 1856, which is now in the Alexander Turnbull Library, shows that along Tinakori
Road (now Glenmore Street) much of the native vegetation had been removed. We do not know
if it had been removed before European settlement, or if the early settlers removed trees to
provide timber for building and for firewood. The painting shows the stumps of large trees that
had been removed, and a few trees remaining from the original forest. The trees that still
remain appear to be rimu and kahikatea.
There is another painting, by Charles Barraud, painted in 1858, of forest near Upland
Road, which was once continuous with that in the Botanic Garden. This painting shows tall
podocarps such as rimu, matai, totara and kahikatea. It also shows that the spurs of the
adjacent Wesleyan Reserve, which became part of the Botanic Garden in 1871, and added a
further 54 acres to the Garden, had lost much of their native forest, and were now in grass. The
first Annual Report of the Botanic Garden Board also mentions these areas of grass on the
Wesleyan land.
The Wesleyan Reserve, however, had forest remaining in the gullies, and on the ridges.
The steepness of the gullies had probably protected the forest from removal of timber and from
fire.
There is further evidence that rimu and kahikatea were present in the Garden, as it is
recorded that Randall's cottage, built in 1860, was constructed from rimu and kahikatea grown
on the Reserve. This cottage later became the Keeper's Cottage, and William Bramley, the first
Head Gardener and Keeper, lived here. It was on the site of the present Director's house,
behind the Treehouse, on the Wesleyan Reserve, and overlooked the Duck Pond.
In 1875, John Buchanan, the Botanic Garden's first botanist and draughtsman, produced
a map of the garden, and made a list of all the plants growing here. He records rimu, totara,
miro and kahikatea, but not matai, as being present in the Garden, but that they were old and
very large, and dying. They were heavily covered in epiphytes such as Astelia, Collospermum,
and orchids, because of their age. The weight of the nest epiphytes was causing the branches to
break, and then rot was setting in.
The removal of the sound podocarp trees for timber during the 1840s and 1850’s would
have exposed the rest of the forest to wind and would have hastened the demise of the
remaining old podocarps. By the early 1900s they had completely disappeared. When these
trees disappeared, the nest epiphyte species Astelia and Collospermum, and the three species
of the parasitic mistletoe that Buchanan recorded, also disappeared. The podocarps would also
have been host to the northern rata, which likes to begin life as a seedling at the top of a tall
tree like rimu, in order to get enough light for growth. We still have northern rata in the
Garden, but generally growing from the ground up. These trees never achieve the size of those
that start their lives at the tops of tall trees. Buchanan also recorded tall trees of hinau,
pukatea, and rewarewa, and young trees of tawa and maire. Kanuka, manuka, mingimingi and
tawini were established on the dry hillsides. The original density of the podocarps in the Botanic
Garden is unknown.
The Main Garden is in the valley of the Pipitea Stream, which these days is piped
underground, but used to flow into the harbour near the Pipitea Pa. Kahikatea would probably
have predominated in this valley, with rimu, totara and miro on the slopes above the valley.
Although Buchanan did not record matai in the Botanic garden in 1875, he does record it
present in Wellington in 1870, and today it is still present in Otari-Wilton's Bush Forest Reserve.
The broadleaf trees, tawa, rewarewa, hinau, titoki, kohekohe, ngaio, and tarata may have
covered the slopes, with pukatea in the valleys. Also in the valleys were tall mamaku, or black
tree ferns, which, in 1882, were recorded as being 10 m high, which may indicate that they
were over 100 years old. There is no evidence to show that the forest in the valley floors or on
the steep slopes has ever been cut over or been burnt by fire, and therefore is still today, virgin
forest.
In the 1870s, the Botanic Garden Board realised that the forest remnants needed
protection from wind, and planted trees around their perimeters, using a mixture of conifers,
oaks, Australian blackwood, and NZ beeches. Most of these trees are still here today. A serious
encroachment on the forest was proposed about 1925, with the suggestion that Glen Road be
extended to link up with Tinakori Road (Glenmore Street). Professor Kirk spoke out strongly
against this proposal, and fortunately nothing came of this extension.
Unfortunately for the native forest in the Botanic Garden, the establishment of the Otari
Open Air Plant Museum in 1925 caused a decline in interest in our forest remnants. In the
1960s native seedlings were removed from the forest and planted elsewhere in the garden, all
of which subsequently died.
Possums and invasive introduced weeds have caused damage to the forest over the
years. Another practice that would have caused damage to the forest was the 19th century
custom of exchanging plants between Botanic Gardens. Over the years the Wellington Botanic
Garden sent many plants and seeds to Botanic Gardens overseas. The plants were probably dug
straight out of the forest, potted up, and sent away in Wardian cases. Where seedling numbers
were already low, as in the case of kahikatea, rimu, totara, and miro, the removal of young
plants would have endangered their survival in the Garden. NZ plants are not easy to
transplant, and the recommended procedure for sending plants was to make the soil in the
Wardian cases very wet, then to completely seal them. This probably worked well for ferns, and
seemed to work for plants from other countries, but proved disastrous for NZ plants. They
invariably arrived in England dead and rotting after their three month sea voyage. In a letter to
Hector in 1869, Joseph Hooker at Kew said "Wardian cases should be called Wardian coffins."
This remark was made after fifteen years' use of the cases between NZ and Kew, as plants were
being exchanged between NZ and Kew as early as 1854. However the practice seems to have
continued on until about 1882-83. The exchange of plants between NZ and Australia was more
successful.
Buchanan also listed NZ native plants that had been introduced to the Botanic Garden.
These included kauri, pohutukawa, karo, whau, akeake, kowhai, karaka, nikau, taraire,
tanekaha, broadleaf, and red, black, and silver beech.
COMBINED LIST OF INDIGENOUS VASCULAR PLANTS IN
ALL THE
BUSH REMNANTS
KEY # = Not naturally-occurring in Wellington Ecological District.
From Metcalf and Horne survey 2003
(Material scanned in – may be some scanning errors)
BOTANICAL NAME
MAORI NAME
GYMNOSPERM TREES
# Agathis australis
kauri
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides
kahikatea
Dacrydium cupressinum
rimu
# Libocedrus plumosa
kawaka
Phyllocladus trichomanoides
tanekaha
Podocarpus totara
tootara
Prumnopitys taxifolia
mataii
Stachypitys (= Prumnopitys) ferruginea
miro
MONOCOT TREES
Cordyline australis
tii koouka
Rhopalostylis sapida
niikau
DICOT TREES/SHRUBS
Alectryon excelsus
titoki
Aristotelia serrata
makomako
Beischiniedia tawa
tawa
# Bachyglottis greyi
Brachyglottis repanda
rangiora
Carmichaelia australis
maakaakaa
# Carmichaelia williamsii
Carpodetus serratus
putaputaweetaa
Coprosma areolata
Coprosma crassifolia
Coprosma grandifolia .
kaanono
Coprosma lucida
karamuu
Coprosma propinqua
Coprosma repens
taupata
Coprosma rhamnoides
Coprosma robusta
karamuu
# Corokia cotoneaster
korokio
Corynocarpus laevigatus
karaka
Dodonea viscosa
akeake
Dysoxylum spectabile
kohekohe
Elaeocarpus dentatus
hinau
Fuchsia excorticata
kootukutuku
Geniostoma rupestre
hangehange
Griselinia littoralis
papaauma
Griselinia lucida
puka
# Hebe diosmifolia
Hebe parviflora
koromiko taranga
# Hebe speciosa
napuka
Hebe stricta
var. atkinsonii
koromiko
Hoheria populnea
var. populnea
horhere
# Hoheria populnea
var. sexstylosa
Knightia excelsa
rewarewa
Kunzea ericoides
kaanuka
Laurelia novae-zelandiae
pukatea
Leptospermum scoparium
maanuka
Leucopogon fasciculatus
mingimingi
Lophomyrtus bullata
ramarama
Macropiper excelsum
kawakawa
Melicope ternate
wharangi
Melicytus ramiflorus
maahoe .
# Meryta sinclairii
puka
# Metrosideros excelsa
poohutukawa
Metrosideros robusta
rataa
Myoporum laetum
ngaio
Myrsine australis
maapou
Myrsine salicina
toro
COMMON NAME
kauri
kahikatea
rimu
kawaka
tanekaha
totara
matai
miro
cabbage tree
nikau
titoki
tawa
wineberry
Coastal groundsel
rangiora
NZ broom
giant flowered broom
marbleleaf
thin-leaved coprosma
thick-leaved coprosma
kanono
karamu
taupata
karamu
hinau
corokia
karaka
akeake
kohekohe
tree fuchsia
hangehange
broadleaf
puka
tree hebe
purple hebe
koromiko
lacebark
rewarewa
kanuka
pukatea
manuka
big mingimingi
ramarama
kawakawa
mahoe
puka
ngaio
wharangi
pohutukawa
northern rata
toro
mapou
Nestegis cunninghamii
# Nothofagus fusca
Nothofagus solandri var. solandri
# Olearia albida
Olearia paniculata
Olearia rani
Olearia solandri
Ozothamnus leptophyllus
Pennantia corymbosa
# Pittosporum crassifolium
Pittosporum eugenioides
#Pittosporum ralphii
Pittosporum tenuifolium
Plagianthus regius
Pseudopanax arboreus
Pseudopanax crassifolius
#Pseudopanax laetus
# Pseudopanax (hybrids)
Raukaua anomalus
Schefflera digitata
Solanum laciniatum
Solanum sp.
Sophora microphylla
# Sophora tetraptera
# Vitex lucens
Weinmannia racemosa
MONOCOT LIANES
maire
tawhai raunui
tawhai rauriki
tangaru
akiraho
heketara
tauhinu
kaikoomako
karo
kohuhu
manatu
whauwhaupaku
horoeka
patee
poroporo
poroporo
koowhai
koowhai
puuriri
kaamahi
Freycinetia baueriana
Ripogonum scandens
kohuhu
lowland ribbonwood
five-finger
lancewood
pate
poroporo
poroporo
kowhai
koowhai
puriri
kamahi
kiekie
kareao
DICOT LIANES
Clematis forsteri
Clematis paniculata
Metrosideros colensoi
Metrosideros diffusa
Metrosideros fulgens
Metrosideros perforata
Muehlenbeckia austral
Parsonsia heterophylla
Passiflora tetrandra
Rubus cissoides
Rubus schmide1ioides
tarata
black maire
red beech
black beech
tangaru
akiraho
heketara
coastal tree daisy
tauhinu
kaikomako
karo
1emonwood
kiekie
supplejack
pikiarero
puawaananga
raataa
koohia
akakura
aka
poohuehue
kaihua
small white clematis
white clematis
white rata
scarlet rata
clinging rata
pohuehue
parsonsia
NZ passionfruit
bush lawyer
bush lawyer
taataraamoa
taataraamoa
FERNS
Adiantum cunninghamii
maidenhair
Adiantum viridescens
Asplenium bulbiferum
Asplenium flabellifolium
Asplenium flaccidum
spleenwort
Asplenium hookerianum
Asplenium oblongifolium
Asplenium polyodon
Asplenium bulbiferum x Asplenium
Blechnum chambersii
Blechnum discolor
Blechnum fi1iforme
Blechnum fluviatiIe
Blechnum membranaceum
Blechnum novae-zelandiae
Cyathea cunninghamii
Cyathea dealbata
Cyathea medullaris
Cyathea smithii
huruhuru tapairu
common
manamana
makawe o Raukatauri
maidenhair
hen and chickens
necklace fern
hanging
Hooker's spleenwort
shining spleenwort
sickle spleenwort
huruhuru whenua
petako
flaccidum
nini
piupiu
paanako
kiwakiwa
lance fern
crown fern
thread fern
ray water
kiokio
kiokio
ponga
mamaku
kaatote
gully tree fern
ponga
mamaku
soft tree fern
Dicksonia fibrosa
Dicksonia squarrosa
Grammitis billardierei
Grammitis ciliata
HymenophylIum demissum
HymenophylIum flabellatum
Hypolepis ambigua
Lastreopsis glabella
Lastreopsis hispida
Lastreopsis velutina
Leptopteris hymenophylloides
# Marattia salicina
Microsorum pustulatum
Microsorum scandens
Pellaea rotundifolia
Pneumatopteris pennigera
Polystichum richardii
Pteridium esculentum
Pteris macilenta
Pteris tremula
Pypyrrosia eleagnifolia
whekii ponga
whekii
mauku
mauku
arauhi
ongaweka
heruheru
para
koowaowao
mokimoki
tarawera
paakau
pikopiko
raarrahu
titipo
turawera
ota
wheki ponga
wheki
strap fern
strap fern
drooping filmy fern
fan-like filmy fern
nehenehe
shield fern
hairy fern
velvet fern
single crepe fern
king fern
hound's tongue
scented fern
button fern
gully fern
common shield fern
bracken
sweet brake
shaking brake
leather-leaf fern
ORCHIDS
PrasophylIum colensoi
Thelymitra sp.
maikuku
Pterostylis alobula (identified Philip C. Tomlinson)
leek orchid
sun orchid
GRASSES
Anemanthe Ie lessoniana
Cortaderia toetoe
Cortaderia sp.
Dichelachne crinita
Microlaena avenacea
Microlaena polynoda
Microlaena stipoides
Poa anceps
Rytidosperma gracile
SEDGES
Carex dissita
Carex testacea
Gahnia pauciflora
Gahnia setifolia
Uncinia banksia
Uncinia scabra
Uncinia uncinata
hunangaamoho
toetoe
toetoe
gossamer grass
toetoe
toetoe
long-hair plume grass
bush rice grass
paatiitii
slender rice grass
broad-leaved poa
rytidosperma
puurel
a sedge sp
speckled sedge
cutting sedge
cutty grass
hooked sedge
hooked sedge
hooked sedge
puurei
maapere
maapere
matau a Maaui
RUSHES
Luzula picta
MONOCOT HERBS (other than above
Arthropodium candidun
Arthropodium cirratum
Astelia solandri
Dianella nigra
Libertia grandiflora
Libertia sp.
Phormium cookianum
Phormium tenax
COMPOSITE HERBS
repehina papa
rengarenga
koowharawhara
tuurutu
miikoikoi
Miikoikoi
wharariki
harakeke
Senecio miniinus
Gnaphalium sphaericum
DICOT HERBS (other than composites)
Cardamine debilis
Centella uniflora
# Colensoa physaloides
Haloragis erecta
panapana
haanea
toatoa
a woodrush
NZ iris
NZ iris
smal1 renga lily
renga lily
perching astelia
blueberry
coastal flax
swamp flax
fireweed
Japanese cudweed
NZ bitter cress
centella
colensoa
shrubby haloragis
Hydrocotyle heteromeria
waxweed
Stellaria decipiens
kohukohu
NZ chickweed
Wahlenbergia violacea
rimuroa
a harebel1
A total of 173 native plants were identified in the bush remnants in this survey.
Nerines
They are endemic to South Africa. There are around thirty species very widely
distributed with a large number of the species growing in the summer rainfall areas. Usually,
they grow in large colonies and when blooming is a spectacular sight. The colours can be white,
pink, and cerise to red. Flowers can be ornate and delicate like Nerine filamantosa, or full and
robust like Nerine sarniensis.
The bulbs come in a range of shapes and sizes, some with a neck and some without. As
per Amaryllid usually these bulbs have roots that persist for many years. Planting the Nerine
bulb or seed and leaving them in the same position for many years is their preferred cultivation.
Nerines require full sun or a slightly shady position. This will aid in successful flowering.
Nerines prefer a well draining growing medium. This to can also have a good % of compost as
some Nerines love to feed. Some species are known for their capacity to thrive in the poorest of
soils. Nerine sarniensis will almost refuse to bloom if feed any thing other than sandy soil.
At the other end of the cultivation scale, Nerine platypetala need full water inundation
during the growing season and never let to dry out. These grow in a bog like situation and do
very well in this type of cultivation. As I have grown Nerine, they have continually surprised me
in their cultivation needs. Some gardeners report that they have no trouble in growing the types
they have, yet others, at the same time report having lost them.
Nestegis cunninghamii
Black Maire is sometimes known as the NZ olive. Ash, lilac, jasmine, privet, and
Forsythia all belong to the olive family, and were originally included in the same genus as the
olive (Olea).
It was once common in the NZ forest but is now rare because its heavy wood makes
the best firewood of our native timbers, and was very popular with the early settlers.
Northern Walkway
(Map at Treehouse)
The Northern Walkway extends 16 km from Kelburn, through the Town Belt and several
parks to Johnsonville. It takes at least four hours to complete. Various exits to suburban streets
allow you to walk it in stages if you wish. The walkway has many attractions including
spectacular views, picnic sites and children's play areas, disused tunnels, the Khandallah Pool
and the serenity of the bush. It is steep in places but not difficult overall.
The walk begins at the Botanic Garden lookout at the top of the Cable Car terminus,
Upland Road, Kelburn. Take the Cable Car from Lambton Quay. The Johnsonville entrance is at
Johnsonville Park. Take a Johnsonville line train to Raroa Station (Monday to Saturday), or a
No. 49 Johnsonville bus (Sunday), alighting on Burma Road near Haumia St. Follow the map's
directions to the park entrance in Truscott Avenue.
Between these entry points the walkway passes through five areas: the Botanic Garden,
Tinakori Hill, Trelissick Park, Khandallah Park and Johnsonville Park. If you prefer to complete
selected areas of the walk only, you can take a No. 14 Wadestown or Wilton bus, to or from
Weld St Wadestown. This leads to the northern end of the Tinakori Hill section and the southern
end of the Trelissick Park section. Alternatively take a train to or from Simla Crescent Station
(Monday to Saturday) or a No. 49 bus (Sunday) near the southern entrance of the Khandallah
Park section of the walkway.
Most of the Northern Walkway is closed to mountain bikers. See separate brochure for
more information.
On most of the walkway dogs are required to be on a lead. Remove all droppings and litter
Botanic Garden section (25 minute walk)
From the top of the Cable Car enjoy a short signposted walk to discover the Carter
Observatory and the Sundial of Human Involvement-two Botanic Garden attractions. The
Australian Path will take you downhill to the steep steps leading to Hill Path where you cross the
road into Scrub Path. On reaching Manuka Path, turn left and continue along until reaching the
Remembrance Ridge ^ lookout. Proceeding along Manuka Way you will find
Junction Path and pass the Peacemaker sculpture on your left. Junction Path unfolds to
reveal Serpentine Way and its remnant native forest. About here the aromas of the Botanic Cafe
may tempt you, as will a stroll through the Lady Norwood Rose Garden and the Begonia House.
Leaving the Botanic Garden the walkway crosses Glenmore Street and climbs St Mary
Street in historic Thorndon. Following the orange directional arrows, enter the Town Belt oh
Tinakori Hill and follow its gentle contours through exotic and native forest.
Norwood, Walter Neville
Walter Neville Norwood kt: B Wellington, July 14,1907; m 1935 Runa Redpath d 1998)
2s Id; ed Hereworth School Scots College, first chairman NZ Motor Corporation, CB Norwood
Ltd.-former president Wellington rotary, trustee Nuffield Trust,
Laura Fergusson Trust, Norwood Crippled Children Trust,
Norwood Cricket Trust; patron Birthright; director of NZ
Petroleum Co Ltd. Gen Finance Ltd; mar Wool Commission 1971
former pres, steward Wlg Racing Club; knight bachelor 1971;
d Taupo, April 2, 2000.
Sir Walter Norwood was the complete businessman. He
was the recipient of good fortune, but was determined that his
family would not be the sole beneficiary of the family's wealth.
The Norwood’s have given much to Wellington. Their
name is attached to more than 50 years of philanthropy that
would run in value to millions of dollars.
The Lady Norwood Rose Garden, at Wellington's Botanic
Garden, for example, is in his mother's name. Walter and his
sisters funded the nearby waterfall; his father, Sir Charles, paid
for the begonia house, and Walter and his wife Rana paid for
the more recent lily pond in its west wing. Those were the
visible gifts to the city. More, much much more, was done out
of the public's eye in welfare related activities.
Sir Walter, a quiet man not given to outlandish display, continued a tradition begun by
his very public father, Sir Charles, whose cigar, Roller and van Dyke beard were as well known
to Wellingtonias as trams, the Quay, Kirks and the DIC.
The family made their money in cars, trucks and tractors. The Dominion Motors group,
later the New Zealand Motor Corporation, assembled British vehicle under the Morris, Austin
and Leyland badges. In 1976, NZMC had 27 percent of the new vehicles market. When the
Fergusson tractor became the byword for much of New Zealand's fanning community, they
secured rights to the brand's sale under the aegis of C B Norwood, Ltd. The family thrived, and
made millions. Sir Walter was for many years in the shade of his father. In a sense, it was an
apprenticeship. In 1926, he'd joined Dominion Motors Ltd, the company founded by his father in
1916, and on the death of Sir Charles it was soon apparent he'd been well-schooled to take
over the reins. Importantly, he was imbued with a responsibility for ensuring some of the
family's good fortune was returned to the city in which they lived and, later, beyond its
boundaries.
Norwood was a sportsman, too. He was a golfer and sailor, and a handy cricketer,
though his enthusiasm was not always matched by results. He put up the money and the trophy
in 1971 for the national one-day knockout competition, and followed cricket with intense
interest.
It's assumed today that the sportsman label is attached only to those who play. But
there was a time when paragons of the turf were known as Sportsmen.
Norwood had a long-time interest in raciug, particularly as an owner. He was prompted
into ownership to 1960 after his wife Rana had been getting good results on her own account,
particularly on the Blenheim and Nelson circuits, with horses she raced with Noel MantheL
Norwood, who'd had to hang up his cricket boots, had been a companionable onlooker of
his wife's racing interests, but was well and truly bitten.
He formed a long and profitable association with Awapuni trainer Eric Temperton. Their
relationship reached its apogee in 1971, when Norwood's $7500 buy Silver Knight won the
Melbourne Cup. Assembly lines at NZMC's Petone vehicle assembly plant ground to a halt.
Norwood's workers-were In ecstasy, and at Flemington Norwood admitted he was so chuffed he
couldn't remember if he'd hugged his wife.
Norwood and Temperton were a nose away from repeating the feat the following year
when the gorgeous $6000 mare Magnifique, who'd had a shocking run, finished second to Piping
Lane.
Norwood's passion for thoroughbreds was undimmed. When he arid his wife went to a
Wellington wharf to farewell Silver Knight on the horse's shipment to Perth for stud duties in i
19?2, . Norwood tried for a stiff upper lip but went rubbery when the stallion's box was hoisted
aboard.
"He has been a credit to New Zealand racing. We will miss him," he said, and turned
away”
Norwood, who'd been knighted for services to commerce and welfare in 1971, continued
to thrive in business, with modest success to racing. He lamented the increasing demands of
government on the racing industry, and recognised as early as 1974 that cosy tariff
arrangements for vehicle manufacturing would be threatened by Britain's entry to the EEC. New
Zealand's investment in plant and jobs, he argued, would be imperiled. He was right, although
it would take another 20 years before the industry he knew vanished altogether.
Sir Walter shared a long and productive life with his wife Rana. They were married for 65
years. She died a year ago. They are survived by their children.
Nothofagus – the southern beeches
Nothofagus, the Southern Beeches are part of the large Fagaceae family of
beeches, which includes the oaks and chestnuts. The genus in NZ includes some 3 species out
of the 8 genera and 100 species in the family. The nothofagus contains some 20 species from
NZ Australia and South America. They are an ancient tree group, originating some 135 million
years ago.
The last trees known to have survived in Antarctica are is a tree commonly called
southern beech. They are still found on most of the landmasses that once made up Gondwana—
the signature species of that outsized continent, among the first pieces of evidence used by
scientists to suggest that such a place existed. This tree was one of the mightiest botanical
empire-builders imaginable. In the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere, for much of the
last 60 million years, the beeches ruled. But southern beech and Wollemi pines have been cotravellers through both time and landscapes—they grew together throughout Gondwana and the
beech helps to understand the epic nature of Wollemia's journey. There is proof of their cohabitation in Antarctica, New Zealand and Australia and, once a thorough search is complete,
evidence will probably emerge that the pair grew together in South America. The fossil pollen of
both species is found buried in the same drill cores through tens of millions of years of the
southern hemisphere's history. It seemed only appropriate that a southern beech forest was
growing on top of the fossil forest at Little Rapid River.
Southern beech is an amazingly tough tree. (I) have seen specimens towering in
magnificent rainforests beside the lowland rivers of Tasmania and under the glaciers at the
southern extreme of Patagonia in Argentina. On these Andean mountains the southern beech
has views over hundreds of kilometres of glaciated wilderness, only marginally more hospitable
than Antarctica. I have also seen wizened, ancient beech on the summits of frigid Tasmanian
mountains, shrunken cripples so tortured by the elements that it is difficult to believe that their
lucky brethren in the rainforest valleys below are the same species. In April 2000 Dr Mark
Mabin, an earth scientist present when these southern beech fossils were found at Sirius,
showed me some of the preserved wood in his office in Townsville, Queensland. So well had
these fragments travelled through time that when they were found the scientists used a few
small samples to start a fire.
The 4 NZ species are endemic and are amongst the most distinctive of our trees.
Although occurring sparingly in the far north, they are found throughout the country especially
along the mountain chains generally from sea level to around 1100 m ASL. The South Island
beeches form vast tracts of forests composed almost entirely of one or two species. The forests
are distinctive with undergrowth either sparse of absent, contrasting with the Podocarp forests.
All species produce valuable timber.
Nothofagus fusca
Red Beech is the most handsome of the beeches; it grows 30 m tall with trunks 23 m through. It grows from sea level to 1050 m ASL in lowland and mountain forests from Te
Aroha and Rotorua southwards.
In the past its timber of fine quality was used for building houses, wharves, bridges,
and for railway sleepers as it has the most durable wood of all the beeches. Maori used the
bark as a source of black dye to dye flax. Today it is used for furniture and boat building.
Red Beech (or tawhai raunui) gets its name from either the colour of its wood or from
the colour of the leaves of young trees in winter.
A black dye is obtained from the bark. The bark is a source of tannin.
Nothofagus menziesii
The Silver Beech grows some 30 m tall with a trunk up to 2 m through. The trunk is
often heavily coated with mosses and lichens. The bark is silvery-white in young trees and grey
and flaky on old trees. The trunk often develops large buttresses around the base. Found from
sea level to 900 m altitude from Thames southwards.
The red coloured tough, strong, elastic, wood not durable outdoors possesses an even
compact and straight grain. In the past used for wharf and bridge building and railway sleepers
and housing, today it is used mainly for furniture and decorative work house blocks, wine cases.
A black dye is obtained from the bark. The bark is a source of tannin. Wood - tough,
strong, elastic, not durable outdoors. Used for house blocks, wine cases etc
Nothofagus solandri
The Black Beech (or Tawhai Rauriki), grows to 25 m tall. It is found in lowland and
mountain forests to 750 m ASL throughout the North and South Island. It makes an attractive
specimen tree.
In the 19th century the pale yellow red or red wood streaked with black was a
major building material for buildings, bridges, railway sleepers and fences. The wood has large
quantities of silica that rapidly blunts tools and is not as durable compared with the other
species, unless cut from very old trees. It is more resistant to wind damage than other beech
trees.
Old trees are often covered on their trunks and lower branches with a thick black velvety
fungus that drips a sweet sticky liquid. In the South Island a scale insect sucks the sap and
produces honeydew, which is an important food for kaka, tui, bellbird, kea and silver eye, and
also for butterflies and bees, and other native insects.
Collected 15 Jan. 1770 by Daniel Solander on Cook's Endeavour voyage. The name
Nothofagus comes from the Greek 'nothos' (false) and 'fagus' (beech). 'Solandri' was given to
recognise the work of Daniel Solander.
Originally named in Solander's manuscript Myrtilloides cinerascens (Myrtilloides = like a
little myrtle; cinerascens = becoming ashy gray.) It was renamed Fagus solandri in 1844.
Modern research has shown them to be genetically distinct from the northern beeches, causing
them to be transferred to their own genus Nothofagus, the southern evergreen beeches. To
judge by the fossils in Antarctica, Nothofagus was growing in the continent of Gondwanaland at
least 135 million years ago. When Gondwanaland broke up, the landmasses of South America,
Australia, and New Zealand drifted northwards with the beech trees on board. Isolated on their
different landmasses, beech trees evolved into about thirty species. Today you can find
varieties of them in the mountains of Chile and Argentina, in Papua New Guinea, New
Caledonia, and Australia, as well as here. Today you can buy 80 million year old fossilised
beech trees - as coal dug up from the West Coast.
Of the three more specialised pollen types of the southern beeches, two appear during
the Cretaceous (65mya) and the third in the early Tertiary (65 -1.8mya). The first to appear,
and the one which became dominant during the Tertiary, represents a section of the genus
Nothofagus with living species in New Guinea and New Caledonia, but now extinct in New
Zealand. Most of the fossil southern beeches had larger leaves than the living New Zealand
species. In the fossil record, as compared with the four or five species now living 35 species
have been named, indicating the variety and importance of the southern beeches in the former
vegetation of New Zealand and the closeness of present-day New Zealand to the centre of
evolution and dispersal within this group. The relationships of the Australian and New Zealand
species are too recent to have roots in Gondwana, indicating a role for transoceanic dispersal.
The current distributions of
Nothofagus cannot be explained solely by continental drift (followed by extinction of
some species) and that contemporary New Zealand Nothofagus species are not direct
descendants of the beeches thought to have reached the island after the split from Antarctica.
Endemic to NZ, it once covered large tracts of eastern NZ, locally only found on the Rimutaka
and Eastbourne hills.
Old beech trees are often covered with a thick black velvety fungus that drips a sweet
sticky liquid. A small scale insect sucks the sap and produces the sweet honeydew. Maori
tradition has it that Maui killed a taniwha, whose blood was splashed on the surrounding beech
trees. You only have to cut the bark to see the beech sap run red.
Black beech once covered large tracts of the lowlands of eastern New Zealand - from the
Rotorua district down to Southland. In many places, pure black beech forest covered the
landscape to all horizons up to 750 metres above sea level. Above that height, mountain beech
replaces black beech.
Seven to eight hundred years ago, there were big fires in the black beech forests from
Hawke's Bay, down through Marlborough and Canterbury to Otago - probably started by early
Maori settlers clearing land. You can still find the remnants of beech charcoal buried in those
areas. Later, European settlers milled the beech forest, and burned off much more to make way
for farms. By 1890, settlers had cleared beech forest from most of lowland New Zealand.
Today, beech forests survive mainly on land too steep to farm of where they are
preserved in National Parks.
Olives
In June 1883 the Botanic Garden planted 20 olive trees. At this time the establishment
of an olive oil industry was being considered, as NZ was importing olive oil, but very little of it
was pure. The fish preserving industry required a lot of first quality oil, and the woollen mills
would have taken inferior grade oil, but neither grade was available.
The Botanic Garden Annual Report of 1885 said the olive trees had done well in the
Garden and there was every prospect that they would become established. It does not mention
whether they had as yet fruited. In 1887 Hector was sent some olive fruit from four-year old
trees in Auckland. He reported to the Government that the olive oil industry promised to be a
good one. In the last decade his prediction has proved to be correct.
None of the original trees have survived in the Botanic Garden although there are some
in the Herb Garden.
Orchids
Orchids are an extraordinary group of plants, with their fascinating shapes and colours,
many with attractive and all pervading scent, ranging in size from a few mm to several metres
tall.
Orchids comprise one of the largest of all plant families, with some 30,000 native
species, and over 100,000 man made hybrids. Orchids are unique in that the ancestry of
hybrids is fully recorded in a register called the Sander’s List, right from the date of the first
man made hybrids were made in 1856.
Orchids are found in virtually all parts of the world. They are not found where there is
permanent ice and snow, or in the hottest and driest of deserts (although even there some
often survive in gullies and sheltered areas where water seepage allows them to grow).
Different plants can be found growing from the snow line on the highest mountains to sea level.
Orchid flowers show an amazing diversity in size and shape. They have evolved in
association with very specific pollinators, often specific to an individual species, usually insects,
flies moths, butterflies, birds, and bats. Some are self-pollinated. Books have been written on
the bizarre and fascinating pollination mechanisms of orchids.
Most orchids we see in florist shops and at orchid shows are natives of the tropics.
New Zealand has its own orchids, some 120 different species, although most only have small
and relatively insignificant flowers. Many are part of our normal environment, but because they
are so small and well hidden we do not recognise them for what they are.
Orchid flowers come in a wide range of colours, except black. The flowers generally
are long lasting; 6 to 12 weeks are not uncommon, and one species has flowers which live for
9 months.
Orchids have one of the longest records of cultivation for all decorative plants. In
China they have been cultivated for 3000 years, cymbidiums (which are shown in this
Conservatory) being popular, not just for their flowers, but primarily because of their foliage
and fragrance. European cultivation of orchids did not occur until the late 18th Century although
it was the mid 19th century before real interest occurred. They were known in the middle ages,
primarily for their medicinal properties, especially as aphrodisiacs.
The name orchid dates from the Greek philosopher Theophrastus a pupil of Aristotle, or
referred to the underground roots of a common Mediterranean orchid ‘orchis’ because of the
similarity in shape to testicles
Types of orchids: Orchids can be either sympodial or monopodial growing. The
sympodial type typified by cymbidiums has bulbous pseudobulbs from which new growths
emerge in the spring. They mature over the spring, summer and autumn, and provided they
grow large enough, will then produce flowers, with the cycle repeating next year.
The second main type is the monopodial type such as vandas. These generally have a
single lead with continues to grow upwards from year to year, producing flowers when
conditions are right.
Most orchids cultivated are epiphytes; they grow on trees, but only use them for
support and so not extract nourishment from the host like parasites. Most of the cultivated
orchids are epiphytes.. Other orchids grow in a humus mat on the ground as terrestrials;
most of our native orchids grow this way.
Despite the fact most cultivated orchids grow as epiphytes, they are mostly cultivated in
pots. It is important, however, that a free open potting mix is used, as air must reach the
roots, and, as we,, moisture provided. Most growers use shredded pine bark; if you use garden
soil most orchids will die.
Growing orchids: Orchids are easy to grow, at least the majority are. Cymbidiums in
this country make ideal house plants, provided their basic cultural requirements are met. There
are however many orchids that can be selected that are easy to grow, with some (Pleione,
bletilla) that can be grown in the garden, provided some care is taken.
It is basic to understand the cultural requirements of most orchids to recognise that their
natural habitats are different to that experienced in New Zealand.
Most of the cultivated orchids are natives of the areas subjected to the summer
monsoon conditions. That climate has WARM WET CLOUDY summers, and DRY COOL BRIGHT
winters conditions. This compares with our dry warm bright summers, and cool, wet, dull
winters. Any culture must recognise these climatical differences.
Cymbidiums do not need expensive or extensive facilities to grow well. During summers
grow outside under the cool shade of a tree with plenty of moving air and water well; bring into
a protected environment in winter, and inside when flowering, reducing watering frequency.
Feed well in active growth..
The orchids in the tropical house need warmer conditions than cymbidiums, but most
appreciate similar seasonality. Those without pseudobulbs need more constant watering.
TEMPERATE SECTION
Note the following during the walk
Cymbidiums in flower on benches. Most are modern hybrids.
Flower colour can be influenced by the amount of light given. Dark coloured flowers like
plenty of light to develop the best colour. Pale green and pink flowers often need some shading
to develop the best colour.
Some orchids have upright flower spikes, some arch, while others are pendulous.
Cymbidium flowers last from 8 to 12 weeks.
Orchids are only one type of epiphyte. The vireya rhododendron on back wall by toilets
as another example
TROPICAL SECTION
Just inside the door is a protected area, with insectivorous plants. There are usually the
Asian ladyslippers (Paphiopedilum) hybrids displayed.
Visit the epiphyte wall. Some plants, oncidiums, dendrobiums, are permanently planted
here and elsewhere, with a selection of potted plants – dendrobiums, vanda alliance, brassias,
phalaenopsis, depending on the season.
Note the phalaenopsis growing on the palm. Not a natural host plant but shows well
how the roots cling to the host as they do naturally.
Note the epiphytes growing in this house, bromeliads, tillandsias, aroids, etc.
Palaeobotany of Australia and New Zealand conifers
Source: Bibliographic web page at http://pole.botany.uq.edu.au/abstracts.html. Material
from literature reviews of a number of publications.
At the end of the Cretaceous New Zealand broke away from the Australian-Antarctic
continental mass and was physically isolated by the Tasman Sea. Early in the Tertiary New
Zealand moved a long way north relative to Australia, but with the rapid northward movement
of Australia, starting in the Eocene, Australia overtook New Zealand, so that much of the South
Island of New Zealand now lies south of Tasmania. The northward and relative movements of
the two blocks provide an interesting framework for comparing the development of their
vegetation.
In the Late Cretaceous (65 mya) New Zealand and Australia were physically
attached and shared a flora dominated by podocarp and araucarian conifers and
deciduous angiosperms, consistent with growth in a polar latitude with periods of winter
darkness.
When New Zealand broke away and moved north, a typically evergreen
angiosperm-dominated flora developed. This showed similarities to the extant and fossil
flora of the Australian mainland. To the south, Tasmania developed a quite distinct flora often
dominated by conifers.
In the early-mid Miocene (23 – 10 mya), when New Zealand lay at the same
latitude as southeastern Australia, a change from Nothofagus dominated rainforest to,
at times, drier vegetation including wet sclerophyll with Eucalyptus, occurred in both
regions. This may record the roughly synchronous effects of more northerly tracking Sub
Tropical High Pressure systems.
In the Late Miocene (5 mya) /Pliocene (5 –1.5 mya) there was a return to
Nothofagus-podocarp dominance in both Australia and New Zealand.
Today, the conifer dominated communities of Tasmania have largely retreated to
montane regions where they form dwarf shrub lands, and have disappeared from the Australian
mainland. In New Zealand the situation has quite reversed from that of much of the
Tertiary, and conifers now form a prominent part of many rainforest communities.
The evidence suggests Australia and New Zealand can be thought of as a single
biogeographic entity, with the vegetation in both landmasses responding principally to
climate change, with relatively free exchange, at least in one direction, of plants, rather than
evolving in isolation since Late Cretaceous oceanic rifting.
A stratigraphic sequence of vegetation is recognised from macrofossil assemblages in
Lower-Mid Miocene fluvial-lacustrine sediments of the Manuherikia Group, New Zealand.
Temperature, water level, drainage, fire and rainfall were probably the factors that
divided the distribution of plant taxa in to several distinct communities. These
communities are compared with structural vegetation types presently recognised in eastern
Australia, including notophyll vine forest (sometimes with podocarp conifers), microphyll forest,
araucarian notophyll vine forest, tall open-forest (at times probably closed forest with
sclerophyll emergents), notophyll feather palm vine forest, and fern fields.
The earliest assemblage in the Cromwell region represents Nothofagus forest (microphyll
fern forest or microphyll vine forest), or at least a forest in which Nothofagus was probably an
important element. Rainfall was high, but the associated presence of Allocasuarina indicates
forest edge conditions, or perhaps disturbance by fire, which removed the canopy long enough
for this genus to have a temporary advantage. Temperature may have been cooler than that
required for subtropical rainforest, or alternatively, soil nutrients may have been low.
The succeeding Araucarian zone may indicate lower rainfall (and perhaps warmer
conditions than when Nothofagus dominated the vegetation), allowing the araucarians to
compete with the rainforest trees and the Allocasuarina to persist, but not low enough to result
in a high frequency of fires. Vegetation was araucarian notophyll vine forest.
The Eucalyptus zone suggests that rainfall continued to fall to the point at which the
frequency of fires rose to at least once every 350 years, and a tall-open forest developed. The
part of this zone in which Allocasuarina was absent may represent the peak frequency of fires,
which were detrimental to Allocasuarina.
A dramatic increase in rainfall and possibly soil-nutrients seems to have eliminated fire
and caused the local replacement of Eucalyptus and Allocasuarina by a podocarp notophyll
evergreen vine forest, including Elaeocarpaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae, Podocarpaceae and, in
areas of impeded drainage, palms.
A return to drier conditions, or a large fire, heralded the regrowth of Eucalyptus Allocasuarina woodland or open forest.
Rainforest conditions are probably represented in the highest part of the sequence. At
various times there were wide expanses of raised peat bog with a generally treeless cover.
Climate was mesothermic.
Six new coniferous fossils are described from the Late Cretaceous of eastern Otago, New
Zealand. These include two new species of Araucaria, A. desmondii, for which a new section,
Perpendicula is erected, and A. taieriensis. Syntypes of Dammara oweni Ett. and D. uninervis
Ett. are illustrated and concluded to be a single species of Araucaria, A. oweni. The diagnosis of
Araucarioides Bigwood and Hill is emended and a new species, A. falcata (the first record of this
genus from New Zealand) is described. Podozamites taenioides Cantrill is also placed into
Araucarioides. Two new genera and species of Podocarpaceae are described, Kaia minuta and
Katikia inordinata. A new genus and species, Otakauia lanceolata, is described and placed in the
Taxodiaceae. The type specimen of Sequoia novae-zeelandiae Ett. (Taxodiaceae) is re-examined
and its cuticle described for the first time. Its identity is confirmed, but it is placed in
Sequoiadendron that follows a more recent nomenclatural change involving extant species. A
range of more poorly preserved conifer material is illustrated.
The original vegetation grew in near-polar latitudes and would have experienced long
periods of winter darkness.
Papermaking in NZ
NZ produces over 800,000 tonnes of paper and paperboard annually, mostly from Pinus
radiata.
There was the need to investigate and study the relative pulping values of native woods.
Pulp and paper making tests were made at the Imperial Institute in 1921 and in
conjunction with a London paper machinery company in 1923.
Attempts were made to interest local capital in a paper-pulp mill in Westland to use slabs
of wood and mill wastes but to no avail.
Meanwhile the planting of exotic forests had begun to boom, not only as a State
enterprise but also as a result of commercial interest arising from publicity given to the
remarkable way Pinus radiata grew, together with the idea that a wood famine was in prospect.
The scene was set for one of New Zealand's more interesting financial debacles, as well as for
early "Think Big" projects and the establishment of a world-scale forest products industry.
Pinus radiata was the main species planted. Plantings took place principally in the North
Island's central volcanic region where a cobalt deficiency had prevented pastoral development.
The State and private plantings took place in parallel, with those of the state outstripping those
of the private sector.
The people sponsoring the private sector plantings varied in their probity but the bond
system adopted was basically unsound whatever the honesty of those promoting it. Sales of
bonds were made around the world, chiefly in Australia but also in India and other places.
Gradually the bondholders who had fallen for the tales of the riches they might expect when the
trees matured began to realise the uncertainty of their investment. After 20 years they would
receive title to a block of mature trees for which no clear market existed.
As one Indian gentleman who came to see for himself discovered, the trees were there,
row upon row of them and clearly a national asset had been created but New Zealand wages
were so high that once they and the cost of land and sea transport had been taken into account
there would be little left for the bondholder, even if sales of timber could be made overseas.
Many bond purchasers had been led to believe the schemes were in some way
government-backed and as the uncertainties about the future came home, many bondholders
wrote to the Prime Minister and to government departments. Eventually it became necessary to
establish a Commission of Inquiry.
The Commissioners carried out their investigations in private and, after initiating legal
proceedings where fraud was evident, proposed that bondholders should be made into
shareholders in the sponsoring companies, with equal rights to the existing shareholders. Thus
17 000 bondholders of the first and largest of the forestry companies, Perpetual Forests, were
incorporated into New Zealand Forest Products (now Carter Holt Harvey) in December 1935.
The new company would not pay a dividend until 1960.
The basic fact remained that Pinus radiata did grow well in New Zealand. The big
question became: how should they be utilised.
An engineer employed in the Forest Service supervised pulping trials in North America on
various woods, including Pinus radiata. He was A.E. Entrican, who would later become a
dominant Director-General of Forestry and the architect of the major project based on the State
Forest plantings, which would become the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company (subsequently
Fletcher Forests and Fletcher Paper.)
Reporting on the trials, Entrican wrote in the New Zealand Journal of Science &
Technology in 1929:
"Paper pulp is chiefly cellulose fibres. It follows that, since cellulose is the basic
structure of all woody plants, some kind of pulp can be made from every species of wood. The
practical question is whether any pulp can be made cheaply in sufficient quantities and of a
quality, which will enable it to compete with other papermaking materials. Under existing
conditions, it is true, there are few, if any, localities in New Zealand where the necessary raw
materials may be procured either in quantity or at such a price as would enable a pulp and
paper mill to compete with foreign producers. But, as foreign wood-supplies become scarce,
large volumes of intermediate products will become available from the manmade forests in
various regions. These will create favourable conditions for the operation of all classes of pulpmills, whose main source of raw materials requires to be in the form of round products.
Supplementary supplies of logging and mill waste will then be useable from adjacent native
forests.
Indeed it is possible that New Zealand may become eventually a large exporter of forest
produce, including both pulp and paper. A.E. Entrican. "Paper Pulp from New Zealand-grown
woods” NZJ of S&T Vol XI August 1929
MacIntosh Ellis's plea was finally answered in 1947 when the Forest Research Institute
(now Forest Research) was formed as part of the Forest Service.
The large-scale forestry based pulp and paper projects, using imported technology at
Kinleith and Kawerau, were put in place in the 1950s.
Entrican, displaying all the optimism of "Think Big" promoters, gave his justification for
what was called the Murupara project in his report to Parliament in 1950. Here among other
things he wrote of the large number of jobs it would provide (2,000) and the exchange it would
save the sterling area (at least 16 million pounds).
The latter would arise because of the expenditure at that time of this sum on pulp and
paper from North America.
"The project can compete at world parity for these products on the Australian markets
and achieve these results. Who will gainsay that it cannot be to New Zealand what Broken Hill
is to Australia?"
Nevertheless Entrican was sensitive to the conservatism of his countrymen, and their
likely reaction to the large scale of the enterprise. In a section entitled "Prejudice Against
Large-Scale Enterprises" he wrote:
"The Forest Service fully appreciates the inherent pyschological difficulties hindering
public acceptance of the scheme. New Zealand is essentially a country of individualists. Even
large-scale co-operatives are suspect. How much more so must be a company, which will have
an output of sawn timber alone equal to the production of one hundred existing sawmills? The
natural thought, if not instinct, is not merely to suspect but to resist.
The unpleasant truth to the individualist is that only by this large-scale production will
New Zealand be able to reduce costs sufficiently to compete at world parity in Australia so that
in either event there will be no one hundred millers - merely unused forest! The Forest Service
hopes that the same type of enterprise which gave New Zealand the largest co-operative dairy
company in the world will likewise give it the largest integrated sawmill and pulp and paper
company in the Southern Hemisphere."
Plants for papermaking:
While it is possible to make paper from the fibre of thousands of plant varieties, some
are more suitable than others. Fibres can be too short to bond into a strong sheet, too difficult
to extract from the plant without expensive equipment, or unattractive for a variety of other
reasons.
Here are a few used for hand made paper now that fall into three categories: grass,
leaf, and bast fibres.
The so-called “grass” fibre plants are often the easiest to process. Pampas Grass
(Cortaderia selloana), an exotic-looking mound of coarse-edged leaves, cotton-candy like
flower plumes rising up to twelve feet above. Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) grows and spreads
so quickly. dozens of varieties of Corn (Zea mays) to grow your food and paper fibre
simultaneously.
Among the leaf fibres, fast spreading Hosta (Hosta fortunei) is your best bet for ground
cover in shady spots. Yucca (Yucca filamentosa), with four-foot high clumps of stiff, swordshaped leaves . Iris (Iris germanica and other species).
Bast, or “inner bark” fibres are the most commonly used for hand papermaking.
Raspberry or Blackberry (Rubus spp.) . Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) Paper Mulberry
(Broussonetia papyrifera) is a rich tradition as the raw material for much of the world’s best
handmade paper.
How Much Paper is in One Tree?
It really all depends on the size of the tree. According to paper manufacturer Boise
Cascade, however, a cord of wood (wood stacked 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet, or 128 cubic feet)
produces nearly 90,000 sheets of paper or 2,700 copies of a 35-page newspaper!
Paper Mulberry
(Morus papyrifera L.) is a tree in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. Now
more correctly called Broussonetia papyrifera
The bark is composed of very strong fibres, and can be used for making high-quality
paper.
Paper Mulberry has unfortunately now become better known as an unwelcome weed of
natural areas worldwide. Now, nearly two millennia later, the paper mulberry has become
another plant, introduced intentionally throughout the world for economic and aesthetic
purposes, which has gone terribly awry, disrupting natural vegetation patterns and processes
The first person to make paper by “felting” wood fibres was Ts’ai-Lun nearly 2,000 years
ago in China.(Felting is the interlocking or matting of loose fibers to form a sheet of paper.)
made paper by grinding up plants - mulberry bark, linen and hemp, producing a wet mush of
separate fibres, then spreads it all out in a mat made of coarse cloth and a bamboo frame and
the sun dries the matted material.
Nearly 2000 years ago, the Chinese used paper mulberry bark for the production of its
paper. This was the first example of a true “paper” being used as opposed to parchment, hides,
and papyrus, from which an earlier name for the paper mulberry (Papyrius papyriferus) was
derived.
Although paper can be made from rice straw, this is not the “rice paper” that people
usually think of. The sort of paper that many people think of when hearing the term “rice paper”
(smooth, thin, crackly, strong) is not actually made from rice at all. The paper is made from
fibres from the bark of the mulberry tree. It got the name “rice paper” because it was used to
make packets for rice. This sort of paper is used for origami, calligraphy, paper screens and
clothing, etc. It is much stronger than commercially made wood-pulp paper.
The branches of the mulberry shrubs are harvested in the fall, so the fibre can be
processed and the paper formed during the cold winter months, because the fibre spoils easily
in the heat. The branches are cut into sections two-three feet long and steamed in a large
kettle, which makes the bark shrink back from the inner wood, allowing it to be pulled off like a
banana peel. The bark can then be dried and stored, or used immediately. There are three
layers to the bark at this stage: black bark, the outermost layer; green bark, the middle layer;
and white bark, the innermost layer. All three layers can be made into paper, but the finest
paper is made of white bark only.
If the bark strips have been dried, they are soaked in water overnight before being
processed further. To clean the black and green bark from the white bark, the bark strip is
spread on a board and scraped with a flat knife. Any knots or tough spots in the fibre are cut
out and discarded at this stage. The scraped bark strips are then cooked for two or three hours
in a mixture of water and soda ash. The fibre is cooked enough when it can easily be pulled
apart lengthwise. The strips are then rinsed several times in clean water to rinse off the soda
ash. Rinsing also makes the fiber brighter and whiter—fine kozo paper is not bleached, it’s
naturally pure white.
Each bark strip is then individually inspected, by hand, against a white background or lit
from behind by a light box. Any tiny pieces of black bark and other debris are removed with
tweezers, and any knots or tough patches of fibre missed during scraping are cut out of the
strips. The ultimate goal is to have completely pure white bark.
The scraped, cooked, and cleaned strips are then laid out on a table and beaten by hand.
The beating tool is a wooden bat that looks like a thicker version of a cricket bat. The fibres are
beaten for about half an hour, or until all the fibres have been separated and no longer
resemble strips of bark
The prepared fibre can now be made into sheets of paper. A viscous substance called
formation aid is added to the vat with the fibre and water. Formation aid is polyethylene oxide,
and it helps slow the flow of water, which gives the paper maker more time to form sheets.
Sheets are formed with multiple thin layers of fibre, one on top of another.
Paper was in use by the ancient Chinese military in 8 BC used for wrapping or padding
protection for delicate bronze mirrors. It was also used for safety, such as the padding of
poisonous 'medicine' as mentioned in the official history of the period.
Paper used for writing became widespread by the 3rd century, although it continued to
be used for wrapping (and other) purposes.
An Arab traveller to China once wrote of the curious Chinese tradition of toilet paper in
AD 851, writing: "The Chinese are not careful about cleanliness, and they do not wash
themselves with water when they have done their necessities; but they only wipe themselves
with paper". Toilet paper continued to be a valued necessity in China, since it was during the
Hongwu Emperor's reign in AD 1393 that the Bureau of Imperial Supplies manufactured
720,000 sheets of toilet paper for the entire court (produced of the cheap rice–straw paper).
For the emperor's family alone, 15,000 special sheets of paper were made, in light yellow tint
and even perfumed. Even at the beginning of the 14th century the amount of toilet paper
manufactured for modern-day Zhejiang province alone amounted to ten million packages
holding 1,000 to 10,000 sheets of toilet paper each.
The world's earliest known printed book (using woodblock printing), the Diamond Sutra
of AD 868, shows the widespread availability and practicality of paper in China.
During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) paper was folded and sewn into square bags to
preserve the flavour of tea. During the same period, it was written that tea was served from
baskets with multi-coloured paper cups and paper napkins of different size and shape.
In the 600s there were local issues of paper currency in China and by 960 the Song
Dynasty (AD 960–1279), short of copper for striking coins, issued the first generally circulating
paper-printed money, (illustration above) or . Paper money bestowed as gifts to deserving
government officials were wrapped in special paper envelopes.
Papyrus
Ancient civilizations carved their laws and history in stone and imprinted them on bricks.
Lead, copper, and brass successively carried the written word. Less permanent materials, such
as leaves, bark, wood, and skins, were predecessors of paper. They scratched on cave walls,
painted too, and drew characters on wet clay.
The word paper derives from the Greek term for the ancient writing material called
papyrus, which was formed from beaten strips of papyrus plants. These materials made from
pounded reeds and bark are technically not true paper, which is made from pulp, rags, and
fibers of plants and cellulose.
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant,
Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt.
The specimen in the garden Cyperus alternifolius (umbrella papyrus or umbrella palm) a
grass-like plant in the very large genus Cyperus of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is native to
Madagascar, frequently cultivated worldwide.
Papyrus usually grow 2–3 meters (5–9 ft) tall. First known to have been used in ancient
Egypt at least as far back as the First dynasty (3,000 BC), it was also used throughout the
Mediterranean region. Ancient Egypt used this plant for boats, mattresses, mats and paper.
Papyrus is made from the stem of the plant. The outer rind is first stripped off, and the
sticky fibrous inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin strips of about 40 cm long. The strips are
then placed side by side on a hard surface with their edges slightly overlapping, and then
another layer of strips is laid on top at a right angle. The strips may have been soaked in water
long enough for decomposition to begin, perhaps increasing adhesion, but this is not certain.
While still moist, the two layers are hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet.
The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with some
rounded object, possibly a stone or seashell or round hard wood.
To form the long strip that a scroll required, a number of such sheets were united,
placed so that all the horizontal fibres parallel with the roll's length were on one side and all the
vertical fibres on the other. Normally, texts were first written on the recto, the lines following
the fibres, parallel to the long edges of the scroll. Secondarily, papyrus was often reused,
writing across the fibres on the verso Pliny the Elder describes the methods of preparing
papyrus in his Naturalis Historia.
In a dry climate like that of Egypt, papyrus is stable, formed as it is of highly rotresistant cellulose; but storage in humid conditions can result in moulds attacking and
destroying the material. In European conditions, papyrus seems only to have lasted a matter of
decades; a 200–year-old papyrus was considered extraordinary. Imported papyrus that was
once commonplace in Greece and Italy has since deteriorated beyond repair, but papyrus is still
being found in Egypt
Papyrus was produced as early as 3500 BC in Egypt, and used by ancient Greece and
Rome. The establishment of the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC put a drain on the
supply of papyrus. As a result, parchment was invented to build the library at Pergamum.
In the first centuries BC and AD, papyrus scrolls gained a rival as a writing surface in the
form of parchment, which was prepared from animal skins. Sheets of parchment were folded to
form quires from which book-form codices were fashioned. Early Christian writers soon adopted
the codex form, and in the Græco-Roman world it became common to cut sheets from papyrus
rolls in order to form codices. A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book
in the format used for modern books, with separate pages normally bound together and given a
cover. It was a Roman invention that replaced the scroll, which was the first form of book in all
Eurasian cultures.
Codices were an improvement on the papyrus scroll as the papyrus was not strong
enough to fold without cracking and a long roll, or scroll, was required to create large volume
texts. Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was
fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of good
quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used was also
limited.
By AD 800 the use of parchment and vellum made of processed sheepskin or
calfskin replaced papyrus in many areas, though its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced
by more inexpensive paper introduced by Arabs. The reasons for this switch include the
significantly higher durability of the hide-derived materials, particularly in moist climates, and
the fact that they can be manufactured anywhere. . Papyrus was used as late as the 1100s
In Europe, the use of papyrus had dropped out in the 9th century. The preferred medium
for the artists and literati of the time was the smooth and lustrous parchment. However,
parchment - made from animal skin - was extremely expensive. In fact, it has been estimated
that a single bible hand written on parchment required the skins of 300 sheep. The notion of
paper being used as a practical everyday item did not occur until the 15th Century. When
Johann Gutenburg perfected movable type and printed his famous bible in 1456, he not only
spread the word of Christianity, but also sparked a revolution in mass communication. The birth
of the modern paper and printing industry is commonly marked from this date
Parsonsia
heterophylla Kaihua; New
Zealand jasmine; Akakiore
This is the larger of the two
common species of Parsonsia, and is
also distinguished by small differences in
the flower (which is generally larger
than the flower of P. capsularis). Its
specific name ('heterophylla'), refers to
one of the most unusual features of this
plant - the wide variety of leaf forms
exhibited by this species in its juvenile
stages1. Leaves on young plants range
from short, club-like forms to long,
sword shapes with wavy edges - with a
plethora of differing forms and colours
occurring on a single plant. They often bear an unusual dark brown colouration, similar to
juvenile leaves of the toothed lancewood, Pseudopanax ferox.
When, after a few years, they have made the transition to an adult state, the leaves
become comparatively uniform (and conventional) in shape and colour. Plants are sometimes
propagated from adult foliage, to avoid the juvenile phase and provide plants that will flower
from the first year. However, the unusual appearance of the plant in its juvenile form represents
an interesting adaptation, and has its own aesthetic qualities.
Flowering commences as the plant changes towards its adult state. Mature plants often
bear their heads of scented blossoms in great profusion over summer, lending a different
appearance to the trees or large shrubs through which they climb. As stated previously, the
flower colour is normally white or cream, but yellow forms also occur within P. heterophylla. As
with many native species, the flowers are attractive to nocturnal moths - who presumably play
some role in their pollination.
P. heterophylla has a very wide distribution in New
Zealand, occurring from the Three Kings Islands in the Far
North to Stewart Island, and growing from the coast up to
lower montane forest. It is most commonly found in somewhat
open habitats, such as bush margins and coastal forest;
although it can tolerate considerable amounts of shade. Whilst
it can grow to 10m within nature, it attains smaller dimensions
within gardens, and can be kept very compact through
appropriate pruning (due to the inclination of the plant to
maintain fairly dense foliage).
I have seen Parsonsia heterophylla growing in a wide
range of situations, perhaps the most unusual of which was a
pair of plants that ascended two 8m Chinese Windmill Palms
(Trachycarpus fortunei), in minimal soil at the gates of an
industrial yard in central Auckland. It is perhaps interesting to
note here that viewing plants performing well under such
challenging conditions is often a good indicator of the
gardenworthiness of a species.
Passiflora tetrandra
The New Zealand Passionfruit also known as Tetrapathaea tetrandra, is found in
lowland forest, to the montane zone, in North and South Islands, south to 44° south. Named for
flora = flowered; tetrandra = 4 stamens. Its flowers are very modest, about 15 mm in
diameter. The conspicuous orange fruits are popular with birds.
Climber, growing to 9m. . The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or
female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must
be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 1 out of 5 for usefulness.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant
prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no
shade. It requires moist soil.
Edible Uses Fruit; Gum.
Lighting, the plant can be used as a slow match.
Fragrant body oil can be obtained from the seed.
An edible gum is obtained from the stem
Peacemaker
Sculpture by Chris Booth on Manuka Way was erected in 1991.
“The basalt boulders that comprise Peacemaker were collected from Paikoa, near Matauri
Bay, Northland in 1989. These were part of a number of boulders used for the Gateway
Sculpture in Auckland City Art Gallery commission, Albert Park Auckland, and the Rainbow
Warrior memorial sculpture, Ngati Kura/NZ China Clays Limited commission Matauri Bay
Northland. All boulders were selected with the permission and necessary customary rituals of
Ngati Kura and also permission from the Department of Conservation and adjoining landowners.
The three sculptures embody my profound thought about our planet and its inhabitants.
Peacemaker particularly attempts to communicate the choice of being peaceful among human
beings. The transmitter/receiver like quality of the sculpture communicates this message (note
how it fits in with the transmitter receivers of the meteorological station nearby). The fact that
birds can drink and bathe in the spring-like fountain grounds any feelings towards the sculpture
and adds to the message of peace.”
Pennantia corymbosa
Kaikomako means ‘food of the bellbird’.
It has very hard wood that was used by early Maori with a slab of mahoe or pate to
start a fire.
It has a divaricating juvenile stage. It can hybridise with Pennantia baylisiana.
Palms
Palm is the common name for a family of woody flowering plants found in tropical
regions of the world.
The family is the only member of its order, called Palmae. It contains about 2600
species; many genera.
Palms occur in tropical habitats. They can be found in lowland rain forests, high
mountains, mangrove swamps and deserts.
Tropical Asia has up to 1400 species whereas Africa only has 120. About 950 species
occur in the American tropics.
Palmae, the palm family is one of the oldest and most diverse of the flowering
plant families. Palms have many botanical characteristics such as woody trunk, in many
species, perennial growth, leaves, which are folded like a fan and the production of a single
seed leaf, which, along with grasses, lilies and other families classifies them as monocotyledons.
Palms have a characteristic growth form: a single unbranched trunk topped with fanlike
or feather like leaves. Flowers of palms are usually inconspicuous but can occasionally occur in
great quantity. Some palms may have up to 250,000 flowers. Many have long taproots,
enabling then to survive and grow in under arid conditions
Palms are important sources of food. Two examples are dates (Phoenix dactylifera) and
coconuts (Cocos nucifera). They produce a wide range of products essential for human
existence, allowing humans to survive and prosper in many otherwise difficult areas.
Pelargonium tomentosum
Scented Geranium Pennyroyal pelargonium; Peppermint-scented pelargonium
Scented geranium is the perfect plant for your kitchen window because it's useful as well as
attractive. Outdoors, they are half-hardy perennials that can't tolerate frost. The plant, which
originated in Africa, was first "discovered" by Tradescent, the gardener of Charles I of England.
He grew a number of varieties in the royal greenhouses.
Pelargonium tomentosum is an aromatic, low-growing, sprawling subshrub with branches
spreading in all directions. The presence of soft hairs and numerous glandular hairs, lends a
velvety touch to the leaves and stems. The peppermint-scented, simple leaves are showy,
especially when covered with morning dew.
The tiny, white flowers with purple markings on the petals are borne in a much-branched
inflorescence, from spring to summer (October to January). The species name tomentosum
refers to the leaves, which are thickly and evenly covered with short, curved, matted hairs.
The genus Pelargonium belongs to the family Geraniaceae which consists of four more
genera; Geranium, Erodium, Monsonia and Sarcocaulon. The genus Pelargonium consists of ±
220 species, most of which occur naturally in southern Africa.
Pelargonium tomentosum is confined to mountains where it occurs naturally in semishaded, moist habitats, on the margins of ravine forests near streams. It grows in sandy soil
derived from sandstone. This plant is common and occurs on the Hottentots Holland Mountains
near Somerset West, on the Riviersonderend Mountains near Greyton, and on the Langeberg
Range from Swellendam to Riversdale in the southern Cape.
Pelargonium tomentosum is an attractive garden plant. It can be used as a ground cover
in semi-shady, moist areas, providing that the soil drains well. It can also be used on
embankments in semi-shaded areas or grown in pots, provided they drain well. The
peppermint-scented leaves can also be used as a culinary herb. Barbara Hey (1994) suggests
lining the tin with them before baking a chocolate cake.
The foliage of the different varieties of scented geraniums have unique and striking
aromas. You can choose between lemon scented, P. crispum minor; apple scented, P.
odoratissium; oak-leaf scented, P. quercifolium; rose scented, P. graveolens; Nutmeg scented,
P. fragrans; peppermint scented, P. tomentosum, and many others. The flowers may be white,
pink, purple, red or variegated and usually have no fragrance.
Culinary use
 The fresh leaves may be infused in milk, cream, and syrups for desserts, sherbets,
custards and ices.
 Chop the leaves into softened butter for sandwiches and cake fillings. Makes an excellent
garnish.
 Rose scented varieties are used to flavor stewed apples and pears and apple jelly.
 When making cakes and pies, line the pans with the leaves. To make them lie flat, dip
into hot water and shake dry.
 Add a leaf to an herbal tea.
Other Uses
 The fresh leaves can be infused in bath water or rinsing water for hair.
 Dried leaves are a fragrant addition to potpourri and sachets to scent clothes and linens
Phoenix canariensis, Canary Island Palm
There are 17 species of Phoenix palms including this.
Its generic name is an ancient name, already quoted by Theophrastus, as the one by
which the Greeks used to call plants belonging to this genus; it derives from phoenix =
Phoenician, as the Phoenicians themselves were supposed to have spread these plants. Its
specific name is composed by dactylus = date (from Greek dactylos) and fero = I bear, that
is, date-bearing.
This is one of the most grown and appreciated ornamental trees of the world. Its native
habitat, the Canary Islands, is renowned for its richness in climatic diversity and its endemic
flora.
Phoenix apparently did not radiate, as did many other plants, but succeeded in
colonising many different ecological niches. In each of these environments, it grows associated
with different ecological communities and often shows an astonishing diversity of epiphytes on
its fibrous trunks. The wild populations suffered a dramatic decrease during the early centuries
of the Spanish colonisation of the islands, which started at the end of the 15th century. Today P
canariensis is sparsely and un-evenly distributed on all the seven islands and the conservation
status is different on each of them. The main threat seems to be hybridisation with P
dactylifera.
During the Tertiary, when many tropical species that were occupying the Mediterranean
area undertook a huge and slow migration to the south because of the cooler weather, the
Canary Islands remained floristically as Northern Africa became a desert. A Phoenix has
probably taken part in this migration, but we do not know if the Phoenix that migrated in the
Tertiary was a P canariensis or a parent species that afterwards evolved into the modern Canary
palm.
These islands have by far a more even climate than Northern Africa, with abundant
humidity from mist and richer soils. This suggests speciation from an ancestor similar to
Phoenix dactylifera (or perhaps P sylvestris), to the less xeromorphic P. canariensis.
The palms on the Canary Islands are found growing on a wide variety of soils, all of
volcanic origin and usually fertile. P canariensis has an extensive root system, which allows
these palms to explore the surrounding earth to find subterranean water even at long distances.
In the Canary Islands, Phoenix trees that grow in subxeric areas show themselves to be
resistant to temporary swamping of the soil caused by sudden rains. Other trees and
shrubs, with typical root systems, that could act as competitor species do not get established in
those sites as they cannot resist asphyxia caused by the waterlogged soil.
This is one of the most grown palm trees throughout the world. It tolerates cold and
warmth, drought and floods, shade and sun, and salt spray as well as mountain climate.
Those P canariensis growing in humid environments, often host on their trunks many
endemic epiphytic plants, those add ornamental value to their already beautiful stems. The
Canary Islands palm has the most fibrous and stout trunk in its genus and the astonishing
diversity of epiphytes that can be found growing within the fibres of these spongy trunks is
most unusual for non-tropical zones. All these plants show mechanisms to withstand summer
drought
Close relatives of the above are –
1. Phoenix dactylifera, the date palm
Phoenix is the ancient Greek name given to the Date Palm, Phoenix dactlyifera.
Its generic name is an ancient name, already quoted by Theophrastus, as the one by
which the Greeks used to call plants belonging to this genus; it derives from phoenix =
Phoenician, as the Phoenicians themselves were supposed to have spread these plants. Its
specific name is composed by dactylus = date (from Greek dactylos) and fero = I bear, that
is, date-bearing.
The date palm, its archaeology
50,000 BC Wild date seed were left in the Shanidar Cave of Northern Iraq. Also found
at that site was evidence that cave dwellers consumed chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, and
acorns. (Root, 1980)
Earliest finds: 5000-6000 BC, from Iran, Egypt, and Pakistan: probably wild
Earliest cultivated find: 4000 BC from Eridu, Lower Mesopotamia (Bronze Age)
Mentioned in Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform sources: 2500 BC and later
Origin and Diversity: Phoenix dactylifera well known since ancient times, was
regarded by the Egyptians as being a fertility symbol, it was represented on coins and
monuments by the Carthaginians and used as an ornament in triumph pageants by the
Greeks and Romans. In the Christian tradition, its leaves have symbolised peace and
reminded of Jesus' entry to Jerusalem.
Botanical description - Imposing palm with a very slender trunk, up to 30 m tall,
conspicuously covered with the remains of sheaths from fallen leaves. Its leaves, 20-30 forming
a loose crown shaft, are up to 6 m long,.
Its flowers, unisexual on dioecious plants, are small, whitish, and fragrant. The fruits,
commonly known as dates, are oblong berries, dark-orange when ripe, up to 50 cm long in the
cultivated varieties, their flesh is sugary or starchy, it contains one woody seed.
Area of origin and cultural areas - The date palm, native to North Africa is
also cultivated in Arabia and as far as the Persian Gulf, where it features as the characteristic
vegetation of oases. Also the Canary Islands, in the northern Mediterranean and in the south of
the United States.
A Bit of History Over 3,000 years ago the Phoenicians were the dominant
seafaring nation of the Mediterranean. From their base in the east in which is roughly modern
Lebanon, they explored westwards, establishing colonies and trading posts, the most important
being the ancient city of Carthage on the coast of North Africa. The Phoenicians extended their
influence farther west as far as the Pillars of Hercules (the Straits of Gibraltar) and beyond,
using their trading posts as stations where boats could take on food and water and be repaired.
One such trading post in the western part of the Mediterranean was south of modern Valencia in
southern Spain at the site of the modern city of Elche (Elx in the Catalan language and Jllice in
Latin).
Since time immemorial, dates (Phoenix dactylifera) have been an important food crop,
especially in the Middle East and North Africa. Not only are dates used locally, but they are also
an ideal item of food for provisioning long journeys, and, indeed, wherever one travels in
the drier tropics and subtropics, one can expect to find scattered groves of dates that,
presumably, originate from discarded stones. However, in Elche the Phoenicians found a
climate ideal for growing dates. Here they deliberately planted and cultivated the date for
provisioning their trading ships.
The power of the Phoenicians waxed and waned, and other powers became dominant in
the Mediterranean region. By AD 670, Elche was already under the influence of Islam and the
Arabs. During the period of Arabic control that ended towards the end of the Middle Ages, dates
in Elche were cultivated in proper plantation plots, in a way similar to that common in the
Middle East and North Africa. These plots were square and separated by irrigation ditches, dates
being planted along the edges. The centres of the plots were used for the cultivation of other
crops such as pomegranates, also introduced by the Phoenicians. The plots were irrigated with
ground water, which, in the Elche area, is quite saline. By the early 16th Century it is thought
that there were some 1,300,000 date palms in the plantations of Elche. The life expectancy of a
date palm in cultivation is about two to three hundred years. By the end of the 19th Century,
the huge number of palms had been reduced by approximately one half, largely due to lack of
replacement of dead palms.
In the 20th Century, industrialisation slowly started in Elche, and as the city grew, dates
were cleared to make room for factories, houses and roads. More recently dates have been dug
up and replanted as ornamentals
Cultivation - It is sensitive to the cold, it thrives on any kinds of soil, provided that
they are fertile and well drained. In mild climate regions it is grown outdoors where it must be
exposed to the sun; it is grown chiefly as an ornamental plant on account of its slender habit
and foliage. In order for its fruits mature, high temperatures (40°C) and copious water.
It propagates by suckers or seedlings in spring.
Uses - Dates, due to their high sugar content, represent the basic, fundamental food
for North Africa, Arabia and Persia's peoples, where hundreds of varieties are grown for
commercial purposes.
The date palm, its botany. Tall evergreen, unbranched palm; can grow to 30
m.
The trunk rises from the ground upward in spiral pattern with the base of earlier formed
leaves (leaf scars).
Leaves are large (4-6 m. The ends of the leaf fronds are needle sharp.
Dioecious: female and male individuals. Flowers are borne in bunches at the top of the
tree. Only the female trees produce fruit, but one male tree can produce enough pollen to
pollinate 40-50 female trees.
The fruit of the date has one seed, which can vary in size, shape, colour and quality of
flesh. Unripe dates are green in colour, maturing to yellow, then reddish-brown when fully ripe.
A single large bunch may contain more than a thousand dates, and can weigh
between 6 to 8 kg.
Each tree produces between five and ten bunches. A mature female tree can
produce upwards of 30 to 80 kg (average 150) pounds of fruit annually.
Date palms begin to bear fruit at 3 to 5 years, and are fully mature at 12 years. It lives
200-300 years.
The date palm, its distribution and ecology Requires high temperatures
and low air humidity for fruit setting and ripening (35 C is optimum temperature for pollen
germination); also requires water supply (irrigation, high water table) ("growing with its
head in fire and its feet in water"!).
Grown in a nearly rainless belt between 15 and 35 N Lat in Sahara and southern fringe
of the Near East, Arabia Peninsula, southern Iraq, Jordan,
The date palm, its uses Every part of the tree has its uses. The wood and
leaves provide timber and fabric for houses and fences.
The leaves are used for making ropes, cord, baskets, crates and furniture. Bases of
the leaves and the fruit stalks are used as fuel.
The fruit yields food products such as date vinegar, date chutney or sweet pickle,
and date paste for bakery products and additional flavouring for oranges, bananas and
almonds. Even the tree's terminal buds (heart of palm) make tasty additions to vegetable
salads.
The date palm is often the only available staple food for the inhabitants of desert
and arid lands, and as such it is vital to millions throughout North Africa and the Middle
East. According to the World Food and Agricultural Organisation, there are 90 million date
palms in the world and each tree can grow for more than 100 years. 64 million of these trees
are grown in Arab countries, which produce 2 million tons of dates between them each year.
Trees start producing after 4-5 years and reach full production after 10-12 years.
It lives 200-300 years.
Date-producing Arab countries are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Oman,
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, and Yemen. Between them Algeria, Egypt,
Libya, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia produce 600 different kinds of dates, which accounts for
60% of the world's production. In Saudi Arabia, Madinah's date market (Souq Al Tumoor)
contains about 150 varieties, the most popular of which is Anbara, the most expensive.
Dry or bread dates: self-curing on tree. Soft dates: require harvest at appropriate
time and sun drying to increase sugar content and prevent spoilage. The latter are packaged
traditionally in palm leaves and widely traded (caravans, ships)
Iraq is the top commercial producer and exporter of dates, closely followed by Saudi
Arabia, Egypt and Algeria.
Fronds used on Palm Sunday, commemorating the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem (Lion's
Gate or east entrance to Jerusalem, through which Jesus is supposed to have entered the city)
Dates have always been considered beneficial to mothers. When Mary gave birth to the
Prophet Jesus under a palm tree, she heard a voice telling her:
"Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee.
Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened!"
Introduced into Spain by Moors
The date palm is also highly prized as an ornamental tree, as it is ideally situated in
streets, avenues and driveways. Optimum planting conditions dictate that trees should be set 68m apart and then well soaked with water. The date palm can tolerate a high
Introduced by Spanish into Americas; long-term plantations only on coastal
area of Peru and Baja California (dry climates)
The date palm, its nutritional benefits The sugar content of ripe dates is
about 80%; the remainder consists of protein, fat and mineral products including copper,
sulphur, iron, magnesium and fluoric acid. Dates are high in fibre and an excellent source of
potassium.
Five dates (approx. 45 grams) contain about 115 calories, nearly all from carbohydrates.
Bedouin Arabs, who eat them on a regular basis, show an extremely low rate of cancer
and heart disease.
2. Cocos nucifera, the Coconut Palm
The coconut was first domesticated and originated in the region between south
East Asia and Australasia (known as Malesia), where over half of the palm species come
from. Its early history, like many plants, is full on uncertainty and conjecture.
The ancestral coconut may have originated in western Gondwanaland at the time it
split up into the present continents. This raises the possibility that the wild type coconut may
have existed on the fringes of the Pacific and Indian oceans since the earliest time. In that case
the coconut palm could be considered indigenous over a very large area, including the coast and
islands of East Africa
Evidence of the introduction of the coconut to East Africa by Hindu merchantseafarers sometime in the 7th to 1st century B.C, it can equally well be explained simply as
the opening up of trade between the two regions where coconuts may have already existed..
Malaysian sea-rovers are also thought to have introduced the coconut to Madagascar
in the first century A.D. and from there reached the coast of mainland East Africa. The words
for coconut in Madagascar also occur in the Far East and the Pacific.
The early presence of coconuts on
uninhabited islands like the Seychelles
and Mauritius strongly suggested natural
dispersal. Coconuts could have floated
to East Africa. Subsequently the common
tall varieties in East Africa are late
germinating, with wild type
characteristics similar to the coconuts on
the Indian subcontinent, while the
common tall varieties in peninsular
Malaysia are early germinating,
domesticated types. Therefore natural
dissemination and the human-aided may
be consecutive events rather than
competing theories.
There have been sixty other
species under the genus Cocos, but the
coconut palm stands by itself and is
monotypic - meaning that within the
genus Cocos only one species, nucifera, is
recognised. Consequently, every coconut
palm in the world is taxonomically the
same species, which probably makes it
most abundant single food tree in
existence.
The coconut was first mentioned in
545 AD by an Egyptian Monk named
Cosmos Indicopleustes. He visited
western India and Ceylon. In his
"Topographia Christiana", Cosmos
describes the coconut as the "great nut of
India." The Mahavasma, an ancient
chronological history of Ceylon, describes
the planting of coconuts in that country in
589 AD.
In 1280 Marco Polo, described coconut growing in Sumatra, as well as in Madras and
Malabar in India, calling it nux indica, the Indian nut. The first detailed description of the
coconut palm in western literature was provided by the Italian explorer Lodovico, di Varthema
in his "Itinerario" of 1510, in which he referred to it as tenga.
The first written reference to the coconut palm in East Africa is in the "Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea," written about A.D. 60. When the Portuguese first sailed to East Africa and
India they found Arab boats sewn with coconut fibre (coir) and carrying coconuts as cargo.
Although the reference to coconuts in the Periplus has been taken as evidence of the
introduction of the coconut to East Africa by Hindu merchant-seafarers sometime in the 7th to
1st century B.C, it can equally well be explained simply as the opening up of trade between the
two regions where coconuts already existed..
Two thousand years ago or more, the coconut palm not only served to identify
seashore locations with fresh ground water, but in those places it literally acted as a
natural desalination plant. The sweet, uncontaminated drinking water from the immature nut
was then, and is still now, an important use of this plant to the local community. This applies to
offshore islands and to favourable parts of the African and Indian coast. It is not suggested that
the early coconuts were present in large numbers or spread over extensive lengths of coastline
and were certainly not found naturally anywhere in the hinterland.
While the earliest history of the coconut in east
Africa remains uncertain, there is no doubt that its
establishment was not a single event but a
continuous affair extending over many centuries.
Although the Indian influence appears to have
waned somewhat after the times of the Periplus,
trade relations between India and East Africa
continued to exist until well after the arrival of the
Portuguese.
Early Arab History The Arab and Persian
colonisation of East Africa is of even greater
importance. It was a long and gradual process that
began in remote antiquity and continued more or
less steadily for many centuries with at certain
times more massive waves of immigration due to
political or religious persecution at home. There is
little doubt that many of these traders and settlers
brought coconuts independently. According to the
Arab traveller Ibn Battuta , great quantities of
cowries and coconut products were exported from
these islands. Both the Maldives and the Laccadives
were the scene of remarkable shipbuilding activity.
The ships, including hulls, masts, ropes, stitches
and even sails, were built entirely of the various
products of the coconut. The Arabs and Persians
from the Gulf used to import coconut products from
these islands or go there to have their ships built
on the spot. There is evidence that the Maldives
were first settled by Singhalese Buddhists who
planted coconuts and dug wells
Uses of coconut: Cocos nucifera is one of the most valuable plants to man. It is a
primary source of food, drink, and shelter. In Sanskrit the coconut palm is called "kalpa
vriksha", which is defined as "the tree that provides all the necessities of life."
Coconut is one of the ten most useful trees in the world, providing food for millions of
people, especially in the tropics. At any one time a coconut palm has 12 different crops of
nuts on it, from opening flower to ripe nut.
At the top of the tree is the growing point, a bundle of tightly packed, yellow-white,
cabbage-like leaves, which, if damaged, causes entire tree to die, but if tree can be spared, this
heart makes a tasty treat, a 'millionaire's salad'. Unopened flowers are often used to
fashion shoes, caps, and even a kind of pressed helmet for soldiers. Opened flowers
provide a good honey for bees.
A clump of unopened flowers (see photo above) may be bound tightly together, bent
over and its tip bruised. Soon it begins to 'weep' a steady dripping of sweet juice, up to a
gallon per day. The cloudy brown liquid is easily boiled down to syrup, called coconut
molasses, then crystallised into a rich dark sugar, almost exactly like maple sugar.
Sometimes it is mixed with grated coconut for candy. Left standing, it ferments quickly into a
beer with alcohol content up to 8%, called 'toddy' in India and Sri Lanka; 'tuba' in Philippines
and Mexico; and 'tuwak' in Indonesia. After a few weeks, it becomes a vinegar. 'Arrack' is the
product after distilling fermented 'toddy' and is a common spirituous liquor consumed in the
East. . Boiled toddy, known as jaggery, with lime makes good cement.
Nut has a husk, which is a mass of packed fibres called coir, which can be woven into
strong twine or rope, and is used for padding mattresses, upholstery and life preservers.
Fibre resistant to sea water and is used for cables and rigging on ships, for making mats,
rugs, bags, brooms, brushes, and olive oil filters in Italy and Greece; also used for fires and
mosquito smudges.
If nut is allowed to germinate, cavity fills with a spongy mass called 'bread' which is
eaten raw or toasted in shell over fire. Sprouting seeds may be eaten like celery. Shell is hard
and fine-grained, and may be carved into all kinds of objects, as drinking cups, dippers,
scoops, smoking pipe bowls, and collecting cups for rubber latex. Charcoal used for cooking
fires, air filters, in gas masks, submarines, and cigarette tips. Shells burned as fuel for
copra kilns or house fires. Coconut shell flour used in industry as filler in plastics. Coconut
water is produced by a 5 month old nut, about 2 cups of crystal clear, cool sweet (invert sugars
and sucrose) liquid, so pure and sterile that during World War II, it was used in emergencies
instead of sterile glucose solution, and put directly into a patient's veins. Also contains growth
substances, minerals, and vitamins. Boiled toddy, known as jaggery, with lime makes a good
cement. Nut meat of immature coconuts is like a custard in flavour and consistency, and is
eaten or scraped and squeezed through cloth to yield a 'cream' or 'milk' used on various foods.
Cooked with rice to make Panama's famous 'arroz con coco'; also cooked with taro leaves or
game, and used in coffee as cream. Dried, desiccated, and shredded it is used in cakes, pies,
candies, and in curries and sweets.
When nuts are cut open and dried, meat becomes copra, which is processed for oil,
rich in glycerine and used to make soaps, shampoos, shaving creams, toothpaste lotions,
lubricants, hydraulic fluid, paints, synthetic rubber, plastics, margarine, and in ice cream. In
India, the Hindus make a vegetarian butter called 'ghee' from coconut oil; also used in infant
formulas. When copra is heated, the clear oil separates out easily, and is made this way for
home use in producing countries. Used in lamps. Cake residue used as cattle fodder, as it is rich
in proteins and sugar; should not give more than 4-5 lbs/animal/day, as butter from milk will
have a tallow flavour. As cake is deficient in calcium, it should be fed together with calcium rich
foods.
Trunk wood used for building sheds and other semi-permanent buildings. Outer wood
is close-grained, hard, and heavy, and when well seasoned, has an attractive dark
coloured grain adaptable for carving, especially ornamentals under the name of 'porcupine
wood'. Coconut logs should not be used for fences, as decayed wood makes favourable breeding
places for beetles. Logs are used to make rafts. Sections of stem, after scooping out pith, are
used as flumes or gutters for carrying water. Pith of stem contains starch that may be extracted
and used as flour. Pitch from top of tree is sometimes pickled in coconut vinegar.
Coconut leaves made into thin strips are woven into clothing, furnishings, screens,
and walls of temporary buildings. Stiff midribs make cooking skewers, arrows, brooms, brushes,
and for fish traps. Leaf fibre used in India to make mats, slippers, and bags. Used to make
short-lived torches.
Coconut roots provide a dye, a mouthwash, a medicine for dysentery, and frayed
out make tooth brushes; scorched, used as coffee substitute. Coconut palm is useful as an
ornamental; its only drawback being the heavy nuts which may cause injury to man, beast, or
rooftop when they hit in falling
. Under good climatic conditions, a fully productive palm produces 12-16
bunches of coconuts per year, each bunch with 8-10 nuts, or 60-100 nuts/tree.
Bunches ripen in about 1 year, and yield 25 kg or more copra
Phoenix sylvestris
(sylvestris - Latin, of the forest) also known as Silver Date Palm or Sugar
Date Palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to southern Pakistan,most
of India and Bangladesh. Growing in plains and scrubland to 1300 m, the fruit from this palm
species is used to make wine and jelly. The sap is tapped and drunk fresh or fermented into
toddy. The fresh sap is boiled to make palm jaggery in West Bengal state of India and
Bangladesh.
Phyllocladus trichomanoides
Tanekaha, the Celery Pine is a tall graceful tree growing to 20 m tall. Found in
lowland forests up to 800 m altitude from North Cape down to Wanganui and in northern
Marlborough and western Nelson. It is a hardy tree. Its foliage looks like a celery leaf, hence its
common name
Its close grained wood is yellowish white and is one of the most elastic timbers
known in the world. Strong, durable and readily worked to a smooth finish, the wood has
been used for making fishing rods, and even bridge building and mine props. A much valued
timber in New Zealand
A red dye is obtained from the bark.. The bark is astringent; it is a very rich source of
tannin.
Picconia excelsa
The Canary Island Bay is native of Portugal, Spain, Madeira Islands, and Canary
Islands. Commonly called ‘White Wood’.
Picconia excelsa is referred to as ‘an oil tree plant’.
Related to olives, used as cultivated ornamentals. The Oleaceae are trees or shrubs
comprising about 30 genera and 600 species.
Picea – the spruce
Close relative to the pines, Picea differ markedly even from them. A very uniform genus
with about 35 species. Its natural range is restricted to subtropical high altitude temperate and
boreal regions in the Northern Hemisphere.
The genus is of major economic importance for timber, the most important species being
sitchensis. Some species are commonly used for Christmas trees.
The name comes from the Roman word for pitch, the name of a pitchy pine.
Picea orientalis
Known as the Oriental Spruce or Caucasian Spruce, it is native of the
mountains around the eastern end on the Black Sea: E. Europe to W. Asia
A Fast Growing Evergreen found in pure stands or mixed with beech, pine and
hornbeam, especially on shaded slopes, preferring deep protected ravines with adequate soil
moisture at elevations of 300 - 2100m
Young trees are slow growing at first but from the age of about 5 - 6 years they can
grow up to 1 metre a year and this can be maintained for the next 70 years or so. Growth
virtually ceases by the time the tree is 90 - 100 years old. Increases in girth follow the same
pattern as height increases
The bruised leaves have a resinous aroma
Tannin is obtained from the bark. Turpentine is obtained from the bark and branches.
Wood - soft, white, easily cleaves, light, durable, has a good resonance. Used for
construction, furniture etc. It is also valued for its use in the pulp industry to make paper
Young male catkins – eaten raw or cooked. Used as flavouring.
Immature female cones - cooked. The central portion, when roasted, is sweet and
syrupy.
Inner bark - dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or
added to cereals when making bread. An emergency food, it is only used when all else fails.
Seed - eaten raw. Too small and fiddly to be worthwhile unless you are desperate.
A refreshing tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the young shoot tips
Picea sitchensis
The Sitka Spruce is native of the Northwest coast of North America from Kodiak
Island Alaska to California, never more than 200 km from the coast.. It is a rapidly growing tree
to 80 metres tall and is one of the world’s tallest and fastest growing spruces, often
adding 1 metre (three feet) to its height a year. It grows in humid, foggy areas of coastal
forest. It likes a good summer rainfall.
A long-lived tree, with specimens 700 - 800 years old
Its sharp needles are believed to give this tree special protection against evil
thoughts (although not from chainsaws).
‘Pound for pound it is stronger than steel’. It has the highest strength to weight
ratio of any tree. The wood is elastic, soft, light, straight grained and is sought where these
characteristics are required, e.g.. in rowing shells, and aircraft (Howard Hughes ‘Spruce Goose’
was substantially made from timber of this tree), guitar faces, ladders, and turbine blades for
wind energy generators. Aircraft quality planks only represent a small percentage of total
timber yield, however. It is preferred for acoustic uses such as piano sounding boards.
Despite these desirable timber characteristics, it is widely used as a pulpwood tree. The wood
is a good fuel, knotted bits of wood would keep the fire burning all night
Various peoples have eaten the inner bark or the young shoots.
. The roots, peeled, split and dried, were used to make watertight hats and baskets.
The roots were used by several native North American Indian tribes to make tightly woven
baskets that would hold water.
The limbs and roots can be pounded, shredded and used to make ropes.
A pitch is obtained from the tree and is used for caulking boats, waterproofing boxes
etc. The rendered pitch has been used as a glue. The pitch can be melted then used as a
protective varnish-like coat on wood.
A gum obtained from the bark is hardened in cold water and then used for chewing.
It should be aged for 3 days or more before using it. The best gum is obtained from the
southern side of the tree. In 1848, in Bangor, Maine, John Curtis produced the first
commercial spruce gum - a chewing gum made of resin from spruce trees. By 1852 the
Curtises had built a large chewing gum factory in Portland. As supplies of spruce gum
diminished, manufacturers tried other chewables, such as paraffin, eventually turning to the
latex from the chicle tree (Manilkara zapota.) Chicle became the basis of the American Chicle
Company, and for their product, Chicklets.
The Gabrielino people of Southern California boiled milkweed sap and chewed the result
for gum. Other American Indians used several substances for chewing gum, such as licorice and
marshmallow roots, sweet gum and hollyhock. Plantain roots were sometimes chewed to relieve
thirst. American Indians taught New England colonists to chew spruce sap as a breath
sweetener. The practice quickly became a fad. Spruce gum was being sold by the lump in
eastern United States by the early 1800s, making it the first commercial chewing gum.
Chicle, the original basis for modern chewing gum, is the milky latex of the tropical
SAPODILLA tree (Manilkara zapota van Royen) that is native to northern Brazil, Mesoamerica,
and parts of Mexico. The Maya, whose culture began in Mesoamerica in about1500 B.C.,
discovered how to tap the sapodilla tree. The Aztec, whose empire was established in
Mesoamerica in about A.D. 1100, later adopted gum chewing. Although people from cultures
throughout the world chewed gum, without the introduction of chicle, the multi-million dollar
U.S. chewing gum industry would not exist.
The Mexican general Santa Ana introduced chicle to the United States after being exiled
from Mexico and bringing a block of it among his belongings. When he showed it to Thomas
Adams, the inventor thought it would be the perfect substance from which to manufacture
rubber as the Olmec had done for centuries. (Olmec culture arose in Mesoameric in about 1700
B.C.). He began importing chicle to the U.S. from the Yucatan peninsula. When that experiment
failed, he shaped the chicle into small pieces he called "Adams New York Gum" and began
marketing them in 1891 at a New Jersey drug store.
Although at first the gum was unflavoured, it worked better than chewing paraffin which
had become a popular substitute for the pine sap Indians had taught the early colonists to
chew. A few years later another inventor, Henry Fleer, coated chicle squares with white candy,
calling them Chiclets. He and inventor William Wrigley, Jr. added latex to the gum to make it
stretch and added extracts of mint, including WINTERGREEN, another American Indian
contribution, to their product.
Today the chicle in chewing gum has for the most part been replaced with synthetic
polymers made from oil and latex from tropical trees.
Sitka spruce was widely employed medicinally by several native North American
Indians but is little used in modern herbalism. The pitch was chewed as a medicine for various
skin irritations
Young shoots - raw. Young male catkins - raw or cooked. Used as flavouring.
Immature female cones - cooked. The central portion, when roasted, is sweet and syrupy.
Inner bark - raw or cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a
thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread. The inner bark was usually
harvested in the spring, though it was also sometimes taken in the summer. An emergency
food, it is only used when all else fails.
Seed - raw. The seed is rich in fats and has a pleasant slightly resinous flavour but is too
small and fiddly to be worthwhile unless you are desperate.
A refreshing tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the young shoot tips.
Picea smithiana
Morinda or Himalayan Spruce: Usually found on N. and W. slopes inhabiting
the drier upper areas often in association with silver fir or deodar, 2100 - 3600 metres from
Afghanistan to Nepal
The bark is very water resistant and is used for roofing and making water troughs.
Small quantities of resin are obtained from between the bark and the wood.
Wood - soft to moderately hard. Used in construction, shingles, crates etc. It is also
valued for its use in the pulp industry to make paper. An indifferent fuel but it yields a fairly
good charcoal
Young male catkins – eaten raw or cooked, used as a flavouring. Immature female cones
- cooked. The central portion, roasted, is sweet. Inner bark - dried, ground into a powder and
then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread. An emergency
food, it is only used when all else fails. Seed - raw. Too small and fiddly to be worthwhile unless
you are desperate. A refreshing tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the young shoot tips
Pinus – the Pines
The pines are part of the Pinaceae, contains the spruce, larch, Douglas fur, cedar and
hemlock plus others. It is primarily a Northern Hemisphere group.
Pinus was the Roman name for pine.
The largest tree in the Pinaceae is the Douglas Fir, the oldest Pinus longaeva.
The great botanist Carolus Linneaus established the Pinus genus in 1754.
There are some 120 pine species. Some 30 species of pine were originally planted in
the Garden, with 20 species (including species planted more recently) remaining.
About 30 of the 120 total species produce edible nuts.
Pinus pinea was the first pine used and cultivated by man, its edible seeds having
been harvested for perhaps 50-100,000 years or more. Prehistoric man has used its seeds for
food, shells being found at many prehistoric sites
It is the dominant forest of large regions, and many of the species are commercially
cultivated throughout the world, producing most of the world’s softwood timber.
Pulpwood, naval stores (tar, pitch, turpentine) and essential oils are also produced from
various species, and food especially from the seeds is a significant food source for some
indigenous cultures. It was initially an important shelter and firewood tree in pioneer
New Zealand. Pines have long been a principal source of timber for all purposes, and continue
to be a leading genus in agroforestry production
From many pines vanillin, a vanilla flavouring used in the manufacture of ‘artificial‘
vanilla, is obtained as a by-product of other resins that are released from pulpwood.
Most species are fire adapted; the recurrence of fire permits the pines to maintain a
dominant role in forest successions. Fire may kill the tree, but the seeds are protected in the
cones. Over subsequent months the cones will open and there can be a prodigious seed fall
onto ground that the fire has left in a state securing the maximum seed germination. Their
quick growth allows re-establishment before other competitive plants can become established.
Architecture of pine lead to rapid fire spread, and of course, conifers are very flammable.
Protected buds lie beneath the bark and are stimulated by loss of photosynthetic area. Young
individuals better able to regenerate crowns than old ones
Some cone scales open and release seed, while others remain closed until exposed to
heat. The resin that holds scales of jack pine closed melts at 60oC. The thick woody scales
spring open and the seeds are shed in the days following the fire. Seeds remain viable in cones
exposed to 200oC for 10 minutes and 370oC for 1 minute. Crown fires are of short enough
duration and the seeds are protected enough within the cones to remain viable. Seeds in this
aerial "seed bank" retain viability for many years, but do not have the long viability of seed
from species that specialise forming soil seed banks. .
Heat stimulated germination in species with thick hard seed coats that are cracked
by heat allowing water penetration. In some cases sunlight is enough-but in others,
temperatures associated with breaking physical dormancy (cracking seed coats) is best
achieved by fire. After fire, shade is removed that would otherwise inhibit seedling success.
Chaparral species thus replace themselves after fire.
Germination in pine is enhanced by short-term exposure to heat as in a cone
opened by a fire. The mechanism by which pines have more successful germination after being
exposed to heat is unknown-but is probably a physiological mechanism rather than physical.
Mechanically opened pine cones are by no means dormant and the effect of heat is only a minor
enhancement.
Most plants do not germinate well in organic matter. Removal of leaf litter by fire is not
so much an adaptation as an environmental change brought on by fire. Removal of rubbish
brings seeds into intimate contact with soil and allows the seed to absorb water-not possible
with seeds in organic matter. Fire assists in the removal of the alleopathic germination
inhibitors, which are very common in decaying organic material.
Rapid early growth: enables re establishment before other plants.
Most conifers will exude resin if wounded. Others will exude resin spontaneously
from branches and cones. Several genera of conifers produce resin in copious quantities, which
are then harvested and put to a wide variety of uses. These have made resin one of the most
important non-wood products from conifers. The resin harvested from various species of Pinus
is undoubtedly the oldest and most important of the non-wood products from conifers
Resin products from pines are commonly called naval stores. This term dates back to
the days when the British Royal Navy used large quantities of resin products from pines to
waterproof ships. Three produces are involved. From the resin the volatile turpentine is
extracted. Tar is then removed, and pitch remains.
Pine resin has been an important commodity at least since biblical times, as attested to
by the story of Noah receiving instructions from God to "pitch the ark within and without with
pitch". Dates of 20,000 to 50,000 years ago for that flood have been suggested.
The Roman statesman and poet Ausonius wrote about the tapping of pines for resin in
Aquitania in the south-eastern part of France. The pine he referred to is Pinus pinaster.
Oleo-resins are present in the tissues of all species of pines. Turpentine consists of an
average of 20% of the oleo-resin and is separated by distillation. Turpentine has a wide range
of uses including as a solvent for waxes etc, for making varnish, medicinal etc. Rosin is the
substance left after turpentine is removed. This is used by violinists on their bows and also in
making sealing wax, varnish etc. Pitch can also be obtained from the resin and is used for
waterproofing, as a wood preservative, adhesive and diluted, even as a protective surface
coating.
The needles contain a substance called terpene, this is released when rain washes over
the needles and it has a negative effect on the germination of some plants.
When sail tied the world together, pines often assumed strategic importance
providing naval stores, influencing the pattern of Western colonisation. When oak started to
become scarce in Britain, the availability of pine and other good ship building trees in North
America was an important reason for early colonisation. They were the first timber resource
exploited in North America.
Pine resin was very important to the British shipbuilding industry during the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. When America was a series of British Colonies, the
capacity of two indigenous pines: Pinus elliottii and P. palustris, to produce resins of excellent
quality and quantity was recognised and naval stores became an important export commodity
from the South Carolina and Georgia colonies. The tapping of resin from these pines was, until
recently, a major industry in southeastern United States when high labour costs reduced its
profitability.
The earliest Swedish methods of making tar in Norrland (Northern Sweden). The
peasants dug up and cleaned the roots of Swedish pine trees (Pinus silvestris) in the late
summer. They then transported the roots to the burn site where they were split and stacked to
weather during the winter.
" The 'dale' or burning ground, was built of logs in a scientific manner. It was built on a
slope which sometimes forms one side, in the shape of a funnel, with a spout at the lower end
of the slope. The outer walls of the 'dale' were built with logs split in two, and a layer of earth
was then placed thereon before the interior was lined, either with clay, iron sheet, or thick
cardboard.”
In the summer, the split roots or fatwood were stacked in the kiln and covered with peat
and turf. Brush wood was used to provide heat, but the heat was controlled so that the
remaining fibers were not burned and the roots give up their liquid. This tar was high in
turpentine and was in great demand., By the turn of the 20th century , this traditional way
competed with more modern methods of production. Although it produced higher quality tar, it
was labour intensive and could not be competitive in the world market.
In 1652 the first New England pine trees were felled for British ship masts.
Before the end of the century, British warships were being built in North America because
suitable timber supplies were in short supply in Britain.
The pine tree was used as one of the symbols on the first American-made coins,
issued in Boston.
1761 By this year British land grants in New England required that pine trees, most
notably white pine (Pinus strobus – Eastern White Pine, also known as Northern White Pine),
that were suitable as ship masts be conserved - to be cut only under license from the
crown. Appointed surveyors marked trees to be protected with the “king’s broad arrow,” a
triangular scar. This decree, among many others, greatly perturbed American colonists.
The first flag used by Revolutionaries bore the image of a single white pine representing the state of Massachusetts.
From the beginning, Britain's colonies in North American were encouraged to produce
pine tar and pitch, and to collect gum from pine trees for later shipment to England. These
fledgling industries in New England and the Carolinas were encouraged by the Bounty Act of
1705. At that time England had been cut off from its Scandinavian supplies by Russia's invasion
of Sweden-Finland. " By 1725 four fifths of the tar and pitch used in England came from the
American colonies..."4 This supply remained constant until the American Revolution in 1776,
when England was again forced to trade with the Dutch for Scandinavian products. As the
population of the United States grew and moved west, forests were cleared. The southern
states began to monopolize the production, because of the type of trees in this region. By 1850
most of the U.S. production of tar and pitch was in North and South Carolina. As the 19th
Century progressed the tar, pitch, and turpentine manufacturing spread south and west into the
states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. By 1900, rosin and
turpentine were the dominant products, and the states of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama were
the three major producers.5
The separation of resin into its component parts, rosin and turpentine, involves two basic
operations: cleaning and distillation. Cleaning is necessary to remove all extraneous material
from the resin, both solid and soluble. This includes forest debris such as bark, pine needles and
insects, which may have fallen into the cup during its period on the tree, and which require
removal by filtration. Water-soluble impurities carried into the cup by rain water are removed
by washing the filtered resin with water. The approximate composition of crude resin, as it is
received at the plant for processing, is 70% rosin, 15% turpentine and 15% debris and water.
Small amounts of iron produced by the corrosive action of excess sulphuric acid on galvanized
iron guttering and cups may also contaminate the resin. As the presence of iron would lead to a
darker, lower-grade rosin, it is removed by adding oxalic acid prior to filtration. Iron
contamination has become less of a problem as the use of acid paste rather than spray has
become more widely adopted. The use of cups made of plastic or other non-ferrous material
eliminates the risk of iron contamination from this source.
The cleaned resin is then ready to be distilled, or, to be precise, steam-distilled; the
older type of direct-fired still has given way, almost universally, to a still in which steam is used
both to heat the resin and to facilitate the distillation by co-distilling with the turpentine
vapours. Designs of equipment, and the procedures followed, vary somewhat between
producing countries. The Olustee process, developed and used in the United States and adopted
elsewhere, is described first. The methodology is well documented, and since the differences
between this and any other system of processing are likely to be matters of detail rather than
principle, a description of the process serves as a useful guide to any prospective processor of
crude resin. The final design of plant can be tailored to suit local preferences and requirements
in terms of scale. A description is then given of Portuguese methods which are based on the
same principles as the Olustee process, but which differ in the layout of equipment and the
relative capacity of some of the units. Processing methods used in other producing countries are
not described. To a greater or lesser degree they all follow the same basic principles, namely,
filtration of the hot, diluted resin, usually including a washing stage, and steam-distillation.
Resin
Crude resin obtained by tapping living pine trees is a thick, sticky, but usually, still fluid
material. It is opaque (due to the presence of occluded moisture), milky-gray in colour, and
inevitably contains a certain amount of forest debris (pine needles, insects, etc.) when it is
collected from the trees.
Most Pinus species 'bleed' when the stem wood (xylem) is cut or otherwise injured, but
probably only a few dozen of approximately 100 species which exist has ever been tapped
commercially as a source of resin for rosin and turpentine production; in the others, poor yields
and/or quality of the resin make exploitation uneconomic. The principal species that are
presently tapped, and the countries in which this takes place, are listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Commercially tapped sources of pine resin: species and country of
production
Speciesa
Producing countryb
Pinus elliottii Engelm.
Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, (USA, Kenya)
P. massoniana D. Don
People's Republic of China
P. kesiya Royale ex Gordon
People's Republic of China
P. pinaster Aiton
Portugal
P. merkusii Jungh. & Vriese
Indonesia, (Viet Nam)
P. roxburghii Sarg.
India, (Pakistan)
P. oocarpa Schiede
Mexico, Honduras
P. caribaea Morelet
Venezuela, (South Africa, Kenya)
P. sylvestris L.
Russia
P. halepensis Miller
Greece
P. radiata D. Don
(Kenya)
Notes:
In some case only the major species tapped in a particular country is indicated. In the
People's Republic of China, P. massoniana is the main species utilized and although the
contribution of species such as P. kesiya is small by Chinese standards, it is significant
compared to the scale of production in other countries. Relatively small but increasing areas of
P. elliottii and other exotic pines are tapped in China in addition to P. massoniana and other
native species. In Mexico, P. oocarpa often occurs in mixed stands so that other species are
likely to be tapped.
The list of countries is not intended to be exhaustive. Parentheses indicate a minor
producer.
Until very recently, the crude resin was never considered to be a product for
international trade. Although it might often be transported some distance by road or rail to the
factory where it was processed, processing still took place within the producing country.
However, the acute shortage experienced by some traditional producers in recent years has led
to the importation of resin for the first time; India and Portugal are both known to have
imported crude resin. Although losing the benefits of added value, new producers therefore
have the option of tapping trees and exporting crude resin to nearby countries without needing
to process it themselves.
Rosin
Rosin is the major product obtained from pine resin. It remains behind as the involatile
residue after distillation of the turpentine and is a brittle, transparent, glassy solid. It is
insoluble in water but soluble in many organic solvents. It is graded and sold on the basis of
colour, the palest shades of yellow-brown being the better quality. Quality criteria and
specifications are described in. Appendix 2. Several other physico-chemical characteristics
influence the quality and these are largely dependent on the species of pine from which the
rosin is obtained, i.e., they are determined more by genetic than environmental and processing
factors. These aspects are discussed in more detail in Appendix 3.
Most rosin is used in a chemically modified form rather than in the raw state in which it
is obtained. It consists primarily of a mixture of abietic- and pimaric-type acids with smaller
amounts of neutral compounds. This intrinsic acidity, coupled with other chemical properties,
enables it to be converted to a Large number of downstream derivatives which are used in a
wide range of applications. The derivatives include salts, esters and maleic anhydride adducts,
and hydrogenated, disproportionated and polymerized rosins. Their most important uses are in
the manufacture of adhesives, paper sizing agents, printing inks, solders and fluxes, various
surface coatings, insulating materials for the electronics industry, synthetic rubber, chewing
gums and soaps and detergents.
Although it is more economical to manufacture derivatives if large quantities of rosin are
involved, small producers often manufacture simple derivatives for sale in the domestic market
as a substitute for imported products. For example, fortified rosin sizes can be made based on
the reaction of rosin with maleic anhydride. However, for the purposes of this report, no further
reference is made to the technical aspects of additional processing or to the products them
selves.
Turpentine
Turpentine is a clear, flammable liquid, with a pungent odour and bitter taste. It is
immiscible with water and has a boiling point above 150°C. Turpentine is a mixture of organic
compounds, mainly terpenes, and its composition can vary considerably (more so than rosin)
according to the species of pine from which it was derived. This greatly influences its value and
end use and is discussed in greater detail in Appendix 3.
For some applications turpentine is used in whole
form, usually as a solvent for paints and varnishes or as a
cleaning agent. However, like rosin it is a very versatile
material chemically, and nowadays, it is used mostly after
further processing. It usually undergoes fractional distillation
to isolate the desirable chemicals (mainly alpha-pinene and
beta-pinene) that are then transformed into value-added
derivatives. This further processing is only economic if it is
carried out on a very large scale, and it is not something to
be considered by a new producer of gum naval stores.
Occasionally, the turpentine is rich enough in alpha-pinene, for example, to be used in whole
form. The derivatives are widely used in fragrance, flavour, vitamin and polyterpene resin
manufacture, and form the basis of a substantial and growing chemical industry. The biggest
single turpentine derivative, synthetic pine oil, is used in disinfectants, cleaning agents and
other products with a 'pine' odour. Many derivatives, including isobornyl acetate, camphor,
linalool, citral, citronellol, citronellal and menthol are used either on their own or in the
elaboration of other fragrance and flavour compounds. A few of the minor constituents of
turpentine, such as anethole, are employed for fragrance or flavour use without the need for
chemical modification. Downstream derivatives are not discussed further in this report.
P. strobus was a valued source of naval stores in the 1700’s, and large tracts were once
reserved for exploitation by the Royal Navy . Vast stands were logged in the 1700’s and 1800’s
for masts, buildings, and furniture. Because of extensive lumbering, few uncut stands remain.
Eastern white pine is the provincial tree of Ontario and the state tree of Maine and
Michigan
1772 An uprising against British authority in New England, the Pine Tree Riot, resulted
from the levying of fines on a New Hampshire man for cutting what were determined to be the
King’s pines. This was one of the precursor events leading to the Boston Tea Party in the
following year.
1773 Americans were displeased by a 3% tax imposed by the English Parliament on tea
and other products. That small tax added to a 100% import duty that all English subjects
already paid on tea, and led to an increase in smuggling of tea from Holland. Loss of business
for the London-based John Company resulted in the Tea Act of 1773, which eliminated the
100% tax - meaning the Dutch would be undersold. Even though this change represented
savings for American tea drinkers, the monopoly granted to the John Company continued to
carry a 3% tax for colonists who had no representation in Parliament. The uniting of American
colonists resulted in some ships being turned away at their ports, but for others (in Boston,
Greenwich, Charleston, Philadelphia, New York, Annapolis, and Edenton), boarding parties
threw consignments into the sea. The Boston Tea party
By 1775 easy sources of wood for masts had been stripped from Eastern North America.
Let us now move to the West Coast of America.
Pine resin was used in California by Indians and the Spanish, long before the
territory became part of the United States, again as an essential element of Spanish shipping.
The origin of the name "California" may be linked to pine trees and the resin they
produced. Padre Arroyo, one of the early priests who converted the Indians of California to
Christianity and ultimately wrote a vocabulary of the California Indian languages, told an officer
of Captain Beechey’s expedition in 1826 that the word "California" was a corruption of the
Spanish word colofón meaning "resin". He indicated it was suggested by the numerous pines,
primarily Pinus radiata, that produced resin around the old Spanish city of Monterrey.
In south-western United States, the Pueblo and Navajo Indians used the resin of various
species of piñon pines to give their stone griddles a non-sticking surface, something like the
Teflon of today.
The Hopi Indians, of American southwest, used resin to repair broken ceramic pottery
In Asia there are numerous records of the use of pine resin for medicinal purposes.
The James Hector Pinetum was inaugurated on Arbor Day, 23 June 1992. The
first officially planted tree was a Pinus sabiniana planted by the Governor General Dame
Catherine Tizard, aided by Peter Hector, great grandson of Sir James Hector. Other trees were
planted by pupils of the Kelburn Normal School in the presence of Garden staff and Friends of
the Botanic Garden. The Pinetum was to form a link between the past and the present.
Pine trees (the genus Pinus) are distinguished from all other trees by:
(a) Having uncovered seeds borne in pairs on the bracts of (female) cones (as do other
genera of the Pinaceae family)
(b) and narrow leaves ("needles") arranged in bundles of 2 to 5 and with a permanent
or deciduous sheath at their bases. Such bundles of needles are called fascicles (after
the bundle of sticks around the axe which represented the power of the Roman
senate). There are usually 2 to 5 leaves per fascicle (very rarely 1, or 6 to 8). The
individual needles in one fascicle, when viewed in cross section, are like pie-shaped
segments that fit together form a complete circle. Therefor each needle has a
hemispherical cross section (if there are 2 needles per fascicle) or triangular cross
section (if there are 3 or more needles per fascicle).
Pines are classically divided into two major groups (subgenera): (a) Strobus ("white"
pines) and (b) Pinus ("yellow" pines). A third
subgenus, Ducampopinus, intermediate
between these two, has been proposed. The
Strobus subgenus (and also subgenus
Ducampopinus) has one fibrovascular bundle
per leaf, ie., they are haploxylon. The
subgenus Pinus has two fibrovascular bundles
per leaf, i.e., they are diploxylon. As a rule,
(not always), they have the following
arrangement of leaves and leaf sheaths.
Subgenus STROBUS: Subgenus
PINUS
Pines are mostly large trees with a
straight trunk with whorls of smaller lateral
branches, but they have a wide range of habits
varying from tall narrow trees to small bushy trees to prostrate shrubs. They are generally longlived, usually over 100 years in suitable environments. The longest living individuals of any kind
are the fabled intermountain bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) that currently has living trees at
least 4,800 years old. (The root systems of the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) may be even
older). All pine species are evergreen, i.e., they keep their leaves for at least two growing
seasons (and up to about 30 years in the case of P. longaeva)
They are monoecious, i.e., individual trees have both female (megasporangiate) cones
that bear the ovules and male (microsporangiate) cones that shed the pollen. The pollen is
carried by wind and gravity; none of the pines is pollinated by insects or birds. All pines have 12
pairs of chromosomes, as do other genera of the Pinaceae family except two (Douglas firs have
13 and false larches have 11).
About three- fifths of the pine species are currently classified in the subgenus Pinus
(Diploxylon) pines, commonly called hard pines or yellow pines. The other two-fifths is
comprised of the subgenus Strobus (Haploxylon) pines that are also called soft pines or white
pines. (The new subgenus Ducampopinus would account for about one-fifth of the species,
leaving approximately one-fifth in the genus Strobus). The subgenus Pinus has two
fibrovascular bundles running the length of the needle (hence diploxylon) and the Strobus
subgenus (and also Ducampopinus) has one (haploxylon) fibrovascular bundle. Diploxylon pines
generally differ from the Haploxylon pines by having harder yellower wood, cones that are often
armed with a prickle, stiffer needles with permanent needle sheaths and the development of
rough scaly bark at a younger age.
The pine genus is generally sun-loving and relatively shade-intolerant. They are less
likely than shade-tolerant genera (e.g. spruces and firs) to grow up from seedlings in an already
established shady forest, so pine trees are less favored in mixed conifer and uneven-aged
forests and often are not the "climax" trees in densely vegetated forests. But they are usually
among the first trees to establish on open ground that is being revegetated after fire or other
disturbance and are often found in pure even-age stands or in savanna (more open) settings
where drought and fires control tree density. In the huge Longleaf pine forests along the Gulf
and southeast Atlantic Coasts from east Texas to Virginia and Delaware, fire was just as
essential as rain in preserving the pine's dominance.
The family Pinaceae evolved in the northern hemisphere during the early Cretaceous or
Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era, 130 to 200 million years ago and by the late Cretaceous the
genus Pinus had already differentiated into haploxylon and diploxylon subgenera. They have
flourished and evolved into about 120 species and subspecies world-wide, still almost all in the
northern hemisphere. Only one species (P. merkusii) extends about one degree south of the
equator in Sumatra. They grow from desert edge to rain forests and from sea level to mountain
tree line. The country with the most species of pines is Mexico, which has approximately 60
species and subspecies, followed by the United States (about 45) and China (about 21). The
Mexican highlands have been an evolutionary centre for new pine species.
There are eleven genera in the family Pinaceae, all sharing certain morphological
features such as
(a)"female" cones (macrosporangiate strobili) which are usually just called "cones",
(b)"male" cones (microsporangiate strobili) which are sometimes called "catkins" or
"pollen cones" and
(c) needle like leaves. Unlike the
genus Pinus however, they are not all
"evergreens" because two of these genera
(Larix and Pseudolarix) have yearly deciduous
leaves. All genera of the pine family have 12
pairs of chromosomes with two exceptions:
Pseudotsuga (Douglas fir) has 13 and
Pseudolarix (false larch) has 11.
The family Pinaceae is the largest
(in number of species and individuals),
most geographically widespread and
most economically significant of the
conifers. There are about 260 species in this
family and they cover most of the boreal
forests of the Northern Hemisphere and
extend at one point one degree south of the
equator into Indonesia.
The largest genus in this family is
Pinus that has about 120 species and
subspecies and it accounts for much of the
huge geographic spread.
The ten genera are:
(1) Abies (true firs) (about 55
species): Have fairly wide-base single needles
arising in helical fashion, but on lower shaded
branches are arranged pectinately, and they
are set in circular depressions on the shoot.
The cones are erect and are deciduous in one
year. Pollen grains with two "wings."
(2) Cedrus (true cedars) (4 species): Have long and short shoots with cones on the
short shoots. Cones appear in late summer and are erect and are deciduous in one year. Leaves
are single but arranged in false whorls and persist for several years. Solitary "male" cones on
the ends of the short shoots.
(3) Larix (larches) (15 species): Have long and short shoots with cones on the short
shoots. Cones are erect and ripen in one year but persist and release seeds for a longer time.
Leaves are single but arranged in false whorls and are deciduous in one year. "Male" cones on
the end of leafless short shoots.
(4) Pseudolarix (false larches) (1 species, in China): Same as Larix, but their cones are
deciduous, i.e., breakup and release seed at maturity within one year. 11 pairs of chromosomes
(most of the pine family has 12 pairs)
(5) Cathaya (1 species, in China): Resembles Larix and Cedrus in having long and short
shoots, but develops cones on the long shoots whereas Larix and Cedrus develop female (and
male) cones from the short shoots. Leaves somewhat whorled and nondeciduous.
(6) Keteleeria (10 species, in China, Laos, Taiwan and Vietnam): Resembles Abies, but
the upright cones do not break up at maturity with in one year. Also has hypogeal
(underground) germination whereby the cotyledons stay below the ground surface and the true
shoots emerge. Pollen grains with two wings.
(7) Picea (spruces) (37 species): Leaves spirally arranged and four sided and therefor
relatively stiff and are set on a stem projection (the pulvinus) and therefor leave a rough twig
after falling. The cones arise from the terminal cluster of buds at the ends of the shoots and up
to the time of pollination are erect (like Abies) but then become pendulous. Pollen grains with
two wings.
(8) Tsuga (hemlocks) (10 species): Leaves with a knee-like bent petiole arising from a
pulvinus and are constricted at the base (the petiole) and are notched and usually rounded at
the ends. Cones small, ripening in the first year but remaining on the tree and not
disintegrating (similar to Picea.) Pollen grains without wings.******
(9) Nothotsuga (a hemlock from SE China, often still included in the Tsuga genus) (1
species)
(10) Pseudotsuga (Douglas firs) (8 species): Leaves like Abies. Cones like Picea and
Tsuga, but with exserted bracts (little forked tabs at the ends of the cone scales). Also have
sharp pointed cylindrical buds. Pollen grains without wings. 13 pairs of chromosomes.
(11) Pinus (pines) (about 120 species): Needles in fascicles (of 1 to 8) which can be fit
together to form a cylinder. The female cones are fertilised in the second year and are variably
persistent thereafter. Cone seed scales usually with a scale shield (apophysis). "Male" cones are
many and clustered at the base of the current year's long shoots. Pollen grains with two wings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------******A possible 12th future new genus may be necessary for Mountain Hemlock
(Tsuga mertensiana), now classified in the genus Tsuga (hemlocks). There are obstacles in
classifying Mountain Hemlock in the genus Tsuga that include gross and microscopic
morphological features. These are (a) larger cones (approx. 3" for meritensiana vs. approx. 1"
for other species), (b) needles carried radially and thicker and longer than in other Tsuga
species, (c) stomata on dorsal and ventral surfaces vs. only on ventral surfaces for other Tsuga
species and (d) pollen grains with a pair of lobes ('wings") attached (same as pines, firs and
spruces) whereas other Tsuga species have bowl shaped pollen grains (like larches and Douglas
firs). Once Tsuga mertensiana was named Hesperopeuce mertensiana, however, most
taxonomists don't think these differences are sufficient for the creation of this new genus and
so, for now, the mountain hemlock occupies its own section of Hesperopeuce (all other
hemlocks are in the Micropeuce section) of the genus Tsuga.
Ronald Lanner suggests that Mountain Hemlock may be ancient hybrid between Western
Hemlock and Sitka Spruce, which would explain some of its spruce-like morphological features.
This tree was described by John Muir as "the most singularly beautiful of all the
California conifers" and it will be interesting to see if taxonomists eventually reassign it to a new
genus of its own.
Classification of the Genus Pinus
"In nature's infinite book of secrecy, A little I can read." -- William Shakespeare
Acknowlegment : the following taxonomy of the genus Pinus was completely revised by
Michael Frankis (Newcastle, UK) - December 1999 & January 2002.
There are three main categories of pine trees, the subgenus Strobus (white or
"soft") pines, the subgenus Ducampopinus (pinyon, foxtail and lacebark pines), and
the subgenus Pinus (yellow or "hard") pines.
There is a choice of different morphological characteristics on which to base classification
and therefore (especially in the subgenus Pinus) some very different classification schemes.
The basic classification into the three subgenera is very
easy from cone, seed and leaf characters:
Subgenus Strobus
Scale without a sealing band. Umbo terminal.
Seedwings adnate. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
Scale without a sealing band. Umbo dorsal.
Subgenus Ducampopinus
Seedwings articulate. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
Scale with a sealing band. Umbo dorsal.
Subgenus Pinus
Seedwings articulate. Two fibrovascular bundles per leaf.
Notice that in many respects, subgenus Ducampopinus is intermediate between (and
possibly ancestral to) the other two subgenera. In many classifications, it is combined into
subgenus Strobus, but it could with equal justification have been included in subgenus Pinus (as
was done in an early classification by the Californian botanist J. G. Lemmon in 1888), yet it
does not sit comfortably in either so is best treated as a third subgenus in its own right.
The following classification of pines mostly follows Little and Critchfield's classification
(USDA Forest Service Misc. Pub. No. 1144, 1969) with modifications and additions from Michael
Frankis (pers. comm.), Jesse P. Perry (The Pines of Mexico and Central America, Timber Press,
1991), Keith Rushforth (Conifers, Christopher Helm Publishers, 1987) and Ecology and
Biogeography of Pinus, edited by David Richardson (Cambridge University Press, 1998) - please
see Directory # 26 "Books". In general, cone and cone scale and seed morphology and leaf
fascicle and sheath morphology are emphasized and this seems to result in a classification that
has subsections of pines that are understandable and usually readily recognized by their general
appearance.
The box format below was designed by Arboretum de Villardebelle. Please check this site
for other conifer classifications.
SUBGENUS STROBUS White or Soft Pines
The defining morphology: Cone scales with a terminal umbo and no sealing band. Adnate (firmly
attached) seedwings. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
Other features: Resin canals in the outer part of the leaf; leaves in clusters of 5; leaves in fascicles of
5; leaf sheaths soon deciduous; leaf stomata usually confined to the inner surfaces, creating two
macroscopic narrow white lines on the inner leaf surfaces; the bases of the leaf bracts are nondecurrent, leaving a smooth branch after the leaves are shed; bark is generally smooth, becoming
rough only at an older age. Shoots uninodal (producing only one whorl of branches per year). Wood is
generally white and soft with less prominent annual rings (better for carving) and with smooth-walled
tracheids and fewer resin canals; terpene analysis often shows a high % of beta-pinene.
Section Quinquefoliae (a.k.a. section Strobus) White Pines
The defining morphology: as for the subgenus.
Subsection Strobi
Features: Cones long and narrow, Species: strobus, monticola, *flexilis, *reflexa,
opening at maturity.
*strobiformis, ayacahuite, chiapensis, peuce,
In some, the seeds are small with
wallichiana, bhutanica, dalatensis, *armandii,
a long wing, others [marked *
*dabeshanensis, lambertiana, *amamiana,
right] have large seeds with a
*fenzeliana, morrisonicola, wangii, *parviflora,
short wing as in subsection
*pumila
Cembrae, and are likewise bird(North & Central America, Europe, Asia).
dispersed - an example of parallel Significant synonyms:
evolution.
ayacahuite var. brachyptera = strobiformis
griffithii = wallichiana
kwangtungensis = wangii
Subsection Cembrae
Features: Cones do not open at
Species: cembra, sibirica, koraiensis, albicaulis
maturity, but instead are broken
(Europe, northern Asia, western North America)
up by birds which disperse the
seeds (see book #6 in the book
list); large seeds with the seed
wing reduced to a narrow rim.
SUBGENUS DUCAMPOPINUS Pinyon, Lacebark and Foxtail Pines
The defining morphology: Cone scales with a dorsal umbo and no sealing band. Articulate (easily
removed) seedwings. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
Other features: Leaves in clusters of 1 to 5; leaf sheaths variably deciduous to persistent, in many
forming a recurved basal rosette; bases of the leaf bracts not or moderately decurrent, leaving a
moderately smooth branch often with small pulvini after the leaves are shed; bark is generally smooth
(becomes rough at an older age in most but not all species); wood hard and resinous, with smoothwalled tracheids; shoots uninodal (producing only one whorl of branches per year) but summer
('lammas') growth (a second full flush) occurring on vigorous shoots of many species. Most are small,
slow-growing trees with irregular rounded crowns, but many are long-lived, some exceptionally so.
Generally, a very ancient group with diverse morphology, and most species with small relictual ranges
most are highly specialised to difficult sites where few or even no other trees will grow (one or more o
low rainfall; infertile rocky sites; serpentine; limestone; very high altitudes); most are rare and many
are endangered.
Section Parrya
The defining morphology: A heterogenous group, sharing nothing beyond the main features of
the subgenus (above), they would be better treated in several sections (mostly yet to be
formally named) corresponding to the subsections below, which are ancient groups that
diverged from each other long ago.
Subsection Nelsonianae Nelson's Pinyon
Features: Cylindrical cones with
Species: nelsonii
indistinct umbos (no resting
(north-eastern Mexico)
period), on long stout curved
stalks; seeds large, with a
vestigial wing. Leaves 3 per
fascicle, but appearing single,
'zipped' together (can be
separated with difficulty); sheath
persistent.
Subsection Krempfianae Krenpf's Pine
Features: Small winged seeds,
Species: krempfii
small cones. Leaves 2 per
(Vietnam).
fascicle, very broad (3-7mm
wide) and flat; sheath deciduous.
Subsection Gerardianae Lace-bark pines
Features: Distinctive smooth
Species: gerardiana, bungeana, squamata
exfoliating bark even on old trees. (Central Asia).
Glossy, often fairly stout needles
grouped in fascicles of 3 (-4);
fully deciduous needle sheath.
Very short seed wings (except
long in P. squamata).
Subsection Rzedowskianae Big-cone pinyons
Features: Long cylindrical cones
Species: pinceana, maximartinezii, rzedowskii
(5-22 cm long); large seeds,
(Mexico).
usually with a very short wing
(except long in P. rzedowskii).
Leaves moderately long (612cm), 3 - 5 per fascicle; sheath
semi-persistent, forming a
rosette, or fully deciduous.
Subsection Cembroides Pinyons [Piñons], a.k.a. Nut pines
Features: Large seeds with a very Species: monophylla, edulis, remota, cembroides,
short, easily detached wing that
quadrifolia, discolor, johannis, culminicola,
remains attached to the cone
orizabensis
scale; short globose cones, 2.5-8 (Mexico and SW United States).
cm long. Leaves short (2-6 cm),
Significant synonyms:
1-5 per fascicle; sheath semijuarezensis = quadrifolia
persistent, forming a rosette.
discolor = johannis var. bicolor
Subsection Balfourianae Foxtail pines
Features: Extreme longevity of
Species: balfouriana, longaeva, aristata
trees. Seeds small with long
(SW United States).
articulate wings; cones cylindrical.
Leaves short, in fascicles of 5;
sheath semi-persistent, forming a
rosette; leaves long retained (1035 years), with bottlebrush-like
("foxtail") arrangement on
branches.
SUBGENUS PINUS Typical, Yellow or Hard Pines
The defining morphology: Cone scales with a dorsal umbo and a sealing band. Seedwings usually
articulate (easily removed). Two fibrovascular bundles per leaf.
Other features: Resin canals in the intermediate or inner portion of the leaves; fascicles of 2 -5 (rarely
up to 8) leaves; leaf sheaths are persistent (except in subsection Leiophyllae); leaf stomata on both
ventral and dorsal surfaces; the bases of the leaf bracts are decurrent, leaving a rough branch after
the leaves are shed (except P. pseudostrobus, P. apulcensis and P. maximinoi, where the bract bases
are decurrent but fairly smooth); bark is generally thick and fissured; wood is generally harder and
yellower and with more pounced annual growth rings; growth of spring shoots is either uninodal or
multinodal; high % of alpha-pinene in many (but not all) species.
Section Pinus Eurasian Hard Pines
The defining morphology: Wood with large ('fenestriform') ray cell pits; 2 pairs (other pines
have only 1 pair) of heterobrachial chromosomes (in which the long arm is more than 2x the
length of the short arm); shoots always uninodal.
Subsection Pinus
Features: As for the section.
Species: sylvestris, densiflora, tabuliformis,
Leaves in fascicles of 2-3; small densata, taiwanensis, mugo, nigra, heldreichii,
cones, mature in 18 months with thunbergii, luchuensis, hwangshanensis,
moderately flexible scales (stiff
massoniana, resinosa, tropicalis, yunnanensis,
in P. yunnanensis, P. kesiya),
kesiya
opening early and falling
(Europe, Asia; also P. resinosa in northeast North
completely from the branch
America and P. tropicalis in Cuba).
(moderately persistent in a few). Significant synonyms:
uncinata = mugo subsp. uncinata
leucodermis = heldreichii
henryae = tabuliformis var. henryae
insularis = kesiya
Section Pinea Mediterranean Pines
The defining morphology: Glossy red-brown to nut-brown cones with thick, stiff, woody scales
often long-persistent; bright (often yellowish-) green leaves in fascicles of 2-3, thick plated
red-brown bark. Wood with small ray cell pits.
Subsection Pineae
Features: Very large seed with
Species: pinea
very rudimentary wing, cones
(western Mediterranean; probably ancient human
mature in 36 months.
introduction in the east Med. but possibly native
there)
Subsection Pinaster
Features: Moderately large seed Species: pinaster, canariensis, roxburghii,
with long wing; cones mature in halepensis, brutia, latteri, merkusii
24 months (12 months in
(Mediterranean, southern Asia).
tropical P. latteri, P. merkusii).
Significant synonyms:
Shoots often multinodal; leaves
eldarica = brutia subsp. eldarica
in fascicles of 2-3; sheath
persistent.
Section Trifoliae American Hard Pines
The defining morphology: A hard group to define. All but two American "hard" pines belong to
this section. Wood with small ray cell pits. Vigorous shoots mostly multinodal (except
subsection Ponderosae, uninodal). Subsections Taedae, Contortae and Oocarpae are not
reliably separable on morphology; their separation depends mainly on barriers to experimenta
hybridisation. Subsection Ponderosae may yet prove to be better treated as a full section.
Subsection Leiophyllae
The defining morphology: Deciduous leaf sheath.
Other features: Leaves 3-5 per
Species: leiophylla, lumholtzii
fascicle. Cones mature in 24-30
(Mexico, southwest United States).
months; small seed with long
Significant synonyms:
detachable wing.
chihuahuana = leiophylla subsp. chihuahuana
Subsection Australes
The defining morphology: None that reliably separates it from subsections Contortae
or Oocarpae. The three subsections share fairly straight branching, not candelabra-
like; multinodal shoots (more than 1 branch whorl per growing season on vigorous
shoots); 2-3 (-5) leaves per fascicle; cones mature in 16-20 months, scales with a
persistent umbo spine; small seed with long detachable wing (rarely weakly adnate i
P. palustris, P. caribaea).
Other features: Mostly
Species: palustris, echinata, glabra, serotina,
symmetrical cones, opening
rigida, virginiana, clausa, pungens, taeda,
when ripe and falling complete
hondurensis, elliottii, caribea, occidentalis,
(except persistent and often
cubensis
serotinous in P. pungens, P.
(North & Central America, Caribbean).
rigida, P. serotina).
Significant synonyms:
australis = palustris
caribaea var. hondurensis = hondurensis
Subsection Contortae
The defining morphology: See subsection Taedae
Features: Cones small,
Species: contorta, banksiana
symmetrical or oblique, and
(Canada, United States, Mexico [Baja California] )
often closed when ripe
Significant synonyms:
(serotinous). Leaves short (< 8
murrayana = contorta subsp. murrayana
cm), 2 per fascicle.
Subsection Oocarpae
The defining morphology: See subsection Taedae
Features: Cones often oblique
Species: attenuata, muricata, radiata, greggii,
and mostly remaining closed on patula, teocote, herrerae, lawsonii, tecunumanii,
the branch long after they are
pringlei, jaliscana, praetermissa, oocarpa
ripe (serotinous); but soon
(Central America, Mexico, western United States).
opening in teocote, herrerae,
lawsonii, tecunumanii; leaves in
fascicles of 2-5.
Subsection Ponderosae (including subsection Sabinianae)
The defining morphology: Branching candelabra-like, with upcurved branches, erect
uninodal shoots with spreading leaves resembling a chimney sweep's brush.
Symmetrical or slightly oblique cones; cones mature in 18 months (22 in P.
torreyana), open when ripe, and some cone basal scales remain on the branch after
the cone has fallen (except in P. maximinoi, P. gordoniana).
Other features: Leaves often
Species: torreyana, sabiniana, coulteri,
long to very long, often stout,
jeffreyi, ponderosa, arizonica, engelmanii,
(2-) 3-5 (-8) per fascicle. Cone
durangensis, hartwegii, cooperi, estevezii,
scale umbo mostly with a curved montezumae, devoniana, pseudostrobus,
spine.
apulcensis, maximinoi, gordoniana
(Central America, Mexico, western United States,
southwest Canada).
Significant synonyms:
washoensis = ponderosa
rudis = hartwegii
oaxacana = apulcensis
douglasiana = gordoniana
Pine Cones
"All that exists is, in a sense, the seed of what will be born from it." -- Marcus
Aurelius
In common with other members of the class Gymnospermae, pine trees have no flower
or fruit. Rather, the ovule (and later the seed) are "naked" (gymno = naked, in Greek) and are,
in all members of the Pinaecae family, wedged between the scales of a woody "cone," so named
because it is generally cone-shaped. The cone bearing the female gametes is larger and is
commonly recognised simply as the pine cone, but also can be called the female cone or
megasporangiate strobilus.
In some texts the name for the structure bearing the male gamete also incorporates the
name cone, such as the "male cones" or "pollen cones," but these structures are clustered, are
much smaller and deteriorate quickly. They really shouldn't be called cones, although there is
not a good common term for
Microsporangiate Strobili
them. These "male cones" are
(Male or Pollen cones) Red Pine (Pinus resinosa).
properly called
Female cone
microsporangiate strobili,
which is not an easy common
usage term. Also the term
"catkins" (from cat tails) that
is used in the case of the
angiosperms doesn't describe
them well and is not
commonly used for
gymnosperms. The pollen
shed from the
microsporangiate strobili is
carried to the
megasporangiate strobili
(cones) by the wind. Pines are
not pollinated by insects.
Pine cones (herein
referring only to the true
female cones) have a
peduncle (stem) that attaches
to the branch