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Forest Vines to Snow Tussocks: The Story of New Zealand Plants

Astelia

Astelia

The thirteen New Zealand species of Astelia are about equally divided between the forests and the mountains. The flower heads of the smaller alpine species are short and inconspicuous, but their bright red to orange berries are strikingly attractive. Two large species may be conspicuous in wet places in tussock herbfield and shrubland. Astelia nervosa (Fig. 103) found throughout the country, has tufts of leaves up to a metre or more in length, varying from pale green to silvery white. In the latter case the leaves look as if covered with frost. Astelia petriei, with shorter, broader, pale green leaves, grows on the higher rainfall mountains of the western South Island. The smaller, patch-forming Astelia nivicola has a similar range but at higher altitudes in herbfield. The smallest herbfield species is the grasslike Astelia graminea, which is especially common among carpet grass (Chionochloa australis) in the northern South Island.

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Figure 103 (opposite above) Astelia nervosa in snow tussock (Chionochloa pollens) grassland. Mt. Holdsworth, southern North Island.Photo: J. W. Dawson.

Figure 103 (opposite above) Astelia nervosa in snow tussock (Chionochloa pollens) grassland. Mt. Holdsworth, southern North Island.
Photo: J. W. Dawson.

Figure 104 (opposite below) A dense cushion of Donatio novae-zelandiae with numerous flowers. Garvie Range, Southland.Photo: J. W. Dawson.

Figure 104 (opposite below) A dense cushion of Donatio novae-zelandiae with numerous flowers. Garvie Range, Southland.
Photo: J. W. Dawson.