Asplenium is a diverse, almost cosmopolitan genus of ferns with c.700 species (PPG 1 2016). Within New Zealand there are at least 21 species, of which 10 are endemic (Brownsey & Perrie (2018). One of the more unusual of our Asplenium species is the Poor Knights spleenwort, A. pauperequitum. That […]
The Chatham Island Conservation Board held its first meeting of the new term with new members at Kopinga Marae between 9.30 am and 3.00 pm. Prior to the meeting the new board members Alfred Johanson and Levi Lanauze were given an explanation of the board role and function, and current […]
The type of Lecanora kohu Printzen, Fryday, Blanchon et de Lange (Lecanoraceae) was collected on the 28 July 2015 from Hokorereoro / Rangatira / South East Island (hereafter Hokorereoro), a 249 ha Nature Reserve, situated 2 km south-east of Rangihaute / Rangiauria / Pitt Island (hereafter Rangihaute), Chatham Islands (Printzen […]
The June 25 Chatham Island Conservation Board Meeting was probably the longest the board has had in several years. Starting at 9.30 am, with a one hour lunch break, the board pushed on until 5.35 pm there were so many topics and issues to deal with. In attendance were Chair […]
Embergeria or Chatham Islands sow thistle (Sonchus grandifolius) is the largest indigenous representative of the sow thistles in the New Zealand archipelago. The species is endemic to the Chatham Islands, where it is known from all of the larger vegetated islands except the Motchu Har / Forty-fours, Rakitchu / Rangitutahi […]
It is widely accepted that kopi (Corynocarpus laevigatus) is not native to the Chatham Islands but was brought to the islands by the ancestors of the Moriori to provide a food source. Since then kopi has become a spiritually significant tree, and in some respects almost as much of a […]
The April 2021 meeting of the Chatham Island Conservation Board included a welcome field inspection of the Taia Peninsula, probably one of the less accessible areas on Rekohu / Wharekauri / Chatham Island. The board were keen to see and hear about the management of this area, which is a […]
Caloplaca maculata (Teloschistaceae) is a saxicolous lichen that was described as a new species from rocks near Ellice Point, Rēkohu / Wharekauri / Chatham Islands (Galloway 2004). At the time of its description it was cautiously suggested that it might be endemic to the Chatham Islands. Then, in 2012 Allison […]
Chatham Island Conservation Board Meeting Rangihaute / Rangiauria / Pitt Island, 10 February 2021 Mana Cracknell, Peter de Lange, and Department of Conservation (DOC) staff boarded the Acheron at Owenga for a moderately lumpy journey to Rangihaute / Rangiauria / Pitt Island. Prior to holding the board meeting at Flowerpot […]
On May 4 2017 Myrtle Rust (Austropuccinia psidii) was first detected in the North Island of New Zealand (Beresford et al. 2018). Its arrival had been anticipated; New Zealander’s had nervously watched the relentless spread of this rust as it skipped across the world from the Amazon to Florida (USA), […]