Christmas Botany

 

American Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucaprum).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Christmas season has many traditions ranging from music, to food, to music, to decorations.  Often the decorations are plants that may have a symbolic meaning but also brighten up the short days of winter. 

European Holly (Ilex aquifolium).
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Holly is one of these traditional decorations.  The tree was sacred to the Romans and associated with the god Saturn. The holiday Roman Saturnalia was observed at the winter solstice and holly was exchanged for good luck.  Today we are reminded in songs from Burl Ives singing “Holly Jolly Christmas” to “Deck the halls with boughs of holly” that this plant plays a key role in Christmas. 

 

American Holly (Ilex opaca) leaf.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

American Holly fruits.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Holly (Ilex opaca) is a large tree native to the forests eastern United States. Its leaves are green throughout the year and have spines on the margins.  American Holly has male and female flowers on different trees so an American Holly with berries is always a female.  European Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is widely planted in American landscapes, and some have escaped and are established in the wild.  European Holly is looks very similar to American Holly, but European Holly has more abundant fruit and shinier leaves. 

American Mistletoe high in a tree.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Mistletoe leaves.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Mistletoe young fruits. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Mistletoe fruits.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Mistletoe is another plant with a long holiday history.  From ceremonies of ancient Druids to hanging mistletoe in a doorway to steal a kiss, this plant is engrained in our culture.  The Druids used European Mistletoe, Viscum album, but in North America we have American Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).  Like its European relative, American Mistletoe is hemiparasitic and must grow attached to a host tree.  While the bright, leathery evergreen leaves carry out photosynthesis, its water and mineral nutrients are absorbed from its host.  American Mistletoe is dioecious with separate male and female plants.  Around Christmas, the female plants sport small white berries.  American Mistletoe berries are a favorite food of many birds.  Birds eat the fruits that rapidly pass through the digestive system.  The seeds in the fruit are unharmed by this passage but retain a sticky outer layer that makes them adhere to limbs, but also stick to the cloaca of the bird.  To dislodge the seeds the bird rubs its vent on tree branches to deliver Mistletoe seeds to a new host. 

American Mistletoe growing from the trunk
of a Red Maple (Acer rubrum).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Christmas tree is the central botanical symbol of the season.  The tradition of bringing green trees or  branches into the home during winter is found in many cultures.  Christmas trees as we know them originated in Germany and other parts of Central Europe.  Evergreen trees were decorated and lit starting in the starting in the Middle Ages but our modern Christmas owes much to Queen Victoria of England.  Her husband, Prince Albert was German and brought Christmas trees to royal palaces and to widespread public attention in 19th century England. Americans quickly adopted the tradition.    

Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) on a Christmas tree lot.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

In the United States many different evergreens are used as Christmas trees.  Our favorite is Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) an endemic of the high altitude Southern Appalachian Mountains. It can reach 50 feet in height and grows naturally in the Spruce-Fir forests that top the highest peaks.  Fraser Fir is endangered in its natural habitat with threats coming from climate change and an invasive insect, the Balsam Wooly Adelgid (Adelges piceae). 

Fraser Fir branches.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Fraser Fir needles.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Fraser Firs grow in a pyramidal shape, have soft needles and strong branches.  These are all excellent characteristics for a Christmas tree.  It is ironic that an endangered species should be a popular Christmas tree, but Fraser Firs are grown by farmers in the Appalachian Mountains down to an altitude of 3000 feet and generate sales of over $100 million per year in North Carolina.  

A fully decorated Fraser Fir.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

These plants; holly, mistletoe and fir, with their interesting biology and fascinating cultural history add so much to our enjoyment of the season.  So, this Christmas, consider the botany.

 

 

New Zealand Forests

 

Silver Fern (Alsophila tricolor).
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

New Zealand is a microcontinent in the South Pacific, 1500 miles east of Australia.  It has been isolated for 80 million years and during this vast expanse of time unique forest communities evolved.  The arrival of the Māori people in about 1000 AD and more significantly the arrival of Europeans in the 17^th century reduced the forest cover from about 80% to around 20%.  The remaining forests are fragments hemmed in by agricultural lands, cities and roads.  Although today's forests are but a shadow of the their ancestors, they teem with endemic species. 

Kauri (Agathis australis). 
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

Kauri forests once covered much of the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand but now are found only in a few reserves.  The keystone species of these forests is the Kauri (Agathis australis).  These gigantic trees can reach 150 feet in height and emerge above the canopy of the forest.  The trunks can have a diameter of up to 10 feet and can live for over 1000 years.  Kauris are conifers in the family Araucariaceae.  This ancient group of plants is mainly found in the southern hemisphere.  Kauri trees produce strong, straight-grained wood that can be used for home construction and ship building.  Europeans cut down much of the Kauri forests for timber.  

The bright green top of a Silver Fern frond..
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

The silver underside of a Silver Fern frond.
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

An unfurling frond of Silver Fern.
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand.  

Kauri forests are subtropical, and many other plants make their home there.  Silver Fern (Alsophila tricolor) is a tree fern that grows in the Kauri forest.  This giant fern reaches 30 feet in height and has 12-foot fronds that are green above and silver on the underside.  Silver Fern is a symbol of New Zealand appearing on Air New Zealand jets, the uniforms of the All Blacks, the national rugby team, and even on the graves of New Zealand soldiers killed in wartime.  

Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) leaves.
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

Rimu trunk.
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) is another large tree of the Kauri forest.  This is another species that experienced intensive logging and its numbers are greatly reduced.  Rimu can grow 100 feet tall and has small, pointed leaves borne on drooping limbs.  Rimu is in the family Podocarpaceae, another southern hemisphere group of plants that will get a more extensive treatment below.  

Tank Lily (Astelia hastata).
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand. 

The trees of the Kauri forest support many epiphytes. One of the most impressive is the Tank Lily (Astelia hastata).  It has long, strap-like leaves and grows in large clumps high in the branches of trees. Tank Lily is not a true lily but is in the family Asteliaceae and are found in Australia, New Zealand and southern South America.  

Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium).
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand.

Along the edge of the Kauri forest we saw Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) a small trees that plays an outsized role in New Zealand agriculture.  This member of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae) produces pink or white flowers with a dark purple throat.  These lovely flowers provide the raw material for manuka honey.  Manuka honey is dark with a rich flavor and commands a premium price.  Besides being delicious, Manuka honey is effective in treating wounds and burns and is reputed to have other health benefits.  The Manuka tree grows throughout New Zealand and southeastern Australia.  

New Zealand Flax (Phorium tenax).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand.
Photo by Diane Coggin. 

Tui (Prosthemadera novaseelandiae).This Tui was collecting
nectar from New Zealand Flax. The bird also dusted its face
with pollen and will transfer it to other flowers.
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand.  

Another plant that grows on forest edges and in many other habitats is New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax).  This impressive plant has six-foot-long leaves that are strengthened with fibers. The Māori extracted these fibers from the leaves and used them to make textiles, ropes and sails for their canoes.  New Zealand Flax flowers range in color from yellow to red and the plant's nectar is a favorite food of the Tui (Prosthemadera novaseelandiae) an endemic bird of New Zealand. 

 

Kowhai (Sophora fulvida).
Parry Kauri Park, New Zealand.

Kowhai (Sophora fulvida) is a small tree of fields and forest edges. This member of the bean family (Fabaceae) is endemic to New Zealand and reaches about 9 feet in height.  Kowhai produces yellow flowers and these mature into bean-like pods.    

Kaka Beak (Clianthus puniceus) flowers.
These flowers resemble the beak of the Kaka below.
Te Anau Bird Sanctuary, New Zealand. 

Kaka (Nestor meridionalis). 
An endangered New Zealand Parrot.  
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

Another plant in the family Fabaceae from this area is the critically endangered Kaka Beak.  These plants get their odd name because their red flowers resemble the beak of the Kaka (Nestor meridionalis), an endemic parrot of New Zealand.  Two species of Kaka Beak, Clianthus maximus and Clianthus puniceus are native to the North Island of New Zealand.  Only a few hundred Kaka Beaks survive in the wild, but they are widely cultivated across the islands.  We saw Clianthus puniceus planted at the Te Anau Bird Sanctuary on the South Island. 

The understory of a Podocarp forest.
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Video of a Totora (Podocarpus totara).

Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Totara emerging from the forest canopy.
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Māori carving made from Totara.
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Podocarpus totara, Totara, is another conifer in the family Podocarpaceae and one of the dominant trees in the Pureora Forest Park.  These trees grow to over 130 feet in height and reach 12 feet in diameter. Totara wood is resistant to decay, and the Māori used the tree for home building, canoe making and wood carving.  The loss of one of the ancient trees is a tragedy in the forest.  They can live for a thousand years, so some of the Totaras we saw could have been alive when the Māori first arrived.  When a respected elder of the Māori community dies, they say, “A Totara has fallen in the forest”.  

Young Lancewood (Pseudopanax ferox).
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Mature Lancewood.
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Two common trees found growing in disturbed areas of the Podocarp forest are Toothed Lancewood (Pseudopanax ferox) and Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis).  Toothed Lancewood grows at forest edge, understory and fields throughout New Zealand.  When young, the long, toothed, gray-green leaves point down.  After about 15 years, the Toothed Lancewood may reach 25 feet in height.  In the mature stage the leaves become wider, greener and extend straight out from the stem rather than pointing down.  

New Zealand Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis).
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

New Zealand Cabbage Trees are a common sight all around New Zealand.  They resemble palm trees, but they are not cabbages or palms, they are in the Asparagus family, the Asparagaceae.  New Zealand Cabbage Trees have along straight trunks and long straight leaves.  This species plays an important role in forest restoration since it is one of the earliest plants in forest succession.   

Umbrella Moss (Canalohypopterygium tamariscinum).
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Mosses and ferns are abundant in the understory of the Podocarp forest.  One of the most impressive is the Umbrella Moss (Canalohypopterygium tamariscinum).  This distinctive moss is bright green and sends up a stalk topped by a flat tuft of small fronds that resemble an umbrella.  Hen and Chicken fern (Asplenium bulbiferum) is also an understory forest plant. It has long fronds and at the tips makes tiny plantlets.  These fall off and establish new plants that are clones of the parent.  

Hen and Chicken Fern (Asplenium bulbliferum)
Pureora Forest Park, New Zealand. 

Southern Beech (Nothofagus) grows on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.  This genus is also found in Australia, New Guinea and South America.  In New Zealand the Southern Beech forests have not suffered the massive losses experienced by the Kauri and Podocarp forests because the beeches tend to grow in mountainous areas that were not cleared for agriculture.  Nothofagus predominates on the South Island where it grows in large tracts from sea level up to the tree line.   

A giant Mountain Beech (Nothophagus cliffortioides). 
This species is considered the Mother of the Forest.
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand. 

Leaves of Mountain Beech.
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand. 

Mountain Beech (Nothophagus cliffortioides) is one of the five endemic Southern Beech species in New Zealand. These evergreen trees can grow to 60 feet.  While Mountain Beech is not as tall nor do they live as long as Kauri or Podocarp, they have a majesty of their own.  Walking through the Nothophagus forest with its quiet understory covered by mosses and ferns feels like entering a cathedral.  

The understory of a Beech forest.
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand. 

Red Mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrepetala) parasitizing 
Mountain Beech. 

Mountain Beech is the host for Red Mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala) a New Zealand endemic parasitic plant.  Red Mistletoe is so named because it makes red flowers but they were not in season during our visit.  It has green leaves and can carry out photosynthesis, but the roots extend into the trunk of the beech and transfer water and inorganic nutrients from the Beech to the Red Mistletoe. 

Southern Ratta (Metrosideros umbellata). 
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

Southern Ratta (Metrosideros umbellata) is a medium sized tree in the Myrtle family endemic to New Zealand.  It  is common in the Beech forests of the South Island and makes red flowers that supply nectar to numerous bees and birds.  Southern Ratta is another important source of nectar for making honey.   

Many of the native plants of New Zealand belong to groups that have an interesting geographic distribution.  These are found in southeastern Australia, New Zealand and southern South America. Relatives of Kauri, Podocarps and Southern Beech all have this distribution. The reason for this odd fact is these plants evolved on the ancient southern continent of Gondwana.  Gondwana separated into the current southern continents starting about 180 million years ago and drifting continental plates carried the plants with them to their current locations.  

The forests of New Zealand with their strange yet familiar plants and trees, were a revelation.  From the stunning Silver Ferns to the ancient Southern Beeches these forests and all their plants opened a new botanical world for us.  And a wonderful botanical world it is.  Endemic plants, endangered species, and a flora whose distribution reflects the movement of continents.  That's New Zealand. 

 

 

Encounters with the Albatross II

 

White-capped Albatross (Thalassarche steadi).
Stewart Island, New Zealand.  

Pelagic cruises off the coast of New Zealand give unmatched views of many different seabirds.  Our recent trip yielded six species of albatrosses and a dazzling selection of other birds.  Here is more of what we saw in New Zealand waters.

Hutton's Shearwater (Puffinus huttoni).
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand. 

Hutton's Shearwaters.
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand. 

Hutton’s Shearwaters (Puffinus huttoni) are small seabirds with a 30-inch wingspan.  They are brown above and white below.  Hutton’s Shearwaters nest on the mainland rather than offshore islands and this makes them vulnerable to introduced predators, particularly pigs that root the young birds from their burrows. The Kaikoura Mountains host the only two natural breeding colonies of Hutton’s Shearwaters in the world.  Because of their limited breeding area and other threats Hutton’s Shearwaters are an endangered species, so conservationists established a nesting colony surrounded by a predator-proof fence on the Kaikoura Peninsula.  We were lucky enough to see many thousands of Hutton’s Shearwaters flying and fishing in large flocks in the waters off Kaikoura.

Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea).
Foveaux Strait, New Zealand. 

Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) are dark gray-brown and have a 3.5-foot wingspan.  They nest on sub-Antarctic islands in the South Atlantic and South Pacific.  After Sooty Shearwaters raise their young, they undertake an epic migration, taking a figure-eight route across the great oceans.  Some birds fly 300 miles a day and during their migration can cover 40,000 miles before returning to their breeding colony.  We found Sooty Shearwaters flying in the Foveaux Strait and off Dunedin.  

Westland Petrel (Procellaria westlandica).
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand.

Westland Petrels (Procellaria westlandica) are a larger than Sooty Shearwaters and breed only in New Zealand.  After the breeding season they disperse west to Australia and east to South America.  Like Hutton’s Petrels, these dark brown birds nest in burrows on the mainland but because of their size and strong beak can protect themselves from nest predators such as dogs.  

Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides).
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand.

Southern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialoides) are classified in the family Procellariidae along with the albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels but they bear a strong resemblance to gulls.  They have a circumpolar distribution around Antarctica and reach the southern ends of South America, Africa, Australia and most of the waters surrounding New Zealand.  These pale birds fly low over the surface and join flocks of other sea birds to feed on squid, small fish and crustaceans.  

Pintado Petrel (Daption capense).
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

Pintado Petrel.
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand. 

Pintado Petrel.
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand. 

Pintado Petrels (Daption capense) are known by several names, Cape Petrels, Cape Fulmars and even Cape Pigeons.  Whatever the name these striking black-and-white petrels command attention.  They are small, travel in large flocks and sometimes follow boats where they catch small prey on the surface.  Pintado Petrels breed on the Antarctic coast and southern islands throughout the Southern Ocean.  After the breeding season they travel north but are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere.  Pintado Petrels were the most numerous seabirds on our pelagic cruises. 

Brown Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus).
Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Brown Skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus) are large, impressive birds related to gulls and terns.  They are dark brown with white patches on the wings.  Brown Skuas are top predators in the sub-Antarctic where they feed on fish, some of which they steal from other seabirds.  Brown Skuas also eat other birds, including penguin chicks, mammals and carrion.  A single Brown Skua flew a dozen laps around our boat off Stewart Island, giving us a close look.   

The word albatross has an interesting history.  It is derived from the archaic Spanish and Portuguese word alcatraz.  This name was applied to large seabirds including pelicans and gannets.  Alcatraz Island with its notorious federal prison in San Francisco Bay was named for the seabirds that nested there. When European sailors started venturing into the South Atlantic and Pacific, they found their ships being followed, sometimes for days, by giant white seabirds.  English sailors corrupted alcatraz to albatross, converting alca to alba, the Latin word for white, to give us the name albatross. 

Albatrosses had significant meaning to early sailors.  The bird was viewed as a symbol of good fortune.  Some thought they were the souls of lost seamen, following ships to get a glimpse of their former lives.  Samuel Taylor Coleridge immortalized these ideas in his 18^th century epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  In the poem, the Ancient Mariner kills an albatross and brings disaster to his ship and his crewmates.  To atone for his crime the Ancient Mariner is forced to wear the dead albatross tied about his neck .  This idea comes down to us today.  If someone is carrying a heavy burden of guilt they are said to have an albatross around their neck.  

White-capped Albatross.
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

White-capped Albatross.
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

We saw several species of albatrosses on the Stewart Island pelagic.  There were about 40 White-capped Albatrosses (Thalassarche steadi) flying around the boat and landing on the water.  White-capped Albatrosses are endemic to New Zealand and have an 8.5-foot wingspan, are gray on the face, have a white cap and a gray beak with a yellow trip.  Juvenile birds can range as far as the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic. 

Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri).
Steward Island, New Zealand. 

Buller's Albatross.
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

Buller's Albatross.
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

As we watched the White-capped Albatrosses a lone Buller’s Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) appeared.  This small albatross has a wingspan of about six feet, a gray head, black wings and a black bill with yellow on the top and tip.  Buller’s Albatrosses breed on islands south of New Zealand.  After the breeding season some fly west to Australia and others cross the South Pacific to the waters off South America.  The Buller’s Albatross stayed with our boat for a few minutes and then was off.   Southern Royal Albatrosses (Diomedea epomorphora) were also off Stewart Island, and I described our encounter with them in a previous blog post.  

Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi).
Taiaroa Head, New Zealand. 

The Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) is the largest of all the albatrosses with wings that stretch more than 10 feet. They have dark upper wings, white heads and bodies and pink bills.  Like their close relatives the Southern Royal Albatrosses they have a black line where the upper and lower mandibles meet.  As with most Albatrosses, Northern Royals typically breed on offshore islands. Taiaroa Head, near Dunedin, hosts the only mainland breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses in the world.  This is where we saw them flying over the sea and setting up nests on the cliffs. 

Northern Royal Albatrosses on their nests.
Taiaroa Head, New Zealand. 

Our pelagic trips in New Zealand gave us intimate encounters with six different species albatrosses and many other types of seabirds.  They ranged in size from the tiny Common Diving Petrel to the enormous Northern Royal Albatross.  These birds lead lives in one of the harshest and most starkly beautiful environments on the planet.  Many of these birds are threatened or endangered and  I feel privileged to have spent a little time with them.