Is that tree a Miro or matai? These two native New Zealand trees are similar looking, but here are some tips to help you tell them apart. New Zealand is home to a diverse and varied ecosystem. There are beautiful beaches, volcanoes, lakes, and a…
Tag: plants
iNaturalist is a great, free tool to help you identify unknown plants or animals. This post explains what it is and how to use it. I love exploring New Zealand, especially visiting a new area I haven’t been to before and finding new species. The…
The New Zealand mountain cedar or pahautea is a stunning native tree. Here are 5 facts about this lovely, sometimes gnarled native tree. This tree is a type of cedar and can be recognised as such by looking at the ‘leaves’, which have that distinctive…
New Zealand is home to some incredibly long living species. Here are 6 New Zealand long living species, and a possible explanation for why they live so long. The more I learn about the marvels of the natural world of Aotearoa, the more I am…
New Zealand’s 2 flax species are both quite common throughout the country. Here are tips on telling apart the 2 flax species and characteristics of each. Flax is one of the iconic plants of the New Zealand landscape. It may not be as showy as…
Can you tell the difference between toetoe or pampas grass? Here are 3 tips to tell apart the native toetoe from the introduced pampas grass. New Zealand has become a land dominated by grasslands, some of which are the native tussock and some of which…
Here are 5 white native flowers in New Zealand. These are some common native white flowers that you’ll see in the wilds of New Zealand. I love hiking all across the world and one of my favourite things to encounter when hiking is a meadow…
Here are 2 signs of a good summer to come – early blooming pohutukawas and heaps of heketara. Are these just myths or do they truly mean a fine summer is on the way? Every year around November I start to crave an end to…
Heketara is an endemic tree daisy in New Zealand. Here are 6 facts about this tree that has lovely clusters of white flowers in the spring. The native forests of New Zealand are lush, full of vegetation from the emergent Rata and Rimu trees to…
The native pukatea tree can grow some humongous buttress roots. Read about why puakatea trees have these unique plank buttress roots here. New Zealand is full of unique trees that grow nowhere else in the world. Some, such as the Pohutukawa, produce beautiful red flowers,…