Quite a mixed bag of plants, from small alpines to forest trees. Many of the names given to them by the early settlers are misleading. In the order in which they are listed:
Mountain lily-
Ranunculus lyallii- must be a beautiful sight in flower as it can grow to one meter high.
Pohutukawa -
Metrosdieros excelsa - many of you saw the photo which featured on the Facebook page at Christmas
Clematis -
Clematis paniculata - climbs through the bush and flowers in early spring (I posted photos)
Puriri -
Vitex lucens - a very handsome tree which attracts the native pigeon or kereru
Kowhai -
Sophora tetraptera and
microphylla Described by Hugo Latymer as a "whispy tree" - clearly he had never seen a well-grown one in full flower.
Fuchsia- I think this must be
Fuchsia excortica which is a tree fuchsia, the largest of the genus. NZ also has a creeping Fuchsia -
Fuchsia procumbens - which has blue pollen - very striking!
Manuka -
Leptospermum scoparium -a shrubby tree which used to be regarded as a weed, but since the properties of manuka honey were discovered, it is now more valued. There are some lovely cultivars with red or pink flowers rather than the standard white
"Honeysuckle" - this description is what made me hit the keyboard, as this is a large and elegant tree
,
Knightia excelsaKaka beak -
Clianthus puniceus - has beautiful red flowers which look like the beaks of the native parrot or kaka. Now very rare in the wild but widely cultivated
"Edelweiss" - there are two species known as edelweiss -
Leucogenes grandiceps and
leontopodium. neither of them are easy to grow
Senecio- I think this must be what used to be
Senecio greyii, now
Brachyglottis . A coastal toughie
Blue Bell -
Wahelnbergia but I don't know which one as there are about 10 species native to NZ
Rata -
Metrosideros robusta - another giant, more of a forest dweller than the pohutukawa
All very confusing...
