New Zealand Alpine Flora

Rightio

Looks like i can only post a few pics at a time (i've currently exceeded my broadband allocation and on dial up for a couple of days yet  >:().

More

Final pics.

Cheers Dave

Thanks Cliff

I hope to visit some of the real early Ranunculus later in November and hopefully time it right a month later to photograph in bloom ,a slope with hundreds and hundreds R. haastii ,that have appeared in the last couple of years or so....... :P :P :P .

Trond
Travel is reasonable in the fern patches --the difficulty is not being able to see where you are placing your foot as the ferns can reach waist height.
Many times i have fallen flat on my face because of some hidden root  :-[

In the heavy rainful areas of Fiordland (6 metres +p.a  :o ),and the West Coast ,travel becomes very slow because of the thick vegetation and number of lianes (vines).

In those areas you need to have experience/serious skills in route finding when travelling off track ,especially since ,(introduced), deer numbers have been reduced and with it the ability to use their worn trails around natural obstacles such as gorges ,waterfalls and bluffs !!.

Cheers Dave.

Wow, what a different and magical world - can't wait to see more!  How wonderful it must be to back onto a reserve, and to have what I imagine would be easy access to such a place.

Images from a recent trip further along the coast onto open shrubland and bogs.

Because of the harsh coastal conditions here the common tree daisy ,(Olearia arborescens),only reaches about 1 meter in height.

In more sheltered spots Dracophyllum longifolium reaches higher.

I love the look of the new seasons growth of tangle fern,(Gleichenia dicarpa).

The sun orchids ,(Thelymitra pulchella), prefer sun ,however will also open their flowers on a heavily overcast warm day.

Donatia novae zelandiae forms hard dark green cushions with small flowers that sit directly on the leaves and has wide distribution from coastal to subalpine areas.

One of the earliest flowering Gentianella ,(G. lineata).While it isn't common ,in this area it blooms by the hundreds.

Growing on beach gravel just above the storm level Acaena pallida .

Finally --a little heath like plant growing amongst sedges lichen and leaf litter, Leucopogon fraseri.

Cheers Dave.

Hoy wrote:

I try to establish different ferns in my garden and the tangle fern looks special. Do you think it is hardy?

Not sure Trond.Although it grows in a harsh environment in terms of wind and exposure the winters here on the coast are very mild with nil snow cover.I can collect you some spores if you wish to experiment.

Thanks Rick and John
Having worked most of the weekend i'm away into a remote area of the Eyre Mtns tomorrow with another enthusiast for 3 days tramping/botanizing so hopefully i'll have something to report.

Cheers dave. 

3 day visit last week to the Eyre Mtns Northern Southland (part 1 of 5  :o   ;D)

Our first day was very wet with low fog and heavy drizzle at times which affected the quality of any pics i took. :-[

After an hour or two of climbing up a side valley we came into 'fields' of the large dramatic Aciphylla aff. horrida 'Lomond'.

The males having performed their duties were beginning to droop.

Leaving the females to raise any offspring.

Celmisia densiflora flowering near the small stream.

A bit higher up on scree Hebe buchananii.

After a 3.5 hour uphill slog we reached our initial target of a small tarn ,and began searching around the steep screes for a number of specialized inhabitants--firstly, Stellaria roughii grows by the thousands here.

Myosotis glabrescens is a rare plant ,known only to live on a small number of ranges--it was great to see it for the first time in the wild.
 

NZ is famous for it's many large bright and colourful Ranunculus sps.Ranunculus pilfera was another plant i had yearned to view --while we saw good numbers ,most were individual plants here and there in bloom.

Ranunculus pilifera close up

Will post images of the rest of the trip in the next day or 3.

Cheers dave.

Thanks Trond

Continuing our search around the tarn we found the weird Ranunculus scrithalis --it always has a preference for clayish screes of thinnish depth.

We then moved onto the shaded cliffs .Home of Anisotome capillifolia and Cheesemania wallii.

Climbing higher to reach the ridgeline between the headwaters of creeks 1 and 2 ,Aciphylla spedenii, Celmisia hectorii , Abrotanella inconspicua and Ourisia sessilifolia.

Cheers dave

Thanks Cliff.

Trond
Yes normally under snow all winter with falls early June and melt starting in November .

NZ is a very narrow country surrounded by water ,so very much a maritime climate and although there are dryish areas inland, most ranges receive moisture from summer rains , topped up by fog ,meaning there is soil moisture available .

On a still day in the mountains temperatures can be high --i have a number of times been sunburnt ,(or even windburnt on an overcast day), however in my experience because there is a predominance of wind,temps most days are cool on the 'tops'.

Carrying on with the trip.....
Also on the ridgeline large mats of Kelleria dieffenbachii and Hectorella caespitosa and surprizingly in open positions Ourisa caespitosa

As we popped over into the next watershed a number of different Celmisias sps growing in snowgrass appeared.
Celmisia verbsacifolia

The lovely silver growth of Celmisia semicordata ssp stricta impressive even when not in flower

Same for a hybrid

Final posting tomorrow night  :D

Cheers dave.

Thank you Jenny .

I grow a number of South African plants so have been following your 'posted' journey with interest.

On our last day we travelled an hour by vehicle to visit a couple of lower mountain ranges -- Firstly on an isolated hill we saw sheets of flowering Celmisia traversii in numerous variations of upper leaf colour and brown tomentum beneath.

On the banks of the access road, a nice daisy Anaphaloides bellidioides and in more shaded spots Ranunculus ensyii.

Then a quick visit to an area of ultrabasic rock where Celmisia spedenii grew --the normal type plant with white flowers and an exciting find ,*a rare form with yellow flowers--something i've never come across before and i believe the first time ever photographed.
*apologies for cross posting this particular pic,(which i've also shown on the SRGC Forum).

Finally ,Leptospermum scoparium can reach 4 or 5 meters in height elsewhere ,however possibly because of the nature of the type of rock it is growing on here ,plants can be very dwarf

The end........ :)

Cheers dave

Thanks a lot guys  :o  You two will keep!! ;D ;D

Cheers dave

Thanks Mark for your kind comments .

I know what you mean regarding different flora -- -- thinking Cacti are plants of true deserts i still have trouble getting my head around them growing in the wild in an alpine setting and recently RickR has shown Opuntia growing on the prairie land of Western Minnesota. I still have a lot to learn  :D

Saw some nice gems while out and about yesterday --seems most Genera are either in or going to bloom this season.

I came across 3 variations of Celmisia linearis, the best being this little honey  :P even my wife Hilda ,who is not a plants person at all ,raised her eyebrows upon viewing the shots  ;D

Celmisia semicordata ssp stricta taken in an 'interesting' position --my right hand was hanging onto a clump of snowgrass while i arched my body away from the slope and took ,(after many attempts),the pic with my left hand .....

Aciphylla aurea with a view.

On the lower slopes on a tor ,Dolichoglottis lyallii

and surrounded by moss ,Celmisia densiflora

Cheers dave.

Thanks Cliff.

Hoy wrote:

I was wondering about the whitish mossy or lichenlike vegetation surrounding the plants. Is the ground dryish and lacking nutrients?

Trond
While that particular area in Northern Southland is made up of ultrabasic rock ,(lacking in some nutrients),the Celmisia densiflora i 'posted' appeared to be growing well.

Not so the following pic ,which was taken in heavy fog ,early this year in Fiordland.You can see very poor stunted specimens of Celmisia verbascifolia surrounded by lichen like vegetation and yet only a short distance away Chionochloa sps ,(snow tussocks), are thriving.

Last lot from yesterday :)

On depleted vegetative ridges ..

A lovely small Aciphylla sps which i haven't yet identified.

Brachyglottis bellidioides can be quite variable --this one is a dark green leafed form .

Craspedia lanata ,( it's common name is most appropriate --"woolly head"  ;D), can either have yellow or white flowers.

Another snow melt plant --Ranunculus pachyrrhizus  -not the typical big colourful NZ Ranunculus sps   ;)  but a gem all the same.

Dracophyllum prostratum and Euphrasia revoluta prefer damp spongy sphagnum bogs.

Bulbinella angustifolia grows in profusion close to the bogs.

Astelia nivicola forms silvery bronze clumps some reaching over a metre in width .
Another 'good doer' in the garden here quickly bulking up , however in the wild i've never seen it in berry and my plants never set fruit .

Fields of Celmisia verbascifolia.

Finally Celmisa prorepens is very close to Celmisia densiflora,(which i've shown pictures of on previous postings ).The main differences being C.prorepens is green on both sides of it's leaves which are very sticky to the touch .Also C. prorepens tends to have quite wrinkly leaf margins.Where the two grow together all sorts of variations ? occur ,which leads to interesting discussions !! ; :D

Trond pleased you are enjoying the 'view'.

I do plan to be out in the field seed collecting time late Jan /Feb so will see what i can do.

In the meantime i have delayed my return to work for another week as the weather looks good for a 3 day visit over into Fiordland .....

Cheers dave.

Reposted as inadvertantly deleted when amending the post above.

A few more from a trip yesterday on the first day of the new year.

Celmisia lyallii is also known as the false spaniard,(false aciphylla)--you can see the similarities in the dagger like foliage.It doesn't flower reliably each season ,(seeming to have a number of continuous 'off' years),however currently the hills are full of blooming plants .

A small number of plants showed a yellow colouring to newly opened bud.

Scenery shot with a nice cloud formation.

Psychrophila obtusa numbers by the hundreds around snow banks.

Aciphylla lecomteii and visitor.
(will grow easily from cuttings and is a good performer in the garden here wedged into a rock crevice. --luckily i have only seen the Aciphylla weevel in the wild.....Later in the season, plants attacked can look very tatty.  

Cheers dave.

Thanks for the terrific postings, Dave!  Fabulous plants.  It seems such a different looking alpine terrain, as well, than what I am used to.  What sort of minimum temperature or zone rating would that area experience?  

The most amazing to me of the plants you posted is Psychrophila obtusa... incredible ratio of flower size to plant size!

Weiser wrote:

Dave
Great presentation!
You Have shown us many fine alpines, I will be seeking out.
I particularly like the Euphrasia revoluta.
The gaping yellow throats all nested together is a delight to see.

Is Euphrasia revoluta classed as a member of Scrophulariaceae or Orobanchaceae? If it is in the Orobanchaceae family dose it have a specific host plant?

Thanks John --i believe Euphrasia is now in Orobanchaceae,(although my old reference material says  Scrophulariaceae ). Damn !! :D -i have enough trouble trying to keep up with name changes at a lower level ...

There are some wonderful NZ sps with different coloured flowers and growth patterns ---i have not tried to grow them myself so can't offer you any personal experience in that regard however my observations in the wild are that most prefer wet spots --bogs ,banks of streams and tend to be in the company of small sedges,grasses and maybe are semi parasitic on those .

Interestingly i have somewhere in my photo library a pic of a plant in Fiordland growing on an exposed bank all by itself a metre or two away from any vegetation.
I suspect they could be grown/seed sown in a pot with any small grass .

Skulski wrote:

Thanks for the terrific postings, Dave!  Fabulous plants.  It seems such a different looking alpine terrain, as well, than what I am used to.  What sort of minimum temperature or zone rating would that area experience?  

The most amazing to me of the plants you posted is Psychrophila obtusa... incredible ratio of flower size to plant size!

Thanks Lori

This particular trip i've just posted was to a lower grassland mountain range .

I have managed to locate some facts and figures in relation to the mountain climate of that area --snow generally falls in early June and melts in early November.
Soil freezing may occur down to 50cm on exposed ridges where there is no snow cover.Air temp has been recorded as -18c.
Over a recorded 5 year period in summer the longest period without frost varied from 8 to 13 days....

Fiordland will be a different matter, more akin to what i see in your postings ,with a lot of rock ,screes and lofty peaks.

Cheers dave.

Thanks for the climate info, Dave.  How strange... an alpine area that is relatively warmer than ours (in terms of absolute lows), yet always so close to freezing, amazing!

After the wonderful plants and scenes in that area, we're all waiting eagerly to see Fiordland too!

Fiordland --part 1

It's been such a great year for flowering elsewhere down south here Fiordland didn't disappoint.

Although it's an early season with most snow gone ,a bit of rain the day before our arrival meant a wet start to the first valley we visited.

Parts of the valley floor had experienced recent avalanche damage--it was interesting to see how some plants had pushed up through the disturbed area.

Further along growths of Dracophyllum menziesii appeared .

As we reached the valley end and started to climb a number of Dolichoglottis sps were sighted.

As well as Haastia sinclarii var fulvida and Celmisia hectorii.

Cheers dave

Also on the lower slopes were numerous patches of Celmisia bonplandii--a side view showing it's long dark coloured flowering stalks.

In shady spots a larger Ourisia .O macrocarpa.

We climbed high to reach the bottom of the cliffs to locate Ranunculus hybrids between R buchananii and R. sericophyllus--unfortunately non were in bloom , however i sighted a nice grass ,(name forgotten for the moment :-\0.

Realizing our route over to Black Lake was a bit difficult we decided to drop down before crossing.

AT Black Lake were some gems .....

Aciphylla congesta.

Above the lake and some distance away, Anisotome capillifolia.
Luckily i was able to capture a decent pic by using the camera's 20x zoom function.

Celmisia verbascifolia.

Further on up towards the saddle in wet seepages, Ranunculus sericophyllus.

View from the top, Raoulia buchananii.

;D ;D ;D

Finally --on the way down on small rock rubble and short turf--Myosotis lyallii.

Although rain was forcast yesterday,we decided to visit the dryer east side of Fiordland .By the time moisture arrived at 5 pm my body was in automatic mode   ;) so it was a blessing in some ways to cut short our trip.

A few highlights --
In grassland a nice small Celmisia hybrid and Anisotome haastii.

Depleted vegetative areas, largish mats of Celmisia sessiliflora, Phyllachne colensii and Geum uniflorum.

Bogs have a community of their own --including the hard cushions of Donatia novae zelandiae. Yummy  :-*  how the flowers sit on the plant.

Final posting  :D

Following the stream, Aciphylla pinnatifida --in water and on slightly dryer banks.

Nearby Gentianella montana.

Around the tarns ,wonderful large clumps of Aciphylla crosby-smithii and a single plant of Ranunculus lyalli x R.buchananii.

On exposed ridges were hundreds of Brachyglottis bellidioides. This was a particularly nice form.

Our target was the extensive area of fellfield below the cliffs --here were some beauties. Including Ourisia remotifolia and Ranunculus buchananii.

I leave you with Ranunculus heaven. :-* :-* :-*

Cheers dave.