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14 favourites found.Apodasmia similis (Oioi, Jointed Wire Rush)
Apodasmia similis, commonly called oioi, is an attractive wetland reed with fine grey-green leaves and brownish bracts at the joints. Popular structural landscaping plant. A great option for mass planting on wet or coastal sites, growing in extremes of wind and salt.
A hardy plant tolerant of most soil types that is often used in riparian plantings. Plant communities that include Carex maorica, Carex secta, Carex virgata, Carex geminata, Phormium tenax and Eleocharis acuta often include Apodasmia similis. Recently, Apodasmia similis has become popular in landscape designs as it has an interesting texture and survives in a range of positions and is an easy NZ natives solution to wet or dry problem areas.
Habitat: Mostly coastal in estuaries, saltmarshes, dunes and sandy flats and hollows. Occasionally inland in gumland scrub, along lake margins, fringing peat bogs or surrounding hot springs.
Flowering: Spring [October - December]
Fruiting: Summer [December - March]
My Lists: DrainField, Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland
Austroderia richardii (Toetoe)
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Austroderia richardii, commonly known as toetoe, is a large perennial tussock grass species that is native to New Zealand. It belongs to the family Poaceae and is endemic to the country, meaning it is found nowhere else in the world.
Austroderia richardii has distinctive features that make it easily recognizable as its one of the tallest grass species in New Zealand. The leaves are long and narrow, with a rough texture, and can grow up to 1.5 meters in length. The leaf margins are often serrated or toothed, giving them a slightly serrated appearance.
Austroderia richardii is typically found in wetland habitats, such as swamps, bogs, and riverbanks, although it can also occur in other types of habitats, including coastal dunes and forest clearings. It is an important plant for wetland ecosystems, providing habitat and food for a variety of birds, insects, and other wildlife.
Toetoe has been used by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, for various purposes. The leaves have been used for weaving, thatching, and as bedding material, while the flower heads have been used for decorative purposes. Today, Austroderia richardii is also cultivated as an ornamental grass in gardens and landscaping due to its impressive size and striking appearance.
Overall, Austroderia richardii, or toetoe, is a prominent grass species in New Zealand, known for its tall stature, feathery flower heads, and importance in wetland ecosystems and cultural uses. A very tough, hardy and fast growing withstanding strong winds, costal conditions, drought and cold conditions.
On farm, Austroderia richardii is a good wind break once established as they grow in clumps and are very hardy plants that can withstand many weather conditions. Protects stock and stays below pivot irrigation, also useful in runoff prevention and along water courses. Toe toe is an attractive bank stabilisation plant, good for a range of soils and suits riparian plantings.
Habitat: Abundant, from the coast to subalpine areas. Common along stream banks, river beds, around lake margins, and in other wet places. Also found in sand dunes.
Flowering: Spring [September - November]
Fruiting: Summer [October - March]
My Lists: DrainField, Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland
Carex secta (Pukio, Swamp Sedge)
Carex secta, commonly called Swamp Sedge or Pukio, is a well known species and it is a most useful plant for use in re-establishing or enhancing wetland areas. Common to swampy areas and in standing water and it is a most useful plant for use in enhancing wetlands and ponds. Older plants in moist to wet sites, often form thick trunk-like bases 1 metre tall from its own tightly matted roots. It takes on a yellow-green colour in open situations with the colour being intensified in the Winter. Attractive dark brown seed heads in summer. Great for bank stabilisation and riparian planting.
Endemic to New Zealand, found throughout the country. Carex secta is riparian species. It is often found in plant communities that include but are not limited to Apodasmia similis, Carex maorica, Carex virgata, Phormium tenax, and Eleocharis acuta.
Habitat: Widespread in suitable wetlands from coastal to montane wetlands.
Flowering: Summer [October - January]
Fruiting: Autumn [October - March]
My Lists: DrainField, Erosion Control, Wetland
Carex virgata (Pukio, Swamp Sedge)
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Carex virgata, commonly called Swamp Sedge or Pukio, is a vigorous sedge suitable for swamps, drain margins, seepages and wet pastures. A successful colonising plant, used for wetland planting and revegetation. Suitable for conditions which may vary periodically from very wet to very dry. More dry tolerant and shorter than C. secta. Evergreen. Hardy.
It pairs well with Carex secta (also called Pukio) for bank stabilisation. As it handles being in a swampy area, it is ideal for lower bank planting in riparian revegetation projects. It is also useful in water treatment projects as it minimises nutrient runoff. This makes it ideal for planting streamside on farms.
Carex virgata is widespread in open, swampy conditions and also in damp sites within lowland forest. In parts of the country this sedge is often the dominant carice of lowland alluvial forest. Found in communities that include but are not limited to Apodasmia similis, Carex maorica, Carex secta, Phormium tenax, and Eleocharis acuta.
Habitat: Widespread from sea level to about 1000 m a.s.l. in open, swampy conditions and also in damp sites within lowland forest. In parts of the country this sedge is often the dominant carice of lowland alluvial forest.
Flowering: Spring [October - December]
Fruiting: Summer [December - May]
My Lists: DrainField, Wetland
Coprosma propinqua (Mingimingi)
Coprosma propinqua, commonly known as Mingimingi, is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree that is native to New Zealand. It belongs to the family Rubiaceae and is known for its distinctive foliage and attractive appearance.
Coprosma propinqua exhibits a compact and bushy growth habit, typically reaching a height of 1 to 3 meters. The leaves are opposite, simple, and small, measuring about 1 to 3 centimeters in length. The leaves are elliptical or lanceolate in shape, with smooth margins, and are usually glossy and dark green in color. Some varieties may have variegated leaves with contrasting colors, such as yellow or cream markings.
The flowers of Coprosma propinqua are small and inconspicuous, typically greenish or yellowish in color. They are borne in clusters and are not particularly showy. The plant is dioecious, which means that male and female flowers are borne on separate plants.
The fruit of Coprosma propinqua is a fleshy drupe, typically spherical or ovoid in shape, and about 5 to 7 millimeters in diameter. The fruit initially appears green, but matures to a dark purple or black color when ripe. The fruit is often eaten by birds, which help to disperse the seeds.
Coprosma propinqua is commonly found in various habitats in New Zealand, including forests, shrublands, and coastal areas. It is known for its ability to tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, including poor soils and exposure to salt spray, making it a hardy and adaptable plant. It is also known to have medicinal properties and has been used traditionally by Maori for various purposes.
In cultivation, Coprosma propinqua is often used as an ornamental plant in gardens and landscapes due to its attractive foliage and low maintenance requirements. It can be grown as a standalone specimen plant, or used as a hedge or ground cover. It is typically propagated by seeds or cuttings, and prefers well-drained soils and a sunny to partly shaded location.
Habitat: Found in lowland forest, along forest margins and streambanks, in scrub, gravelly places and along the edges of bogs and swamps.
Flowering: Spring [October - November]
Fruiting: Autumn [March - May]
My Lists: DrainField, Low Flammability Plants, Rongoa, Wetland
Cordyline australis (Ti Kouka, Cabbage Tree)
Cordyline australis, Ti Kouka, commonly called Cabbage Tree, is one of the most identifiable New Zealand native plants in the landscape. It has a tall straight trunk or trunks and a dense round head, with a sphere of long narrow leaves. Cabbage tree produces a profusion of attractive and scented flowers in spring. It is an abundant seeder. It looks most natural in the ornamental garden if planted in groups. Three or more plants can be planted together in the same hole to produce this effect. It grows in all soils and situations, even in swampy ground, where little else of interest will grow.
Cordyline australis is a light-demanding pioneer species, and seedlings die when overtopped by other trees. To grow well, young plants require open space so they are not shaded out by other vegetation. Its fruit and nectar are a favourite food source for kererū and tūī. Bellbirds like to nest in Tī Kōuka. Some lizards forage among the flowers of Cordyline australis and the nectar of the flowers is sought after by insects.
History of use: The Maoris obtained a most nutritious food, kauru, from the root of the young cabbage tree. This root is an extension of the trunk below the surface of the ground and is shaped like an enormous carrot some 2–3 ft long. An observer of the early 1840s, Edward Shortland, noted that the Maoris “prefer those grown in deep rich soil; they have learned to dig it at the season when it contains the greatest quantity of saccharine matter; that is, just before the flowering of the plant. They then bake, or rather steam it in their ovens. On cooling, the sugar is partially crystallised, and is found mixed with other matter between the fibres of the root, which are easily separated by tearing them asunder, and are then dipped in water and chewed”. The trunk of the cabbage tree is so fire-resistant that early European settlers used it to make chimneys for their huts. They also brewed beer from the root.
Medical Uses: An infusion of the leaves was used for dysentery and diarrhoea and for cuts. (From "Maori medical lore" by W. H. Goldie. 1905) The leaves were softened by rubbing and scraping. These scrapings were applied as an ointment to cuts, cracks in the skin and sores (from unpublished notes by Beryl Moore 1940). The younger inner shoots and the top of the stem were boiled and eaten by nursing mothers and were given to their children for colic. (From unpublished notes by T. Kururangi 1941)
Habitat: Widespread and common from coastal to montane forest. Most commonly encountered on alluvial terraces within riparian forest.
Flowering: Spring [October - December]
Fruiting: Summer - Autumn [January - April]
My Lists: Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland
Cyperus ustulatus (Upoko-Tangata, Giant Umbrella Sedge)
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Cyperus ustulatus, giant umbrella sedge, is a fast growing sharp-edged swamp grass with olive green leaves. Ideal for wetland re-vegetation. Quick to colonize damp areas which will eventually establish tall swamp forests. The arching dark green foliage is complemented with green flowers in summer which age to a showy brown.
History of use: Colenso 1869 reported that the Maoris stripped off outside edges of the leaves and use them for mats, baskets and for kite making. An upoko-tangata kite was featured on a set of matariki (Maori New Year) stamps issued by New Zealand Post in 2010. They also use the leaves as an outer thatch on their whares (dwellings). Medically the pith was boiled with water, strained and used in the North Auckland districts for kidney trouble (Adams 1945).
Habitat: Coastal to lowland sites in open ground. Tolerant of a wide range of habitats and conditions but evidently preferring wetland margins, seepages, streamsides, lagoon and estuary margins.
Flowering: Spring - Summer [July - December]
Fruiting: Summer - Autumn [July - April]
My Lists: DrainField, Rongoa, Wetland
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides (Kahikatea, White Pine)
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, commonly called kahikatea or white pine, is the tallest growing native tree, featuring handsome mature foliage and attractive buttressed roots. Best planted in moist to wet situations. The main tree species in Riccarton Bush. Edible fruit/seed from February to April is attractive to birds. On swampy sites Dacrycarpus dacrydioides develops buttresses for stability which extend to the roots. Not a garden tree. Ideal for revegetation planting, particularly in wetter areas and riparian projects. This native is frost-tolerant. Slow growing, loves fertile, swampy ground but can handle drier sites with good rainfall. Evergreen. Intolerant of heavy frosts.
Habitat: Lowland forest, formerly dominant on frequently flooded, and/or poorly drained alluvial soils. Occasionally extends into lower montane forest. Once the dominant tree of a distinct swamp forest type all but extinct in the North Island - the best examples remain on the West Coast of the South Island.
Flowering: Spring - Summer [October - January]
Fruiting: Autumn [February - April]
Eleocharis acuta (Common Spike Rush)
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Eleocharis acuta, commonly called Common Spike Rush, is a wetland plant which forms dense strands of upright, mid to dark-green cylindrical stems. Small cream to brown spikes appear at the tip of the foliage from spring to autumn. Great for stabilising banks, or an ornamental for ponds in shallow water. Attractive to both birds and insects.
Plant communities that include Apodasmia similis, Carex maorica, Carex secta, Carex virgata, and Phormium tenax often contain Eleocharis acuta.
Habitat: Coastal to montane. Common in open to partially shaded permanently damp ground. Usually in swamps, and on stream, river, pond, and lake margins. Sometimes present in seepages within pasture.
Flowering: Spring - Summer [September - January]
Fruiting: Summer - Autumn [October - May]
My Lists: Wetland
Juncus edgariae (Wiwi, Edgars Rush)
Juncus edgariae, or Wiwi, is a common rush of swampy areas throughout New Zealand. Grows in tight clumps with bright-green stems. Useful for wet areas and revegetation of wetlands, but will tolerate dry conditions for short periods. Evergreen. Hardy.
Often found in plant communities that include but are not limited to Apodasmia similis, Carex maorica
Carex secta, Carex virgata, Phormium tenax, and Eleocharis acuta.
Habitat: Easily the most common indigenous species. Coastal to alpine (1600 m a.s.l.) but mainly coastal to montane. Usually in open shrubland, fringing wetlands, and in seasonally damp sites. Often found invading pasture and in urban areas.
Flowering: Spring - Summer [October - December]
Fruiting: Summer - Autumn [November - April]
My Lists: Wetland
Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka, Tea Tree)
Leptospermum scoparium, the Manuka tree (or Tea Tree), is a fast growing shrub with abundant white flowers in Summer. The flowers are attractive to bees. Both manuka and kanuka are used as a nurse crop with other early colonizing plants for revegetation / restoration planting and are also very effective in erosion control.
Mānuka is often confused with the related species kānuka (Kunzea ericoides) – the easiest way to tell the difference between the two species in the field is to feel their foliage – mānuka leaves are prickly, while kānuka leaves are soft. Alternatively, the seed capsules of mānuka are large (5–7 mm in diameter) and often remain on the plant year round, whereas the seed capsules of kānuka are much smaller (2.2–4.6 mm in diameter) and are not present for much of the year.
History of use: The wood was often used for tool handles. Mānuka sawdust imparts a delicious flavour when used for smoking meats and fish. It is cultivated in Australia and New Zealand for mānuka honey, produced when honeybees gather the nectar from its flowers, and for the pharmaceutical industry. An essential oil, for which many medicinal claims are made, is produced by steam distillation of its leaves.
Habitat: Abundant from coastal situations to low alpine habitats.
Flowering: Spring - Summer [September - March]
Fruiting: Autumn - Summer [Throughout the year]
My Lists: Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland
Machaerina rubiginosa (Baumea, Rush)
Machaerina rubiginosa, is a vigorous creeping species best used for the revegetation of wetlands. It is found in swampy places throughout the North and South Island. The rush-like leaves are up to 1m or more tall and are bluish to dark green with flowering spike-lets of reddish brown. It needs full sun, ample moisture and plenty of space. Good for erosion control and contaminated / nutrient filled water.
The upright foliage and spreading rhizomatous habit allow the plant to form large dense swards in wet areas. It can grow in water up to a depth of around 50 centimetres. The plant tends to grow taller in permanently damp areas and shorter in ephemeral environments. It is suitable for use in artificial wetlands.
Habitat: Coastal to montane (up to 900 m a.s.l.) in most freshwater wetlands; especially favouring low moor peat bogs, the margins of restiad bogs and their burn pools, more rarely on the margins of lakes, tarns and slow-flowing streams.
Flowering: Spring [October - December]
Fruiting: [Throughout the year]
My Lists: Erosion Control, Wetland
Phormium tenax (Harakeke, Swamp Flax)
Phormium tenax, Harakeke, commonly called Swamp Flax, is one of the oldest plant species in New Zealand and it is unique to New Zealand. With its sword-shaped leaves it is a common feature of the New Zealand landscape. It grows up to 2 -3 metres high and its flower stalks can reach up to 4 metres. The flowers are brownish red in Summer, followed by black seed pods that stand upright from the stems. It is very hardy and fast growing with wide environmental tolerances. It will grow in dry and wet conditions, withstand strong and coastal winds and are frost hardy. It is used for hedging or shelter and in mixed native planting. It is also a pioneer plant meaning it should be one of the species planted first in a restoration planting plan as it establishes quickly when planted and shelters other plants.
Plant communities that include Apodasmia similis, Carex maorica, Carex secta, Carex virgata, and Eleocharis acuta often contain Phormium tenax.
History of use: Traditional uses of flax No fibre plant was more important to Maori than flax. Each pa or marae typically had a pa harakeke or flax plantation. Different varieties were specially grown for their strength, softness, colour and fibre content. Traditionally when harakeke leaves were removed from the plant, only the older leaves on the outside were taken. It is believed the three inner layers of the plant represented a family. This outer layer represented the grandparents, whereas the inner layer of new shoots or the child remained to be protected by the next inner layer of leaves, the parents. The uses of the flax fibre were numerous and varied. Clothing, mats, plates to eat off, baskets, ropes, bird snares, lashings, fishing lines and nets were all made from flax. Babies were even given rattles made from flax. Other parts of the plant were also used. Floats or rafts were made out of bundles of dried flower stalks (kokari). The abundant nectar from flax flowers was used to sweeten food and beverages. Flax also had many medicinal uses. The sticky sap or gum that flax produces was applied to boils and wounds and used for toothache. Flax leaves were used in binding broken bones and matted leaves were used as dressings. Flax root juice was routinely applied to wounds as a disinfectant. Today, flax is used in soaps, hand crèmes, shampoos and a range of other cosmetics. Flax seed oil can also be found for sale.
Habitat: Common from lowland and coastal areas to montane forest, usually but not exclusively, in wetlands and in open ground along riversides.
Flowering: Summer [November to December]
Fruiting: Summer [January to March]
My Lists: Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland
Plagianthus divaricatus (Makaka, Salt Marsh Ribbonwood)
Plagianthus divaricatus, commonly called Salt Marsh Ribbonwood, is a dense twiggy shrub with small narrow leaves. Small sweetly scented flowers. Good hedging, deciduous, cold hardy. Will tolerate salt winds and wet soils. It can be found in association with (but not limited to) Coprosma propinqua, Muehlenbeckia complexa, Cyperus ustulatus, and Phormium tenax.
Found in sheltered coastal shorelines throughout New Zealand, in areas with salt swamp, sandy banks and throughout estuaries. As its common name suggests, it is salt and wet tolerant. As with P. regius, it has a juvenile and adult form where the leaves become larger as it grows. Used as a coastal wetland and restoration plant.
Habitat: Found alongside salty swamps or damp gravelly places in coastal regions.
Flowering: Spring [September - November]
Fruiting: Summer [December - March]
My Lists: Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland