Events Calendar
April 2017 |
« | » | ||||
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Select a day to narrow your search
Botanical Group Field Trip- Whitiau Scientific Res
Date: 8-4-2017
Time: 9.00am
Whitiau Scientific Reserve Whangaehu R mouth. Jim Campbell of DOC has offered to show us around this very important dune reserve. Our Group used to have regular trips there but we have not been in recent years. Meet at Police Station at 9 am, with lunches and footwear for possible paddling in wet dune hollows. In April the dune hollows would usually be dry, but it's your choice of footwear! Because some of the vegetation is quite scratchy, old long trousers are recommended; sunhat, sun block.
This was the last or second-last natural site in NZ with the critically endangered 'gentian', Sebaea ovata, but I'd be greatly surprised if we see it. However, we should see other rare species including sand daphne (Pimelea villosa), sand gunnera, a minute sedge (Isolepis basilaris), dwarf musk (Mazus nz. subsp. impolitus), dwarf milfoil (Myriophyllum votschii), NZ mint (Mentha cunninghamii), pingao (Ficinia spiralis). Some of the dense oioi or jointed rush (Apodasmia similis) patches have a surprising range of fern species, including 5 species of tree ferns. The Whangaehu Estuary should have some water birds and it might be possible to see fernbirds in the shrublands. Bring binoculars for these. A list of plants is attached, being records made over the past 30 years. Please bring a copy if you want to check off what's still there.
