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

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In: Behind the scenes, Science
A black and white photograph of the lower half of a person holding two handfuls of seaweed that are long strings of bobbles.

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

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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

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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

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A sepia photo of a woman in a swimming costume sitting on a wet sandy beach.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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We are saddened to hear of the recent death of New Zealand botanical illustrator and author, Audrey Eagle (1925–2022).  Eagle was a talented artist, writer and botanical collector, whose careful observation, skill and determination over many decades brought forth several books, each containing beautiful and botanically accurate illustrations and descriptionsRead more

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