Is your hen and chickens fern a fake?
Are you growing a hen & chickens fern at home? If so, chances are it’s a fake, unless you dug it out of the bush.Read more
Are you growing a hen & chickens fern at home? If so, chances are it’s a fake, unless you dug it out of the bush.Read more
Most hen & chickens ferns in cultivation are the false hen & chickens fern, Asplenium ×lucrosum, rather than Asplenium bulbiferum. The two are easily distinguished. Asplenium ×lucrosum is a sterile hybrid between Asplenium bulbiferum and Asplenium dimorphum. The “×” preceding “lucrosum” indicates it is a hybrid. The two parent speciesRead more
To the left is a war memorial that I discovered in Nelson. It is on the grounds of St Marys Catholic Church in Manuka Street. I don’t know anything about this memorial and it’s not listed on the register of war memorials on NZHistory.net.nz. Any information about it would be gratefully recieved. ItRead more
In February I was in Collingwood, a small town in Golden Bay at the top of the South Island. Like many towns and cities around New Zealand, Collingwood has war memorials dedicated to local men who died in both world wars. My grandfather, who was born in Collingwood, was only eightRead more
Black nightshade has been in the news recently, after its berries turned up masquerading as peas in packs of frozen vegetables.Read more
Te Papa has a strong collection of Colin McCahon’s early religious works, including three paintings from 1947 that depict events from story of the Passion: Christ taken from the cross, Entombment (after Titian), and King of the Jews. One of the enduring myths surrounding McCahon’s early paintings is that wereRead more
A three-metre giant squid specimen washed up on a beach on Wellington’s South Coast yesterday (2nd April).Read more
© Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa 2026