No, it is not Christmas already. (Fortunately the year hasn’t passed by that quickly.) But this pohutukawa on Wellington’s waterfront, opposite Frank Kitts Park, seems to think so. It has been spluttering into flower over the last few weeks. The pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) is New Zealand’s ‘Christmas tree’, its burstingRead 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
I am helping to organise the 2009 John Child Bryophyte Workshop. Bryophytes comprise mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. The Workshop also covers lichens, and it provides a great opportunity to learn more about these fascinating plants. Novices are welcome, with guidance provided for beginners. The workshop will be based at Pukeora Estate,Read more
Botany has recently acquired a unique collection: a special group of calcified red algae known as the corallines. Coralline algae are abundant and ubiquitous throughout the world’s oceans, playing very important roles in marine ecosystems. The encrusting, or crustose, species can form unusual lumpy, warty-looking layers in the intertidal, sometimesRead more
