Today I made a trip to the Auckland Botanic Garden. It's pretty astounding how long it's taken me to go there, considering that it's about a 5 minutes drive from where I'm staying! I was rather impressed - they have a large area with lots of different plants and trees in different gardens. There is a Native Forest section, and since I'm trying to learn more about NZ natives, I headed there first. The other day I got some identification books out of the library. I figured it would be cool to learn more about native plants and trees and it would also be helpful to me if I'm going to need to lead bushwalks with the school group next week. Here are some of the plants I found at the Botanic Garden and some things that I have learned about them.
This tree is called Rimu. It is a rainforest tree, although that surprises me because it has needles. I thougth rainforests were all about leaves, but I guess not. The needles on this tree hang down in long, pendulous branches (the guidebook's words, not mine.) They actually remind me of a weeping willow, only there are needles instead of leaves. As the tree matures, the leaves get smaller and don't hang down so much. Rimu provided timber, back in the day, and was useful because it could be found practically throughout the whole country. It also used to be called red pine.
This is Manuka, which is a type of tea tree. There is another type as well, called Kanuka and the two types are difficult to tell apart. Apparently a good way to remember them is Kind Kanuka (the leaves are soft to touch) and Mean Manuka (the leaves are a bit prickly.) Kanuka also grows much larger than Manuka will, and bears smaller flowers that grow in bunches, while the flowers on a Manuka tree will grow singly. It is from these trees that tea tree oil is derived. Tea tree wood is the best firewood found in New Zealand, and Manuka leaves can be used to make tea, which the early settlers did use it for, and that's why it's now known as a tea tree. The flowers also make excellent honey.
This plant is called Kawakawa. (The photo here is courtesy of Wikipedia.) Kawakawa is a very interesting plant for all of its uses. Maori used it extensively for medicinal purposes, and it actually does contain some compounds that make it helpful. You can make a tea from the leaves that will help if you have a cold, and if you chew on the leaves it makes your mouth numb, which is helpful if you have a toothache. The leaves can also be put on a wound to help it heal. Kawakawa is also easy to identify because its leaves are heart shaped and often full of holes chewed there by insects. It gets its name from the Maori word
kawa which means bitter, and it does have a bitter taste (I tried it.)
Some more native trees that I have learned are the Cabbage Tree, the Nikau Palm and Lancewood. Cabbage Trees are palms that have almost a ball of palm leaves forming a sphere at the top of a long, straight trunk. Nikau Palms are the most southerly occuring palms. With the kids on the bushwalk we have them collect the branches that have fallen off the Nikau Palms and then they can sit on them and slide down a hill! Lancewood as a young tree looks nothing like it does when it gets bigger; as a juvenile it has long, skinny leaves that hang down from a central point (see photo at left), then as it grows the leaves change shape a stick up more than down (see photo at right). Apparently the moas of old (that's a now extinct flightless big bird, by the way) couldn't eat the leaves when they were hanging down, and couldn't reach them once the tree grew taller and the leaf shape changed. Ingenious way to avoid being eaten! Lancewoods when young are also flexible enough that you can tie the trunk of a small one in a knot, and it will continue to grow with the knot still in it. You can come back later and harvest it and have a nifty walking stick with a great handle!
After I was done wandering in the Botanic Garden, I found myself a nice spot near a lake and read my book for a while. Then it was time to head over to the kiwi fruit packing place for my interview. It was fairly simple, I just had to fill out a form and answer a couple of questions, things like, "do you have reliable transportation?" and, "do you have a contact number where we can reach you consistently," and, "can you stand for long periods of time on concrete?" I have training with them next Friday. I'm not sure when the actual work will start, but I would guess it would be the week after next sometime. I'm not sure yet how this will work out with Youthtown; I may have to pass on that work for now in favor of something more consistent.
This is Manuka, which is a type of tea tree. There is another type as well, called Kanuka and the two types are difficult to tell apart. Apparently a good way to remember them is Kind Kanuka (the leaves are soft to touch) and Mean Manuka (the leaves are a bit prickly.) Kanuka also grows much larger than Manuka will, and bears smaller flowers that grow in bunches, while the flowers on a Manuka tree will grow singly. It is from these trees that tea tree oil is derived. Tea tree wood is the best firewood found in New Zealand, and Manuka leaves can be used to make tea, which the early settlers did use it for, and that's why it's now known as a tea tree. The flowers also make excellent honey.
This plant is called Kawakawa. (The photo here is courtesy of Wikipedia.) Kawakawa is a very interesting plant for all of its uses. Maori used it extensively for medicinal purposes, and it actually does contain some compounds that make it helpful. You can make a tea from the leaves that will help if you have a cold, and if you chew on the leaves it makes your mouth numb, which is helpful if you have a toothache. The leaves can also be put on a wound to help it heal. Kawakawa is also easy to identify because its leaves are heart shaped and often full of holes chewed there by insects. It gets its name from the Maori word kawa which means bitter, and it does have a bitter taste (I tried it.)%20showing%20juvenile%20and%20adult%20leaves,%204%20Feb%2007%20(MH).jpg)
Some more native trees that I have learned are the Cabbage Tree, the Nikau Palm and Lancewood. Cabbage Trees are palms that have almost a ball of palm leaves forming a sphere at the top of a long, straight trunk. Nikau Palms are the most southerly occuring palms. With the kids on the bushwalk we have them collect the branches that have fallen off the Nikau Palms and then they can sit on them and slide down a hill! Lancewood as a young tree looks nothing like it does when it gets bigger; as a juvenile it has long, skinny leaves that hang down from a central point (see photo at left), then as it grows the leaves change shape a stick up more than down (see photo at right). Apparently the moas of old (that's a now extinct flightless big bird, by the way) couldn't eat the leaves when they were hanging down, and couldn't reach them once the tree grew taller and the leaf shape changed. Ingenious way to avoid being eaten! Lancewoods when young are also flexible enough that you can tie the trunk of a small one in a knot, and it will continue to grow with the knot still in it. You can come back later and harvest it and have a nifty walking stick with a great handle!
I do not know what kinds of flowers these are, or even if they are native to New Zealand, but I thought they were very lovely so I took their photos anyway.
After I was done wandering in the Botanic Garden, I found myself a nice spot near a lake and read my book for a while. Then it was time to head over to the kiwi fruit packing place for my interview. It was fairly simple, I just had to fill out a form and answer a couple of questions, things like, "do you have reliable transportation?" and, "do you have a contact number where we can reach you consistently," and, "can you stand for long periods of time on concrete?" I have training with them next Friday. I'm not sure when the actual work will start, but I would guess it would be the week after next sometime. I'm not sure yet how this will work out with Youthtown; I may have to pass on that work for now in favor of something more consistent. 
I have several comments:
ReplyDelete1. I like that Manuka and Kanuka have rhyming names and look similar. Like they are twins! And, apparently, they each have their own personality (mean vs. kind). This makes me smile!
2. The middle flower picture (the red blossoms that look kind of waxy) reminds me of flowers Nate and I saw at a cocoa bean plantation in St. Lucia. I wonder if they are similar? Well, we'll probably never know since you don't know what kind of flowers these are and I don't know what kind of flowers we saw in St. Lucia either.
3. When the Kiwifruit packing people asked if you had reliable transportation I hope you yelled out: "NUGGET!" :-)
Love you wati!
what a nice article. thanks for sharing such a good information.
ReplyDeleteLove from International Flower Delivery :)