Sunday 19 June 2011

A walk in the Waitakere Ranges


For a Wellingtonian, it's amazing to get into the forest in the north of New Zealand where there's much more diversity.  This post is just a set of photos from a nice afternoon walk.  Many familiar plants are here of course, but some have larger leaves or other small quantitative differences.
A small kauri, Agathis australis, about 2m dbh.
On the ridges, the dominant tree is kauri, Agathis australis.  There are other conifers too, totara (Podocarpus totara), rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum), and kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides).
Leucopogon fasciculatus, (Ericaceae)

Metrosideros perforata (Myrtaceae)

New Zealand's only palm, Rhopalostylis sapida, is common in the understory.
Tree ferns are common in the understory too.
Umbrella moss
Veronica macrocarpa, a northern hebe

Seedlings of kahikatea, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides.
A small pukatea, Laurelia novae-zelandiae.
Pukatea has spreading buttress roots that help support the tree in its swampy habitats.

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