Museums hold thousands of ‘things’ from all around the world. In larger institutions like Te Papa, the histories of these ‘things’, be they objects, specimens, artifacts or taonga, are not always known. As part of a new research project, Curator of Mātauranga Māori and Archaeology Dr Amber Aranui at TeRead more
A new paper entitled Wikidata for Botanists: Benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data has been published in the Annals of Botany. This publication is the result of a collaboration of four researchers (who are all also Wikidata editors) from three countries. Curator Botany Heidi Meudt talks about how did this unique international collaboration come about, and what does Wikidata have to do with Botany?Read more
Aotearoa New Zealand is a hot spot for forget-me-nots (genus Myosotis), with about 50 species found here and nowhere else. Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt teamed up with botanist Jessie Prebble from Manaaki Whenua, and Massey University scientists Jennifer Tate, Sofie Pearson, and Weixuan Ning to generate and analyse quite a bit of new genetic data to study the taxonomy and relationships of endemic forget-me-nots. Their new paper paints a complex yet compelling picture of how these species have evolved and radiated throughout the mountains of Aotearoa New Zealand, and makes an important contribution to their taxonomic revision.Read more
As Wikipedian in Residence at Te Papa, Siobhan Leachman researched the research expeditions the museum has undertaken since the Colonial Museum was founded in 1865. Siobhan and Digital Channels Outreach Manager Lucy Schrader show how sharing this information through the open linked data platform Wikidata has made it easier to learn about the expeditions and what they discovered.Read 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
Each year, several biology and ecology postgraduate students are co-supervised by Te Papa natural history researchers. One of these students, Weixuan Ning, has completed his PhD at Massey University in Plant Biology. His co-supervisors – Botany Curator Heidi Meudt and Associate Professor Jen Tate – talk about his time as a Massey and Te Papa student, and the mahi he has been involved in.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
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
The eleven researchers and crew on the Strannik 2023 Auckland Island Expedition journeyed to the Auckland Islands in January 2023 to undertake botanical field work over four weeks on the main Auckland Island. For Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt, this was her first ship-based field expedition, so many thingsRead 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
From the first botanical expeditions to the subantarctic islands in the mid-1800s through to the present day, botanists have been intrigued by the subantarctic flora. The plants in many of these islands are most similar to those in the Aotearoa New Zealand flora, but some of the large and colourfulRead 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
You cannot be much closer to extinction than the swamp helmet orchid (Corybas carsei), a tiny terrestrial orchid that is found in a single wetland in the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Fortunately, recently published studies, part of Te Papa/VUW student Jennifer Alderton-Moss’s thesis, are helping to understand how mycorrhizal fungi can be used to save one of our most threatened orchids. Jennifer Alderton-Moss and Botany Curator Carlos Lehnebach describe the work.Read more
