Bush-bashing and bogs: Botanical hunting in the North Island
In December 2017, Te Papa Botanist Heidi Meudt was on the hunt for some uncommon forget-me-nots in two very special places in the central North Island.Read more
2018-06-19
Hit rate high in high-country forget-me-not search
Field work is a key part of scientific research at Te Papa. Each year, Research Scientist Heidi Meudt spends about three weeks in the field collecting specimens for her taxonomic research on native New Zealand forget-me-nots (Myosotis). In January 2017, she travelled to three main areas in northern South Island (Cobb Valley,Read more
2017-09-25
Off the beaten track: fern-hunting in a snow damaged forest
Fieldwork can be as easy as reaching out of the car window to sample a tree. Or it can be a bit more challenging.Read more
2016-10-31
Te Papa botanical research at Otari-Wilton’s Bush
For many years, Te Papa botanists have included Otari-Wilton’s Bush collections in their research. Otari Native Botanic Garden and Wilton’s Bush Reserve is a special place in Wellington it’s “the only public botanic garden in New Zealand dedicated solely to native plants”. This makes it an important educational and research resourceRead more
2015-06-10
South Island botany field trip
In December 2014, three Te Papa Science Staff embarked on an 11 day field trip from Otago to North Canterbury.Read more
2015-05-11
Jetboat botany
I was recently fortunate to be jetboated up the Whanganui River to collect plants. I hadn’t been in a jetboat before, but more significant than the fun of that novelty, it was a wonderful opportunity to get into an area whose botany has been little studied. The Department of Conservation’sRead more
2013-12-17