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Aotearoa's variable vines

15/8/2013

1 Comment

 
Aotearoa, New Zealand is home to a diverse group of climbing plants called vines. Vines are plants that germinate and have roots in forest soil but, unlike trees and shrubs, cannot stand upright without support from other plants. 
Ripogonum scandens
One of our best known vines - kareao, supplejack, Ripogonum scandens. C. Kirby.
I use the term "variable vines" because our 25+ species exhibit many different lifestyle and morphological characteristics. We have vines that climb their hosts using: leaves, tendrils, hooks, stems or roots. We have vines that become woody while others are herbaceous. We have vines that reach top of the highest trees and become a dominant feature in the canopy while others only climb a few metres up the trunk of their host tree. We even have one vine species that taps into the stem of its host and takes resources to aid its own growth (Cassytha paniculata)!

When it comes to reproduction some vines have a few large showy flowers (e.g. Clematis species), some have many small and brightly coloured flowers (e.g. Metrosideros species) while others are very subtle (e.g. Muehlenbeckia species). Fruiting sees a range of colourful fruit (e.g. Passiflora tetrandra, Rubus species) plain wind-dispersed seeds (e.g. Metrosideros species) or tiny spores (e.g. Blechnum filiforme). The following provides a snap shot of some of this variety.
Climbing mechanisms:
Photos: C. Kirby
Flowering:
Photos: C. Kirby
Fruiting:
Photos: C. Kirby
1 Comment
ang wickham link
24/8/2013 05:56:53 pm

Very cool to see the sliding photos and info. A great summary on vines.

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    Catherine Kirby

    I work with NZ's native vascular epiphytes at the University of Waikato. I completed an MSc on epiphyte ecology and the shrub epiphyte Griselinia lucida and have recently published the Field Guide to NZ's Epiphytes, Vines & Mistletoes. 


    For me, the highlights of epiphyte research are the many unknowns, the amazing way that these plants survive in the canopy, and of course tree climbing!

    Subscribe to receive the weekly posts and join our facebook page to get interesting updates :)


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