Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: David Lyttle on March 10, 2017, 07:53:28 AM
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I recently found myself in Queenstown with my wife, two of her sisters and their respective spouses plus my two daughters and their respective spouses. The circumstances were not particularly relevant to alpine gardening so I will not bore you with the details. I do not enjoy Queenstown and if it had been my choice I would have avoided setting foot in the place at all costs. (If you go there you know it is going to cost you generally a lot of money anyway). However I was able to spend a day on the Remarkables photographing the alpine vegetation. You can drive up to about 1600 m on the skifield road and gain further height on all the service roads and tracks that have been constructed there.
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Remarkables skifield. Ski base building and carpark is at the bottom left. The whole place has bee dug up and modified with roading and ski lifts but it is still possible to find patches of the original vegetation. Needless to say plants that thrive on disturbed sites are abundant.
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View of Lake Alta and Double Cone the highest point in the Remarkables. This part of the basin is relatively unmodified.
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Starting at about 1600 m Aciphylla aff horrida "lomondii" This an undescribed large speargrass found throughout the Wakatipu Basin and further west. In the high rainfall parts of Fiordland is is replaced by Aciphylla horrida and in the east by Aciphylla aurea.
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For those who prefer smaller, less aggresive speargrasses here is Aciphylla kirkii commonly found on the higher mountains of Central Otago
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At 1600 m this waterfall comes tumbling down the hill. It is not very big but the little creek it formed was lined with Dolichoglottis lyallii in full bloom.
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A close up of the plant.
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Not quite as spectacular but flourishing in the damp conditions Craspedia uniflora.
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Back under an overhanging boulder, Wahlenbergia albomarginata with Coprosm perpusilla.
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Nice to hear from you again, David. Again very nice pictures. Blue sky and no human masses. A perfect day. Craspedia uniflora I also find very beautiful.
Thank you for showing.
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Another plant at home in streambeds is Epilobium macropus
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This picture shows its flower which is fairly large for an Epilobium. Epilobiums are not good rock garden plants as they are inclined to be weedy and best appreciated in situ. They are also fairly challenging to identify - I avoided photographing them for years for this reason.
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A small creeping species Epilobium komarovianum in an alpine bog at 1700 m.
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Another species of Epilobium, perhaps E. tasmanicum but I am not entirely sure with a cudweed Euchiton traversii also in a bog at 1700 m.
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Montia sessiliflora once known as Claytonia australasica. I believe there are a number of species of Claytonia and Montia found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
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Fantastic...
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Hello Thomas,
I met up with a group of about 20 walkers, one of whom was an old friend. They disappeared off to wherever they were going leaving me alone for most of the day.
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That sounds really good. An old friend and still one has its peace. That would be for me. In such a great landscape one does not need anymore. Surrounded by beautiful plants. Perfect. :)
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On the way up I found this plant of Celmisia densiflora in flower.
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Clemisia densiflora is a common Celmisia in Otago and can form large patches at times.
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At 1700 m I found the button daisy Leptinella pectinata subsp villosa
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I stopped at 1800 m and spent some time photographing cushion plants.
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Cushion field with Celmisia sessiliflora.
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Cushion of Celmisia sessiliflora in flower.
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Another daisy, Brachyscome montana. Brachyscome is another problematic genus. However this particular species is easy to recognise.
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A cushion of Hectorella caespitosa.
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Close up of Hectorella caespitosa flowers.
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More cushions:
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Dracophyllum muscoides very abundant in these high alpine cushion fields.
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Kelleria childii; There are two cushion species of Kelleria C. childii and C. croizatii with eastern (dryer) and western (wetter) distributions respectively.
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flowers of Kelleria childii
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Very abundant and flowering in profusion Ourisia glandulosa
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Ourisia glandulosa en masse
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Something a bit more modest; the uncommon tiny sedge Carex berggrenii. This species is easy to grow and makes a good subject for a trough.
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Raoulia grandiflora - a widespread and common species but it does not like growing in a rock garden. I have never managed to keep it.
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A tiny mat-forming Coprosma, Coprosma niphophila. This and Coprosma perpusilla are almost impossible to distinguish unless they are in flower. The female flowers of Coprosma niphophila have two styles and those of C. perpusilla have four developing into berries with two seeds or four seeds respectively. Coprosma perpusilla is perhaps the more common of the two. C. niphophila is an alpine snowbank specialist hence its name.
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Raoulia grandiflora growing in a cushion of Phyllachne colensoi - cushion plants like company.
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A good-sized cushion of Phyllachne colensoi.
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Flowers of Phyllachne colensoi.
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I decided to continue on up to a saddle into Wye Creek. The saddle is at 1960 m and is gained via a steep scree slope that has very little vegetation growing on it.. However there are a few plants tucked in between the schist boulders.
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These cushions of Colobanthus had me puzzled for a while. I decided they are most likely to be Colobanthus buchananii though they are a bit different from the forms found at lower elevations.
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Growing with the Colobanthus was another Epilobium. I decided it was Epilobium porphyrium though I am not entirely certain I am correct. There are not many people around who are keen to identify Epilobiums.
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Just before I reached the saddle I found Haastia sinclairii, a high alpine scree specialist. It is one of my favourite plants though I have never attempted to grow it.
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You made great use of your trip, David! Superb photos of these plants - for which many thanks.
I think I am probably not alone in worrying that ski-fields tend to have an almost completely detrimental affect on a landscape so it is heartening to see the richness of diversity you show.
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David ... today I made my way to my friends from the Arctic Alpine Garden. I showed you the spectacular photos of your hike. They were speechless with enthusiasm.
They were in 2000 for three weeks on a botanical excursion on the South Island. And where you took the pictures they were. They still tell about it today. It was the most beautiful of their many botanical journeys.
I am supposed to send you best wishes from you on this way.
Thomas
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You made great use of your trip, David! Superb photos of these plants - for which many thanks.
I think I am probably not alone in worrying that ski-fields tend to have an almost completely detrimental affect on a landscape so it is heartening to see the richness of diversity you show.
Hi Maggi,
The head of the Rastus Burn where the skifield is is pretty much an industrial site. Massive swathes have been leveled as I presume skiers don't like skiing over rocks and tussocks especially as winter snow cover is decreasing due to climate change. The skifield operators have been required to translocate the tussocks they have dug up (apparently successfully) but they have caused a huge amount of disturbance to the cushion field vegetation in the process. However the upper basin of Wye Creek where the next series of photos were taken is untouched.
Hi Thomas
Thanks for your kind comments. More photos to come.
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I crossed the saddle into the upper basin of Wye Creek. It was fairly easy going down a gut filled with boulders. There was still a few patches of snow around.
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Looking back to the saddle between the Rastus Burn and Wye Creek from the head of Wye Creek. The site is more or less at the upper limit of vegetation and is covered in snow until late in the season. Next view is of Double Cone, the highest point in the Remakables.
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Double Cone. There is still some snow on the high ridges. The next three photos show the view down Wye Creek with the numerous small lakes and tarns there.
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The last photo shows the main ridge of the Hector Mountains which are the southern extension of the Remarkables and run down beside Lake Wakatipu to Kingston at it southern most point. During the last ice age the drainage was in this direction rather than from the Kawarau River drainin out of Frankton arm where is is today.
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There were numerous plants of Celmisia haastii still in flower. Celmisia haastii is a snowbank species and does not emerge and flower until the snow melts so it was a bonus to see it in early February.
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It is a stunningly attractive plant.
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From daisies I moved on to buttercups. There were several species present at the site
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First Ranunculus pachyrrhizus which had finished flowering. This is another snowbank species and is endemic to the higher ranges in Central Otago.
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Next Ranunculus royi which is a widespread alpine grassland buttercup in Otago.
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Last Ranunculus maculatus. When I first encountered this tiny buttercup there were no images or illustrations available to compare my observations with. However it is widespread and quite common but generally inconspicuous unless it is in flower. It is found in alpine bogs and snow melt seeps.
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Remarkable mountain scenery and plants from a most beautiful region, thanks for showing David. I particularly like the NZ cushion species; indeed these type of plants seem to enjoy the company, no matter of the continent.
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Back to daises
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A cushion of Abrotanella inconspicua in flower.
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The tiny button daisy Leptinella goyenii. This species is widespread in Otago on high exposed alpine sites.
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Leptinella pectinata subsp willcoxii. This is perhaps the most attractive of the three subspecies of Leptinella pectinata.
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and a tiny alpine plantain, Plantago lanigera shown here in flower.
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As was the case on the other side of the saddle in the Rastus Burn Ourisia glandulosa was everywhere.
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Usually it is difficult to get good photos of this species because of the wind but the day was calm.
And back to cushions;
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Raoulia hectorii var hectorii. It seems to have made an abortive attempt at flowering but they were most likely destroyed by a late snowfall. However there are still plenty of buds ready to open.
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On the exposed sites that do not get as much snow cover I found Aciphylla simplex.
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It was not in flower and is often found growing on rocky outcrops.
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Chionohebe thomsonii (now known as Veronica thomsonii) but I still think Chionohebe is a perfectly good name for this group of plants. Chionohebe thomsonii characteristically grows on ridge crests and other exposed sites.
and for all you lovers of forget-me-nots;
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the cushion species Myosotis pulvinaris which unfortunately has finished flowering. Still the cushions are attractive in their own right.
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Finally a few odds and ends;
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Euphrasia revoluta a tiny eyebright seen here in full flower.
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Luzula colensoi, a tiny woodrush. I did not see this until I reviewed my photos on screen.
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Phyllachne rubra seen here in flower.
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Schizeilema exiguum. Another plant you need to get down on hands and knees to see The taxonomists are proposing to transfer it to Azorella along with Stilbocarpa so we shall see what eventuates there.
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Kelleria childii which I photographed in the Rastus Burn earlier but it is such a nice plant I photographed it again when I found this one.
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David, the beauty of your images takes my breath away. Are the photos all by a day?
As it seems we have the same taste. Haastia sinclairii is also one of my favorites. I had seeds, but unfortunately no success. Haastia pulvinaris germinated a little. However, it is very difficult to keep such rarities alive. My little H. pulvinaris looks more like dead than alive.
Raoulia grandi is one of the four most beautiful Raoulia species. My friends of the Arctic Alpine Garden even had them in stock. But she too died. In your place, I would try to continue ... You have the possibility to get fresh seeds.
And Aciphylla simplex is for me the most beautiful Aciphylla species. I sowed some seeds this winter. However, I do not know how old they are. A few years ago I also had a small copy of Kelleria laxa ... also dead. >:(
I hope very much you can make many such beautiful walks and delight us with these great photos.
Best regards Thomas
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Yes Thomas - all the pictures were taken on the same day. The last ones I took were of the Dolichoglottis lyallii in the stream near the ski field carpark. By the end I was getting tired and losing my concentration. I find it is difficult to know when to stop as often in the evening the light gets better especially on bright sunny days. When the camera card is full or the light fails I go home so I am often the last to leave the mountain. I have added a couple of pictures of Scleranthus uniflorus taken late in the afternoon. It is not a high alpine plant but is common on dryer sites in Chionochloa tussock grassland.
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Thanks for sharing these David, a fabulous series of photos of beautiful plants. Makes me want to visit NZ and see it for myself.