Canopy flora from Pureora

29/3/2015

Myself and the NZ Tree Project team are beavering away down in Pureora and I thought you might like to see some of the canopy flora around us.

Kohurangi (Brachyglottis kirkii var. kirkii) amongst moss. Photo: C. Kirby.

Tataramoa (Rubus cissoides) is very common with vines over 5cm thick in some places. Photo: C. Kirby.

Collospermum microspermum is abundant and in this fallen clump you can see Polyphlebium venosum growing in a thick carpet beneath the nest epiphyte. Photo: C. Kirby.

Hymenophyllum scabrum. Photo: C. Kirby.

These trees are very tall, hence the blurry-amount of zoom but if you look carefully you can see flowering raupeka (Earina autumnalis), nest epiphytes, papauma (Griselinia littoralis) and pekapeka (Winika cunninghamii). Photo: C. Kirby.

Notogrammitis species with stunning sori. Photo: C. Kirby.

3 Comments

Kirsty myron

31/3/2015 03:22:47 pm

Great photos!

Leon

29/4/2015 05:22:59 pm

I think the filmy fern in your 4th photo is Hymenophyllum scabrum - has bristly hairs on the stipe.

Catherine

6/5/2015 02:45:15 pm

Marvellous, I will make that correction!

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Subscribe to NZ Epiphyte Blog:

Like us on Facebook!

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 :)