A species of sedge hiding under our noses for over a hundred years has been revealed by Te Papa’s Science Researcher Lara Shepherd, Botany Curator Leon Perrie and the University of Auckland’s Marley Ford. Schoenus vacillans is a sedge described from Coromandel in 1878. However, botanists since 1906 have consideredRead more
As part of a summer research project, Lucia Adams from Botany and Annie Barnard from Art worked with Te Papa’s collection of Nancy Adams’ works. Annie and Lucia digitised botanical specimens that Adams collected, enriched catalogue records of her artworks and archival material, and did research and writing about her work and influence. They took a series of field trips to sites that were important in Nancy’s life and work. Here is the third and final in a series of blogs documenting these trips.Read more
Te Papa recently imaged its Miocene plant fossils and made the images available online. Amongst these are the tiny fossilised fruit of a coconut-like plant that grew in Aotearoa New Zealand millions of years ago. Natural history researcher Lara Shepherd discusses what we know (and don’t know) about these ‘mini-coconuts’.Read more
As part of a summer research project, Lucia Adams from Botany and Annie Barnard from Art are working with Te Papa’s collection of Nancy Adams’ works. Annie and Lucia are digitising botanical specimens that Nancy collected, enriching catalogue records of her artworks and archival material, and doing research and writing about her work and influence. They are taking a series of field trips to sites that were important in Nancy’s life and work, as well as interviewing people who were important in Nancy’s life.Read more
Polynesians arrived at and lived on Motu Maha Auckland Islands in the 13th or 14th century, but it wasn’t until 1806 that the first European ship reached the archipelago. Since then, several botanists have visited Motu Maha as part of scientific expeditions, increasing our understanding of the flora. In herRead more
Botanists and mycologists have collected and studied fungi from the subantarctic islands since 1840. However, there is still much to learn about the mycoflora of these islands. We were fortunate to have a mycologist, Toni Atkinson, on our research team as part of the Strannik 2023 Auckland Island Expedition. Learn more about some of the collections we made and research being done on the fungi of Motu Maha Auckland Islands.Read more
In the ninth blog in the series on the Strannik 2023 Auckland Island Expedition, Botany Curator Heidi Meudt interviews the two organisers behind it. Rodney Russ and Alex Fergus discuss their subantarctic experiences, including those on the expedition, and offer their insights, passion, and above all hope for the futureRead more
As part of a summer research project, Lucia Adams from Botany and Annie Barnard from Art are working with Te Papa’s collection of Nancy Adams’ works. Annie and Lucia will be digitising botanical specimens that Adams collected, enriching catalogue records of her artworks and archival material, and doing research and writing about her work and influence. They are taking a series of field trips to sites that were important in Nancy’s life and work. Here is the first in a series of blogs documenting these trips.Read more
As a botany curator, Heidi Meudt pays a lot of attention to plants, however, she is also curious about the other living things she sees when out in the field. When she was on Motu Maha Auckland Islands in January 2023, she tried to photograph as many of these non-plantRead more
In January 2023, Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt was one of a team of Aotearoa New Zealand botanists and crew who travelled to Motu Maha Auckland Islands to undertake botanical research and make new collections. Here, Heidi and Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Ecology Technician Alex Fergus describe some of the scientific collections and observations from the expedition.Read more
Meet the wonderfully spectacular Motu Maha Auckland Islands endemic species, Plantago aucklandica. Botany Curator Heidi Meudt explains why this plant was such a thrill to see in the field on the Strannik 2023 Auckland Island Expedition, how it differs from the other ten species of native New Zealand plantains, and why she thinks it deserves to be called a megaherb.Read more
In January 2023, Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt was one of a team of Aotearoa New Zealand botanists and crew who travelled to Motu Maha Auckland Islands to undertake botanical research and make new collections. Here, she provides an overview of Motu Maha Auckland Islands, how and why they travelled there, and an introduction to this blog series about their 2023 Strannik Auckland Island Expedition.Read more
Between November 2023 and March 2024, Natural History curator Colin Miskelly is walking the length of New Zealand – counting every bird seen or heard along the way. In this first blog of an intended series, Colin explains what the project is about.Read more
Three species of Aotearoa New Zealand forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae) have been described in a paper by Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt and her colleague, Jessie Prebble (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research). Each of these species is endemic to the South Island but has a restricted geographic distribution. Meet the new species below and find out how to recognise them in the field. All three species have also been beautifully illustrated by Bobbi Angell.Read more
Between November 2022 and February 2023, Te Papa Natural History interns Tobia Dale and Ben Carson assisted with the curation of three major donations of New Zealand frogs and lizards. In this third blog about their work, Tobia describes her attempt to track down the first evidence of a deadly fungus in Aotearoa New Zealand.Read more
