Tag Archives: fieldwork

New Caledonia fern collecting

25 October 2012 – 2.46pm

I’m just back from three weeks collecting ferns in New Caledonia.

For a place so close to New Zealand (shorter flight time than to Australia), I knew very little about New Caledonia. I expect that is true for many New Zealanders, and it presumably reflects our very different cultures, not least being the language difference (French predominates in New Caledonia, and English* in New Zealand).

New Caledonia is not an independent country but a special collectivity of France. Nouméa, its largest city, is like a piece of France transplanted to the tropical Pacific. The original Melanesian character is perhaps most strongly retained in the (north-)east.

Wikipedia page on New Caledonia.

Wikipedia page on the indigenous Kanak people.

Some of Te Papa’s existing collections from New Caledonia.

We stayed in villages during some of our trip. Here at Bas Coulna, before we left to climb Mount Panié, we had a traditional-type hut. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Funded principally by a grant from the USA’s National Science Foundation, our collecting expedition was led by Matt von Konrat (Field Museum), Blanka Shaw (Duke University), and Louis Thouvenot, who was our guide and translator (none of the others in the expedition had been to New Caledonia before or spoke French, although Juan’s Spanish was useful on many occasions). The main goal was to collect Frullania liverworts, but we variously collected mosses, liverworts, and lichens – these are all small plants that are often neglected. I was invited along to collect ferns.

Interview with Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat programme about the expedition.

Blog post on similar expedition to Fiji in 2011.

The black stems, each only about 1 mm wide, of a Frullania liverwort creeping over a white lichen on the trunk of a mangrove tree. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

New Caledonia is home to about 270 ferns and lycophytes. That’s more than New Zealand, despite a land area less than 10%. About 35% of New Caledonia’s ferns and lycophytes are endemic (i.e., only found there), which is very high for a tropical Pacific island. However, the last comprehensive account is from 1969, and it is clear that much revision is needed. A reflection of this is that there are (at least) two species of new tree fern needing scientific description. During the three week expedition, I made 232 collections, of at least 160 different species. These include new species, new records for New Caledonia, and rediscoveries (species not recorded for a long time).

Te Papa’s updated checklist of Fiji’s ferns, which I hope to replicate for New Caledonia.

The Endemia website includes photos of many of New Caledonia’s ferns, and is an excellent photographic resource about New Caledonia’s biodiversity

In coming days I’ll post about some of the plants I saw, particularly, of course, the ferns.

Trip leader Matt von Konrat collecting Frullania liverworts up a mangrove. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Collecting near Tinou. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

All available space in our lodgings was often given over to drying specimens. Louis’s bed is somewhere under these paper packets. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

On our way to Mount Panié. We were fortunate to have horses carry our packs for the first part of the trek. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Maurice, one of our guides for Mount Panié, using a wreath of the fern Paesia rugosula to complement the shade of his cap. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Albeit clearly exhausted, here’s proof that I did make it to the summit of Mount Panié, New Caledonia’s highest point at 1629 m above sea level. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

The expedition couldn’t have been the success it was without the assistance of many, especially Louis Thouvenot, as well as the Nouméa herbarium, the government land managers, the Kanak land owners and guides, and our contacts at Dayu Biik, Conservation International, and Société Calédonienne d’Ornithologie.

* I can note that the so-called ‘English’ speech of the two (monolingual) New Zealanders was constantly belittled by the other members (all multilingual) of the expedition, none of whom spoke English as a first language. Matt and I weren’t sure what to make of this.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Biodiversity, Bryophytes, Ferns, Field trips, Pacific, Plants | Also tagged , , , | Comments (10)

Fieldwork in the Subantarctic Islands, a hundred years ago

6 July 2012 – 1.45pm

I’ve been enjoying our scientist’s fieldwork posts.  We have scientist’s photographs from several historic field trips in the photography collection.  My favourites are in this photo album from the 1907 Expedition to the Subantarctic Islands.  The Expedition was initiated by the Canterbury Philosophical Institute with support from the Government, and studied plants, animals, soils and marine life on the Auckland and Campbell Island groups, as well as a few outliers.

Dr Cockayne, botanist, inspecting native florae. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Dr Leonard Cockayne inspecting ‘Poa litorosa’. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Photo attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa.

 The islands were of real interest to scientists, as they wanted to compare the distribution of species with other parts of the world.  The famous British botanist Joseph Hooker had studied plants near the coast during the 1840s, but no one had looked inland or at some of the smaller islands.  

The Expedition party was made up entirely of New Zealand scientists such as botanist Leonard Cockayne.  There was also a cook, the crew of their transport ship Hinemoa, and a small crew for a whaleboat to ferry the scientists about.   

Scientific members & assistants of the Expedition. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Scientists and assistants of the Auckland Island party of the Expedition. November 1907. Front row: E R Waite, Doctors Cockayne, Benham and Farr. Middle row: G V Hudson, Captain Dorrien-Smith, H D Cook, B C Aston, J S Tennant, R Speight. Back row: S Page, A M Finlayson, G S Collyns, H B North. Photo attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

 

Whaleboat, used by Expedition, and crew in Carnley Harbour. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Whaleboat and crew in Carnley Harbour. November 1907. The head of the crew was Whaitiri, from Ruapuke Island. Photo attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

The Hinemoa left Bluff on 14 November 1907, and returned at the end of the month.  The scientists made the most of their time on the islands by splitting between the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island.  This photo album was put together by the cook to the Auckland Islands group, Mr W B North, and donated to Te Papa by North’s son years later. 

Magnetic survey tent, Auckland Islands. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Magnetic survey tent, Auckland Islands. November 1907. Photo attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

The expedition members were astounded to find a group of shipwrecked sailors on Auckland Island.  These men had survived the wreck of the barque Dundonald eight months before, and ate birds, seals and roots until they managed to reach the cache of emergency stores left by the Government.  Their story is an epic tale, so I’ll cover it in my next post.

Survivors of wreck of the barque "Dundonald". From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Survivors of wreck of the barque “Dundonald”. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Photo attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

The Expedition was a great success.   The scientists described a huge range of flora and fauna, and found a number of new species.  Some of the specimens they collected are now in Te Papa’s collection.  A detailed report was published in 1909 and was well received in the scientific world.  The trip was also covered by several newspapers – the Otago Witness did a two-page spread of photographs on Christmas Day, which includes some of the photos in this album.

Snares Island. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Snares Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Penguin rookery, Snares Islands. November 1907. Attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

Graphania erebia (Hudson, 1909); holotype; holotype of Melanchra erebia Hudson, 1909, collected 29 Nov 1907, Erebus Cove, Port Ross. Auckland Islands. New Zealand. Te Papa

One of the specimens collected during the Expedition. Graphania erebia (Hudson, 1909); holotype; holotype of Melanchra erebia Hudson, 1909, collected 29 Nov 1907, Erebus Cove, Port Ross. Te Papa

Sea Lion on shore of Enderby Island. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Sea Lion on shore of Enderby Island. November 1907. Attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

Views in Carnley Harbour. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Views in Carnley Harbour. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

Auckland Islands crab. From the album: [1907 Sub-Antarctic Expedition]; circa 1908; North, W. November 1907, Auckland Islands. Page, Samuel. Te Papa

Auckland Islands crab, November 1907. Attributed to Samuel Page. Te Papa

 

By Anita Hogan | Posted in Art, Biodiversity, Collections Online, Field trips, History, Photography | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Highlights from forget-me-not field trips from last summer

26 June 2012 – 9.58am

This year I went on several field trips to collect native forget-me-nots (genus Myosotis). With my research on native plantains now finished, my current research focus is now to figure out how many native species of forget-me-nots we have in New Zealand, revise their taxonomy, understand their evolutionary history, and amend their conservation status. Te Papa colleagues Jessie Prebble (see one of her blogs here) and Carlos Lehnebach are also collaborating on this project.

Field work (such as this trip to Taranaki in Nov 2011) is a key component of this work. And with wintry weather now keeping this botanist (and perhaps many of you!) mostly indoors, it’s the perfect time to put up a few photos and show you some of the highlights from these trips.

Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island, Nov 2011.

 With the collaboration of Department of Conservation botanists Jan Clayton-Greene and Cathy Jones, we found several different forget-me-not entities on the Chalk Range, including this one, which has been given the tag-name Myosotis aff. australis “white”.

Habitat of Myosotis aff. australis "white" in the Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island (WELT SP090551). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Habitat of Myosotis aff. australis “white” in the Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island (WELT SP090551). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Flowers of Myosotis aff. australis "white" from the Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island (WELT SP090551). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Flowers of Myosotis aff. australis “white” from the Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island (WELT SP090551). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

 

Myosotis aff. australis "white" in the Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island (WELT SP090551). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Myosotis aff. australis “white” in the Chalk Range, Marlborough, South Island (WELT SP090551). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Inland Hawkes Bay ranges, Dec 2011.

On this trip, I teamed up with Jessie Prebble, Mike Thorsen, and several landowners to search for forget-me-nots that had been previously collected in this area. Although we didn’t find all the ones we were hoping for, we did find some big populations of Myosotis spathulata, shown here.

Habitat of Myosotis spathulata, Hukanui Station, Hawke's Bay, North Island (WELT SP090628). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Habitat of Myosotis spathulata, Hukanui Station, Hawke’s Bay, North Island (WELT SP090628). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Flower of Myosotis spathulata, Hukanui Station, Hawke's Bay, North Island (WELT SP090628). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Flower of Myosotis spathulata, Hukanui Station, Hawke’s Bay, North Island (WELT SP090628). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Myosotis spathulata, Hukanui Station, Hawke's Bay, North Island (WELT SP090628). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Myosotis spathulata, Hukanui Station, Hawke’s Bay, North Island (WELT SP090628). Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Queenstown area, Otago, South Island, Feb 2012.

For this trip, Phil Garnock-Jones and local botanist Neill Simpson accompanied me on yet another forget-me-not field trip (we were also collecting speedwell hebes on this trip, which you can read about here). As you can see from all the photos on this page, the morphological diversity of the different species of forget-me-nots is truly astounding!

Myosotis pulvinaris, Shotover Saddle, Otago, South Island (WELT SP091594/A). This cushion plant was just past flowering. Just imagine what it would have looked like covered with flowers! Photo by Phil Garnock-Jones.

Myosotis pulvinaris, Shotover Saddle, Otago, South Island (WELT SP091594/A). This cushion plant was just past flowering. Just imagine what it would have looked like covered with flowers! Photo by Phil Garnock-Jones.

Myosotis macrantha, near Queenstown, Otago, South Island (WELT SP091596). Photo by Phil Garnock-Jones.

Myosotis macrantha, near Queenstown, Otago, South Island (WELT SP091596). Photo by Phil Garnock-Jones.

Here I am collecting Myosotis on a beautiful day on Coronet Peak, Otago, South Island.

Here I am collecting Myosotis on a beautiful day on Coronet Peak, Otago, South Island.

Next month I’ll be giving a talk at the Botany 2012 Conference on some of our recent forget-me-not research. I’ll show our latest results using DNA sequencing and DNA fingerprinting to look at how the different species of New Zealand Myosotis are related to one another. You can see the abstract here.

See some of Te Papa’s Myosotis collection here.

By Heidi Meudt | Posted in Field trips, forget-me-nots, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

West Coast Fern Fieldwork 2012, 2 – where we went

6 June 2012 – 3.39pm

During our fern fieldwork on the West Coast, we ranged from Stockton in the north to the Cascade Valley (south of Jackson Bay) in the south. We were mostly near the coast, with our most inland collecting site being near Reefton. These are some of the interesting places we visited.

Plover Stream Conservation Area near Stockton. At centre, in orange high-visibility clothing, are Solid Energy’s Michelly Carvalho and Te Papa’s Pat Brownsey. I haven’t done fieldwork in a hard-hat before! The ridge in the background is a mining area. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

  

Hills to the south of the Denniston plateau. Denniston is a hot spot for the ferns we were targeting. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Mike counting fronds (200+!) in a rock overhang at Denniston. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Pat at the cave entrance in the Charleston Conservation Area where we found the cave spleenwort, Asplenium cimmeriorum. Mike ventured about 30 m into this cave. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Wendy and Pat in pakihi wetland near Lake Kini, Bruce Bay. Wendy somehow kept her feet dry throughout the trip; I was frequently in water over my boots. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Tall forest of rimu and kahikatea enveloping State Highway 6, near Bruce Bay. South Westland has much similar scenery. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa. 

Forest reflected in the beautifully still waters of the Lake Ellery outlet to the Jackson River, south of Haast. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

The Cascade Valley, south of Haast, and close to the southern point on our trip. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Other blog posts about our West Coast fern fieldwork cover:

What we were doing.

Sticherus (umbrella ferns).

New, problematic, and interesting species.

Favourite photos. 

Animal miscellany.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Biodiversity, Ferns, Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , | Comments (10)

West Coast Fern Fieldwork 2012, 1 – what we were doing

5 June 2012 – 1.57pm

I’m just back from 10 days collecting ferns in the South Island’s West Coast.

From previous collections, we knew of several currently unrecognised species of fern that occur on the West Coast. We investigated these records, visiting the sites to collect more material for our studies and to assess the plants in the field, including gauging population sizes for conservation rankings. Most of the previous records were old and lacked detailed locality information. This meant they took a lot of re-finding, but we were successful in most cases.

Gleichenia ferns often grow entangled with one another and with other plants; hence their common name of tangle ferns. But our understanding of them is also in a tangle. Two or three species are currently recognised in New Zealand, but I think there are at least five. The picture is of a new species. It looks similar to the others from above, but very different when viewed from below. I hope to formally describe it in a year or so. Then I will be able to show you the differences. Our fieldwork significantly extended the known occurrences of this fern. Photo Leon Perrie. © Te Papa.

Some of these poorly known ferns are uncommon. While we found some to be more widespread than previously thought, others appear to be teetering on the cusp between the Department of Conservation’s rankings of ‘At Risk’ and ‘Threatened’.

We also collected specimens of several ‘problem’ fern species, whose boundaries are unclear. They need further study, including with genetic analyses, which our new collections will facilitate.

Altogether, we collected about 170 specimens. These will begin to appear on Te Papa’s Collections Online in the next few weeks. However, there are some that we won’t be able to confidently identify without a lot more work.

With me were: Patrick Brownsey, Te Papa Research Fellow; Wendy Hogg, RSNZ Primary Science Teacher Fellow; and Mike Gemmell, VUW postgraduate student.

Other blog posts about our West Coast fern fieldwork cover:

Where we went.

Sticherus (umbrella ferns).

New, problematic, and interesting species.

Favourite photos. 

Animal miscellany. 

Te Papa’s Collections Online.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Biodiversity, Ferns, Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (5)

Plant Hunt at Hokio, Levin

23 February 2012 – 8.39am

Te Papa Research Fellow Patrick Brownsey was recently contacted about a population near Levin of the very rare Ophioglossum petiolatum.

Ophioglossum are odd looking ferns, as befits a common name of “adder’s tongue ferns”.  We don’t have a picture of O. petiolatum (stalked adder’s tongue fern), but the related O. coriaceum is similar; O. petiolatum has a rounder leaf and a longer fertile spike than shown in the drawing below.

Ophioglossum coriaceum. Adams, Nancy. Purchased 2006. © Te Papa.

Ophioglossum petiolatum has a Nationally Critical conservation status in New Zealand.  More details and photos from the Plant Conservation Network.

Pat saw the Hokio population about 30 years ago, and wrote an article about it.  A local landowner wanted to know if the population still persisted.  Primary Science Teacher Fellow Wendy Hogg and I joined Pat for the hunt, but we were unsuccessful.  The area is much changed, and it seems unlikely (but not impossible) that O. petiolatum survives near Levin.  1985 article about Ophioglossum petiolatum at Hokio (2.3 MB pdf).

However, we did find the unusual, floating liverwort Ricciocarpos natans.  Although only a centimetre or two across, it is very distinctive.  It has a Nationally Endangered conservation status, but it is probably under-collected, and may be more common than appreciated.  Please look out for it amongst the “duckweed” on your local ponds!

The floating liverwort Ricciocarpos natans. Here it is ‘beach-cast’ in mud, along with Azolla rubra (a floating fern; the red plant in the lower-right corner) and Lemna duckweed (the small green ovals). Photo Leon Perrie, © Te Papa.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Bryophytes, Ferns, Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Rare success – rediscovery of several bryophyte species

19 December 2011 – 11.54am

Te Papa’s botanists made several significant finds during their explorations accompanying the recent Bryophyte and Lichen Workshop.

Led by Research Associate Peter Beveridge and Research Fellow Patrick Brownsey, the moss Dicranoweisia spenceri was found in some abundance at the site we investigated within Tongariro National Park.  This is great news because this is only the second known living population of Dicranoweisia spenceri, after its recent rediscovery at Arthur’s Pass by Landcare Research’s Allan Fife.  More sites around Tongariro National Park now need to be searched for Dicranoweisia spenceri to determine how widespread it is there.

The moss Dicranoweisia spenceri on a branch of a beech tree, Tongariro area. Photo Leon Perrie, © Te Papa.

Close-up image of Dicranoweisia spenceri.

Interestingly, Peter realised the importance of some of his collected* specimens only after we had returned home and he examined them with a microscope – the moss Hampeella pallens from the Bay of Plenty and an undescribed species of Lopholejeunea liverwort near Mahia.  In addition to a 1983 record from the Kaimai Ranges, Hampeella pallens was known from the Bay of Plenty but without a precise locality.  It has a current threat classification of Nationally Critical, one step above Extinct.

It is indicative of the challenges that these tiny plants present that we did not recognise the Hampeella pallens and Lopholejeunea in the field.  Bryophyte identification can take considerable skill and often necessitates microscopic examination.  One of the goals of the annual Bryophyte and Lichen Workshop is to share and develop those skills.

Previous blogs on the Workshop: 2009, 2010.

The liverwort Petalophyllum preissii (centre), Kaikoura. It is similar to Petalophyllum hodgsoniae, which we looked for unsuccessfully in Morere Springs Reserve. Photo David Glenny, © Landcare Research.

We also had some search failures.  We didn’t find the distinctive Petalophyllum hodgsoniae, a liverwort that looks a bit like a fingernail-sized lettuce.  It is known from a single 1947 collection, and is regarded as Nationally Critical.  Visitors to the forest behind the thermal pools at Morere, near Mahia, might keep an eye out for it during spring and early summer.

Our observations, be they positive or negative, provide data for the Department of Conservation sponsored Bryophyte Expert Panel to re-assess the Threat Classification of New Zealand’s bryophytes.

The 2010 evaluation of the threat status for New Zealand’s mosses and liverworts.

More about how Te Papa’s botanists contribute to plant conservation.

We also looked for a Porella liverwort known from a mid-twentieth century record on the coast at Whakamahi near Wairoa.  Unfortunately the area is now devoid of native forest, so there wasn’t much to search.  Many mosses and liverworts have specific habitats.  If the habitats are destroyed, so too are the inhabitants.  Which is why accurately documenting the distribution of New Zealand’s biota, no matter how small the plant or animal, is so important – surely we do not want to inadvertently consign more species to extinction. 

Thanks to Allan Fife and David Glenny, bryologists at Landcare Research’s herbarium at Lincoln, for their expertise and support.

* made under a Department of Conservation permit.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

How Te Papa contributes to plant conservation

20 November 2011 – 4.13pm

In the next two weeks, some of Te Papa’s Botany staff will be looking for several poorly known mosses and liverworts.

For instance, the moss Dicranoweisia spenceri was recorded more than 60 years ago from near Mount Ruapehu but it hasn’t been reported from there since – is it still there? We’re going to check.

A specimen of the moss Dicranoweisia spenceri in Te Papa’s collection. This species has a conservation ranking of “Data deficient”; that is, not enough is known about its occurrence to classify the level of threat it faces. © Te Papa.

Conservation managers need to know what is rare and what is not. It allows them to prioritise (increasingly) stretched resources to those plants and animals at most risk of extinction.

New Zealand’s herbaria (collections of dried plant specimens) collectively have over one million specimens (Te Papa has c. 250000). These collections voucher, or provide physical proof, of what plants are in New Zealand, what they look like, and where they occur. Many species occur commonly and over large areas, but many others are only known from a few sites, placing them at risk of extinction.

Te Papa’s botany collection.

New Zealand Virtual Herbarium – an aggregate database of NZ’s herbaria.

One million specimens sounds a lot. But there’s still huge gaps in the documentation of New Zealand’s native plants (not to mention adventive and cultivated plants).

Mosses and liverworts pose a particular challenge. They’re small and underappreciated, and there’s far fewer people capable of identifying them compared with bigger plants.

What are mosses and liverworts?

There are about 520 mosses and 600 liverwort species in New Zealand. Yet in the recent threat evaluation of these groups, 135 taxa/entities are listed as “Data Deficient”. That is, not enough is known about them to even rate how threatened they are.

The 2010 evaluation of the threat status for New Zealand’s mosses and liverworts.

Which is why the Bryophyte and Lichen Workshop is so important. This is an annual gathering of people – amateurs and professionals, beginners and experts – interested in mosses, liverworts, and lichens. This year the Workshop is based in Matawai, between Opotiki and Gisborne. Three staff and a Research Associate from Te Papa are taking part. There’s very few previous records of mosses and liverworts from the Matawai area, so we’ll be collecting a specimen of every species we find, including common species. But we’ll have a close eye out for those regarded as Data Deficient, both during the Workshop and at targeted sites during our travel there and back.

I’ll let you know what we turn up.

Previous blogs on the Workshop: 2009, 2010.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

The hunt for the smallest forget-me-not in the world

16 November 2011 – 9.07am

Spring is in the air, and for botanists like myself that means it’s time to head out into the field to try to find and collect plant specimens for our research. This year, like last year, I will be going to specific places around the country to look for different species of native New Zealand forget-me-nots.  Last year I collected this forget-me-not in coastal Taranaki:

Myosotis petiolata var. pansa from the northern Taranaki coast, which we found and collected in Dec 2010 for my taxonomic research on New Zealand forget-me-nots. Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Myosotis petiolata var. pansa from the northern Taranaki coast, which we found and collected in Dec 2010 for my taxonomic research on New Zealand forget-me-nots. Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

The first week of October, Jessie Prebble and I returned to coastal Taranaki on our first foray of the field season. We knew from studying previous collections from Te Papa’s herbarium and other New Zealand herbaria that we should find at least two other species there: Myosotis brevis and Myosotis pygmaea.

We planned to visit about eight different sites over two days. Because both species are very small in size, we spent a lot of time at each site searching on hands and knees trying to find them. But I don’t think we realized just how small they are until we finally found Myosotis brevis at the third site we visited. Check it out: the entire plant can fit on your fingernail!

How many forget-me-nots can you see in this photo? Myosotis brevis from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Heidi Meudt, © Te Papa.

How many forget-me-nots can you see in this photo? Myosotis brevis from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Heidi Meudt, © Te Papa.

Close-up of two Myosotis brevis plants showing green-leaved and brown-leaved forms from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Jessie Prebble, © Te Papa.

Close-up of two Myosotis brevis plants showing green-leaved and brown-leaved forms from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Jessie Prebble, © Te Papa.

At another site we found Myosotis pygmaea, which although still small, seemed like a giant compared to M. brevis!

Myosotis pygmaea from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Jessie Prebble, © Te Papa.

Myosotis pygmaea from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Jessie Prebble, © Te Papa.

And here is a close-up:

Close-up of Myosotis pygmaea from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Heidi Meudt, © Te Papa.

Close-up of Myosotis pygmaea from coastal Taranaki, Oct 2011. Photo by Heidi Meudt, © Te Papa.

Collaboration was instrumental in finding these plants.  So far, we’ve been fortunate that private landowners and iwi have allowed access to most sites we want to visit, and that other colleagues, local enthusiasts and Department of Conservation staff were willing to share their knowledge and accompany us on our plant hunt.

Our plant-hunting crew, finding Myosotis brevis on the Taranaki coast, North Island, New Zealand. Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Our plant-hunting crew, finding Myosotis brevis on the Taranaki coast, North Island, New Zealand. Photo by Heidi Meudt, copyright Te Papa.

Since our Taranaki trip, we’ve also found Myosotis brevis at two other North Island locations in November: near Cape Palliser (Wairarapa), and also Te Ikaamaru Bay (see Phil Garnock-Jones’ blog about that trip). But I hope I’m not giving you the impression that forget-me-nots are easy to find! Our experience so far shows that, on average we’re finding Myosotis in only about half of the known sites where it’s been collected before.

This field work is an important first step to gather the necessary samples to perform genetic and morphological analyses on native forget-me-nots. Continued collaboration and information-sharing will be essential to update the taxonomy and conservation strategies of these plants.

By Heidi Meudt | Posted in Field trips, forget-me-nots, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (6)

Up the volcano: Fiji ferns II

20 September 2011 – 3.41pm

A highlight of our Fijian expedition was a trip to Kadavu, a medium-sized island south of Viti Levu. 

Kadavu is a priority for Conservation International.  Four species of bird occur there and nowhere else in the world.  However, little is known of Kadavu’s bryophytes, lichens, and ferns, and it was our job to find out.

Delainabukelevu rising above Nabukelevu-ira village. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

While on Kadavu, Ratu Kaminieli Nabalarua (“Tuka”) looked after us very well, taking us to botanically interesting places and keeping us culturally in line (including monitoring our kava intake).

We did some collecting around the capital Vunisea in the middle of the island, but our focus was the Delainabukelevu (or Nabukelevu or Mount Washington) volcano at the western tip of Kadavu.

Ascending a lower flank of Delanibukelevu, through a plantation of dalo (taro) and kava. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

Delainabukelevu is just over 800 metres high.  Its summit is often shrouded, producing wet and shaded cloud-forest habitat ideal for bryophytes and ferns!  We spent a day climbing up and down the steep sides, with a few hours collecting at and around the summit.  These collections will take some time to process, but they appeared very interesting.

Abel, our lead guide from Nabukelevu-ira, at the Delainabukelevu summit. To his right is David, another guide, who used Fiji’s superior (to NZ) mobile phone network to stay connected throughout the ascent. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

A few of Matt Renner’s (Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney) collections from the summit. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

Processing specimens from Delainabukelevu, Matt von Konrat (right, Field Museum) indicates to Matt Renner that he has five great discoveries from the volcano climb. Lars (behind) keeps the seat occupied, and contemplates where the next kava will come from. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

We were kindly and warmly accommodated for two nights/three days by the nearby village of Nabukelevu-ira.  Not only did they feed us extremely well, we were entertained by song and traditional dance, and we watched the All Blacks dispatch the Tongans at the Rugby World Cup!  (Kadavu is known within Fiji as ‘little New Zealand’, I think because of the black uniforms used during sporting events, but not all of the locals were backing the All Blacks.)

Farewell from Nabukelevu-ira. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

Kadavu is famous for its kava, and generous partaking in this social ritual was entailed, particularly for the younger, male members of our group.

Mixed plantation of dalo (taro) and kava, Nabukelevu-ira. Photo Leon Perrie, Te Papa.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Ferns, Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , , , | Comments (5)
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