Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: kiwi on November 20, 2011, 08:58:12 AM
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Mt Cook National Park, great trip, good company, bloody sore legs!
Sealy Tarns with Mt Cook at rear.
Steve and Hugh discuss mission objectives.
Viola cunninghamii.
Ranunculus lyallii.
Ian - you picked the right year for your visit last Spring, not a good flowering season so far.
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Now thats what we call a rock!
Myosotis uniflora.
The Tasman Valley.
Pimelea prostrata?
Pimelea oreophila? Please can someone confirm ID.
Steve giving us a super human seed cleaning demonstration - a few beers later....
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Myosotis pulvinaris
Ranunculus species. (ID please.)
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Hi Doug, WOW, super pictures and it looks like you had clear skies a bit more snow around than when we visited, did you photograph Mr Newall in Jail? at least I see a beer bottle good one, cheers Ian.
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Gidday Ian, it was commented that we need to get you back up there so mother nature will give us a better selection of flowers.
Steve and Hugh were toasting the Single Malts in your honor.
Had a great weekend, Dave was up to his tricks as usual and no one broke any bones or lost limbs.....
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Hello Doug,
Looks like you all had a good trip - I was meant to be at Lake Roe this past week (in place of Mr Newall) but the weather decided it was not to be!
Cannot tell what species your Pimelea is from the photos if the leaves do not have any hairs it is Pimelea prostrata if hairs are present it is probably Pimelea oreophila - I am still struggling to come to terms with the most recent revision of the genus.
The Ranunculus is Ranunculus multiscapus - very easy with its elongated slender black flower stems.
Surely you mean Pimelea pulvinaris not Myosotis pulvinaris. The Tasman Myosotis uniflora is very white compared with the golden-flowered plants on Pisa flats.
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Correction:
Pimelea pulvinaris = Pimelea sericeovillosa subsp. pulvinaris according to the most recent revision
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Thanks a lot for sharing such wonderful pics :)
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Crikey, thanks David for that correction.
That will teach me posting half asleep!
I stopped off especially in the Tekapo Reserve to find the Pimelea pulvinaris after Dave and Steve found some inferior plants in Tarris. (stir… stir…)
What a stunning plant, and growing in the most inhospitable environment!
Cheers for the ID’s.
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I know what I need, a long holiday and a long hike in the mountains of New Zealand!
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Wonderful pictures Doug and it's easy to see why the uninitiated call Ran. lyallii the Mt Cook "lily." That buttercup, taken in that habitat, epitomises the beauty on the NZ flora. You will have noticed the strong and delicious honey fragrance of Myosotis uniflora.
Who is that heavily pregnant person in your second picture? ;D ;D ;D
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I know what I need, a long holiday and a long hike in the mountains of New Zealand!
...and we would all gladly show you around but we may need a week or two to recover from this weekend
Hello Doug,
Looks like you all had a good trip - I was meant to be at Lake Roe this past week (in place of Mr Newall) but the weather decided it was not to be!
Shame about that David . Looks like we may have to put that trip on the SPAT agenda for next December
The thyme festival was on last week in Alexandra and there were plenty still flowering near Cromwell ( as well as Centranthus )
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Some pictures of Pimelea pulvinaris inferioranus from Tarras
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Accommodation for the weekend was the luxurious Chateau d'ferintosh . We even had a diesel generator for electricity and a tele !!!
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The track up to Sealy Tarns is quite interesting and involves a lot of up but not a lot of forward . The hermitage at Mt.Cook village can be seen in the valley on the right hand side . The track goes back down the ridge between the camera and the hermitage then gets steeper out of view
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And Lesley, the heavily pregnant person in the second picture is at eight months and ultrasound shows that he will be giving birth to a healthy 5kg block of dairy milk chocolate
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I know what I need, a long holiday and a long hike in the mountains of New Zealand!
...and we would all gladly show you around but we may need a week or two to recover from this weekend
Thank you, jandals, I shall remember that! However you can rest safely for a year at least- I have no spare holidays left this year ;)
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Dave managed to call in a couple of keas . I think the male kea must have recognised Dave as a possible threat and did the swoopy swoopy thing over his head . They then proceeded to heartily attack a defenceless Phyllachne colensoi ...
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...gave me the beady eye ...
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...and showed me their can opener beaks , which double as sleeping bag shredders ( see NZ Oct field trips )
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Mt.Cook lilies were not flowering as well as last year , but there were still one or two
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On Sunday , Hugh , Dave and I went for a bit of a stroll up another hill , this time on Glentanner Station . The weather had deteriorated and it was very windy but still mainly dry even though it was raining heavily at Mt.Cook , just a few kms away . A few years back I found a patch of Ranunculus crithmifolius growing on a scree with Ranunclus lyallii growing nearby . There were no flowers about that trip and I have always wanted to return during the flowering season to see if there were any hybrids of this unlikely combination . They do flower at the same time but I didn't see any this trip . However I did get a consolation prize of Ranunculus critmifolius x enysii
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There were plenty of Ranunculus crithmifolius flowering but I didn't hang around because the wind was getting worse and there were showers about . On the way back down the wind blew my beanie off ( fairly impressive ) and I had to retrieve it 150m down the hill . One of the advantages of being permanently pregnant is I tend to leave the ground less often on days like this
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Introduced weeds are also of interest to me . My last 2 pictures are of Hieracium pilosella near Twizel
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And Lesley, the heavily pregnant person in the second picture is at eight months and ultrasound shows that he will be giving birth to a healthy 5kg block of dairy milk chocolate
He must be like one of the Greek gods - can't remember which - who consumed his children as they were born. ;D
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Lesley, like Steve, I too run a twin six pack, but we both managed to walk 13 hours solid on Saturday. :)
Steve, I bow down to your Pimelea sericeovillosa subsp. pulvinaris, I saw none as good as that one!!!
Good work on the hybrid guys. ;)
On the way home I dropped in on legendary alpine grower 'Margret Pringle'.
She always has some interesting things growing in her garden.
Collections of Carmichaelia, Astelia, Dracophyllum and Clematis species.
Flowering at the moment....
Celmisia hookeri.
Dracophyllum recurvum.
Bulbinella angustifolia.
Hebe ochracea 'James Stirling'
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Looks like you all had a good trip - I was meant to be at Lake Roe this past week (in place of Mr Newall) but the weather decided it was not to be!
The Tasman Myosotis uniflora is very white compared with the golden-flowered plants on Pisa flats.
In some ways I'm pleased to hear you didn't go David --While i was driving up with Steve Friday lunch time i remarked i wouldn't liked to have been in Fiordland.
I'm not sure whether the yellow of the Myosotis uniflora flowers fade as a result of the blooms going over or when they are fertilised ?.....
Dave managed to call in a couple of keas . I think the male kea must have recognised Dave as a possible threat and did the swoopy swoopy thing over his head .
Yeah both birds swooped aggressively and screeched numerous times-- first time I've had that happen ....
The gang ---from left Steve, Hugh, Doug and Robbie and you can just make out the point of interest,(the Keas), to the left of Steve .
Bird with a view.
Shot taken from the Sealy Tarns of the Hooker Valley and Aorangi ,(Mt Cook), and our tramp in the afternoon .We travelled over the Hooker River (marked with a cross on the right of the pic), around behind ,then on top of the eroded ridge ,(marked with a star on the left of the pic) and searched for Ranunculus godleyanus ,(without success ),near the thin snow patches ,(just above the marked star).
The view from that side with Doug on the eroded ridge looking down into terminal of the Mueller Glacier...
Some more birds --a pair of Paradise ducks.
A local ....
More to come
Cheers Dave
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Having some difficulty with my pics ....
It's sorted now so i'll carry on .
:-\ Aw thats right ;) there were a few plants ;D ......Here are some of the smaller beauties althought Doug I'm tempted to show my Pimelea pulvinaris inferioranus as well, but i'll go easy on you bud.... ;D ;D..
A couple of Raoulia shots .
The tight buds ,(not yet open),of Leptinella squalida creeping along gravel where there's little competition.
Also thereabouts is Muehlenbeckia axillaris --and close up.
Finally -Kelleria dieffenbachii
Cheers Dave.
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Nice to see both the Tarras and Tekapo plants of Pimelea sericovillosa subsp pulvinaris.
I went to Akatore Creek on Saturday. Akatore is south of Dunedin and there is a little scrap of forest on a very steep scarp wher the creek enters the sea. There is a wonderful collection of divaricating shrubs on the edge of the estaury ie several Coprosmas including Coprosma obconica, Melicope simplex, Raukaua anomalus, Melicytus flexuosus Helichrysum lanceolatum, Myrsine divaricata to name a few. There are a number of uncommon plants on the coast where it is quite exposed including Myosotis pygamea and Lepidium tenuicaule. Not as spectacular as the alpine herbfields but interesting none the less.
1. Looking seawards with flowering Cordyline australis
2.Akatore forest remnant. Farmland comes down to the edge of the scarp on right of picture.
Some shore plants
3. Apium prostratum (same species as I posted on the October thread growing inland at Alexandra)
4. Crassula moschata (This is a particularly healthy specimen as it is growing just below a gull's nest)
5, 6 Disphyma australe This grows in very exposed situations just above high tide mark.
7. Shore cress Lepidium tenuicaule - related to Lepidium oleraceum
8 Leptinella dioica, very common in coastal turfs.
9 Myosotis pygamea a small annual forget-me not (similar to inland Myosotis brevis also in the October thread) The plant beside it is Colobanthus muelleri
10. The find of the day Pimelea prostrata subsp. prostrata. These coastal Pimeleas are difficult to identify and the recent revision the genus has not exactly clarified the situation. The plant was growing on an exposed rock outcrop that would have been an island at high tide.
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Dave,
I am happy I was not in Fiordland this past week as well. Eroded ridge = bloody big glacial moraine ie pile of stones dropped by melting glacier! Exciting places with large boulders tumbling down the sides on to the unwary.
I messed up my last posting
1. Lepidium tenuicaule
2. For Cliff, Ranunculus acaulis (small but perfectly formed)
3. A small greenhood orchid Pterostylis sp (not from Akatore)
4 Studio shot of flower of Melicytus flexuosus (cultivated plant ex Wainakaurua)
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TWINS Doug! Golly!
Great shots boys. Keep up the good work. Hope the summer provides lots of opportunities for similar trips. Thanks for the plants and the pictures. :D
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Many thanks lads ... especially for the lovely little R. acaulis.
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Stunning pictures everyone !! Superb !
Thanks for showing !
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Thank you gents for the superb pictures such great adventures you have, how do you manage? do you ever get any work done? and does your wives throw you out at weekends? probably like mine glad to get some peace when you are away, cheers Ian the Christie kind.
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Every time I see these superb pictures of the N.Z. Flora I get even more impressed by the great diversity.
And of course by these great landscapes. Thanks for showing!
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Fantastic pic's, takes for sharing them with us, in this cold and wet Scotland :)!
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A few shots I missed from last weekend at Mt Cook...
Lycopodium Species ( I think Australianum but possibly fastigatum?) Very unusual but delicious.
Gingidium montanum
Celmisia semicordata - stunning even without flowers.
We arrived at the first bridge to these signs and were gutted. Dave gazed across the lake then went down to the men at work and explained that if we couldn't cross we were going to swim across the glacier river mouth. Lucky for us they they were not in the mood to resuscitate 5 men, and let us pass over.
Good on ya Dave.
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Julia, I have just taken note of your Avatar picture. Is it a partially erected tent or is it a truly, fabulously, stunningly magnificent plant of Rheum nobile? If the latter, can you show the plant somewhere where it can be enlarged please? (the picture I mean; to enlarge the plant would make a tree of it!)
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Julia, I have just taken note of your Avatar picture. Is it a partially erected tent or is it a truly, fabulously, stunningly magnificent plant of Rheum nobile? If the latter, can you show the plant somewhere where it can be enlarged please? (the picture I mean; to enlarge the plant would make a tree of it!)
Lesley, had you considered the possibility that Julia is only eighteen inches tall?
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Well yes, this is possible of course but I'm sure Maggi would have mentioned it somewhere. Previous pictures of Julia suggest she is almost as high as a truly, fabulously, stunningly magnificent plant of Rheum nobile, or even of a a partially erected tent. ;D
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Happy to confirm that Julia is indeed the height of a partially erected tent.
She showed us some super pictures of the Rheum in her recent talks.... and there is a Rheum of , I think, even greater height, in the IRG of June 2010 #6 ;)
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Happy to confirm that Julia is indeed the height of a partially erected tent.
... but, purely for accuracy you understand, is this a one-manner, a three-manner or a small marquee? ;D
... perhaps that's a little intent?
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Cliff! :o I couldn't possibly comment about how many men Julia may, or may not have in her tent.... besides, I don't know! :-\
Jools, PLEASE, forgive me.... I couldn't resist it!
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Thanks Maggi !!
I've been out of the office for a few days and just come back to all of this.
:) >:( :)
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Ooops!
Will I be safe when I next see you, Jools, or will I be getting a clip round the ear?
:-* :-*
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I must get out more! The scenery is stunning, but I've yet to reach the South Island! The last long walk I went on was was the old railway between Doune and Dunblane back in September. I'd been meaning to do since moving to Dunblane in 1976! :-[ I got about 2 miles along and came across a sign that said "track closed due to erection of high tension cables". Admittedly I had passed a few hard wood telegraph poles waiting to be 'planted'. The thing is, I was halfway along the track. Should I walk back or continue? ??? I continued! ;D
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Before Cliff gets too distracted by the relationship of Julia's height to a rhubarb I will post this little buttercup I photographed last Tuesday
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Hi David, Thanks for posting another lovely picture from NZ. Looking forward to your next trip. :)
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Before Cliff gets too distracted by the relationship of Julia's height to a rhubarb I will post this little buttercup I photographed last Tuesday
It's a rheum do to be sure, David! ;D
Apologies to dear Julia for not sticking to the guide ropes rules!
BEAUTIFUL buttercup, David ... you certainly know how to keep an old man happy! ;D
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Yes, far more elegant than the British variety, growing at the edge of our lawn, that my tortoise like to eat.
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Hello Julia,
Not sure how you came to be mixed up in this. Dave Toole was very complimentary about the Explorers Garden.
Hi Cliff and Anthony,
It really is a fairly modest example of Ranunculus insignis 'monroi '. It was taken at Black Birch in the Awatere Valley, Marlbourgh. I saw a few more plants on the day as well as some more buttercups despite it being very misty which later in the day turned to mist of the Scottish variety as well as becoming colder.
1. A tiny speargrass, Aciphylla monroi.
2,3 Anisotome imbricata subsp prostrata differs from the Central Otago subspecies Anisotome imbricata subsp imbricata being less hairy.
4, 5, 6 Chionohebe pulvinaris Again different from the widespread Central Otago species Chionohebe thomsonii.
7. Kelleria villosa var villosa (or it could be Kelleria dieffenbachii).
8. Raoulia bryoides showing cushion.
9. Raoulia bryoides showing details of foliage.
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A few more assorted alpines
1. A tiny sedge, Luzula pumila.
2. Leucopogon fraseri dwarfed at this altitude.
3. Celmisia laricifolia not yet flowering.
4. The tiny fern, Grammitis poeppigiana.
Hold on to your socks Cliff, there were buttercups everywhere. It was hard not to get them in the viewfinder. The species is Ranunculus insignis. It is the eastern hairy-leaved form and corresponds to Ranunculus monroi.
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The next plant is the famous vegetable sheep Haastia pulvinaris. These speciemens were fairly small for this species; not quite sheep-size but stunningly attrative withthe water condensing on the foliage. (probably not a recommended horticultural pratise but it is how they grow in nature)
1. group of cushions in the mist
2.single cushion.
3. another cushion with a cushion of Celmisia sessiliflora in the background
4. detail of cushion.
5, 6 more details of cushion
7. cushion with Leucopogon fraseri
8. close up of individual rosettes with last seasons spent flowers and Anisotome imbricta subsp prostrata growing through cushion.
9. Melicytus alpinus ' Blondin ' A form of this very variable complex. The plant is almost hidden by epiphytic lichens.
10. flowers of Melicytus alpinus ' Blondin '
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Wonderful photos of the Haastias, David. Wooly enough to be sheep even when less than lamb-sized!
I find the use of the name Melicytus alpinus ' Blondin ' intriguing: how does a plant in the wild come to have a cultivar name?
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1. An alpine garden - I am not sure why I am trying to build my own crevice garden.
2. Celmisia spectabilis subsp spectabilis. The common cotton daisy though ot does not extend down into Otago.
3. Helichrysum parvifolium The branches are narrower than Helichrysum intermedium and the flowers are yellow. I saw some better plants later but by that time it was too wet to keep photographing.
4,5 Acrothamnus colensoi formerly Leucopogon fraseri.
6. Pimelea oreophila (or at least a good facsimile of this species)
7. Last but not least Cordyline australis (known to some as the Torquay Palm - not a palm nor native to Torquay) at home by the roadside in the Awatere Valley. The plants in North Canterbury and Marlbourgh are flowering well this year.
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Hi David,
What a treat on this cold, very wet morning here in Lancashire. Super images.
R. insignis 'monroi' is so very different from the R. insignis I grow in my garden ... leaf shape, hairiness, stem length, etc. ... were they once classed as separate species?
Please keep posting these beautiful and interesting photos.
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Wonderful photos of the Haastias, David. Wooly enough to be sheep even when less than lamb-sized!
I find the use of the name Melicytus alpinus ' Blondin ' intriguing: how does a plant in the wild come to have a cultivar name?
Maggi,
It is likely that this plant is not Melicytis alpinus. Melicytus alpinus ' Blondin ' is a tag name used for convenience. It does not have any formal standing. There was a second Melicytus species growing down in the valley known as Melicytus aff alpinus " Waipapa " whose taxonomic status is just as murky. Tag names are a bit problematic as not everyone is entirely sure what precise entities they refer to.
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R. insignis 'monroi' is so very different from the R. insignis I grow in my garden ... leaf shape, hairiness, stem length, etc. ... were they once classed as separate species?
Please keep posting these beautiful and interesting photos.
Ranunculus monroi Hook f. was considered a distinct species and is listed as such in the Flora of New Zealand vol 1 by H.H. Allan. However it was included in the circumspection of Ranunculus insignis along with Ranunculus lobulatus by Fisher. It is illustrated as "Ranunculus monroi" in Mark and Adams and is described as a smaller southern form of Ranunculus insignis. Black Birch is quite high and exposed and thus the plants there tend to be smaller than typical Ranunculus insignis
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R. insignis 'monroi' is so very different from the R. insignis I grow in my garden ... leaf shape, hairiness, stem length, etc. ... were they once classed as separate species?
Please keep posting these beautiful and interesting photos.
Ranunculus monroi Hook f. was considered a distinct species and is listed as such in the Flora of New Zealand vol 1 by H.H. Allan. However it was included in the circumspection of Ranunculus insignis along with Ranunculus lobulatus by Fisher. It is illustrated as "Ranunculus monroi" in Mark and Adams and is described as a smaller southern form of Ranunculus insignis. Black Birch is quite high and exposed and thus the plants there tend to be smaller than typical Ranunculus insignis
Thanks for that David. My memory didn't let me down (for once)! All my NZ books are crated up in storage for a house move that never materialised ... I must fight my corner with the missus and retrieve them as soon as possible. ("Ouch" ... maybe not)!
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What is it about these wonderful New Zealand alpines? They have never lost their fascination ever since I first learnt about them in the 1970's. I am particularly drawn to the umbellifers; aciphyllas, anisotomes, lignocarpa... Although I've tried growing them our climate in Kent is really too warm and dry, though a couple of the former are looking good at the moment. Anisotome imbricata is very nice show plant in the hands of experts like Nigel Fuller, but he grows the rather more hairy form. I am having more success with South American umbels like Bolax, so this should encourage me to try some of the smaller aciphyllas again. But great to see them in the wild!
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Not sure how you came to be mixed up in this. Dave Toole was very complimentary about the Explorers Garden.
It was my fault really, admiring Julia's marvellous Rheum nobile. It all went down hill from there. ::)
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Again so many wonderful pictures in this thread! Thanks so much for showing!
Those buttercups are really amazing.
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Thank you everyone for your kind comments.
Cliff,
Now I have thought about it there were some larger more typical Ranunculus insignis lower down on Black Birch at the site I took the picture of Pimelea oreophila. As I was getting a bit wet and cold at the time I was not really interested in photographing them as I have other photos of the larger form. In view of your comments it would have been worth while looking at them more closely.
Some more images this time from the Lewis Pass just off the main highway. I took a series of pictures of Astelia nervosa and Aciphylla colensoi. The latter is similar to Aciphylla scott-thomsonii but is found further north.
1. Astelia nervosa growing with bog pine (Halocarpus bidwillii)
2. Astelia nervosa male plant
3. Astelia nervosa male plant showing flowers.
4. Astelia nervosa female plant
5. Astelia nervosa female plant showing flowers
6. Aciphylla colensoi female plant in front; male plant at rear.
7. Aciphylla colensoi detail of leaves showing characteritic yellow midrib.
8. Aciphylla colensoi detail of male inflorescence
9. Aciphylla colensoi detail of female inflorescence
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My intention to visit NZ do not diminish after this!
Although Ranunculi are beautiful and amiable plants I also have a heart for Aciphyllas and Astelias - and they should prove hardy here I hope, at least some of them!
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David, certainly the most beautiful specimens of Ranunculus monroi I have ever seen, great shots.
Cheers.