Slender, sharp beauty and its devotee, the rare forest ringlet butterfly - pēpepe pōuri

As far as native sedges go, Gahnia pauciflora is one of the most elegant. Its tufted form with bright-green to yellow green foliage is crowned with flower panicles held well above the razor-sharp leaves. Spectacular on banks and outcrops with its graceful, drooping flowerheads. This native perennial sedge definitely deserves plenty of room to showcase its form. A delightful addition to your garden and a very useful plant for dry dappled shade.

Gahnia sp. in its natural habitat on a bank in a Kauri forest - Coromandel Peninsula. Photo by Gabriela V.

Its natural habitats are coastal to montane areas (up to 800m a.s.l.) from forest to shrubland. Flowering occurs from September through to January. The inflorescences are much branched with small, crowded wind-pollinated flowers, followed by fruits which may be present on the plant throughout the year.

Seeds often stay on the plant throughout the year. Photo by Jeremy R. Rolfe

Orange-brown nuts that feature a distinctive black apex. When chewed impart a distinct vanilla flavour. Photo by Gabriela V.

Gahnia pauciflora plays a crucial role in the ecosystem as it serves as both a host and food plant for the rare and beautiful forest ringlet butterfly (Dodonidia helmsii). This species is so specialised that it only lays eggs on a couple of species of native sedges.

Forest ringlet butterfly, rare and found only in New Zealand. http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_naturalsciences-object-692390?p=6&srt=az&pht=True&dept=entomology&ordinal=103#gallery

This NZ native butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, is the only species in the genus Dodonidia. The forest ringlet butterfly is a strong-flying species, found in low to moderate altitude forests up to the tree-line, especially around open forest clearings.

The markings on its wings give an impression of the eyes of a much larger animal, warning potential predators to stay away. http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_naturalsciences-object-692390?p=6&srt=az&pht=True&dept=entomology&ordinal=103#gallery

The adult female deposits her eggs on the underside of the sedge. They hatch in about three weeks. The caterpillars are nocturnal and feed on the "cutty sedge" (Gahnia) and bush snowgrass (Chinocloa) from spring to early autumn. They go into hibernation over winter, nestled in the base of the plant.

The luminous green caterpillars grow to about 34mm. Photo by Carey Knox. http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/197071-Dodonidia-helmsii/browse_photos

By early summer, the fully grown caterpillars form a chrysalis, and 20 days later, a beautiful butterfly emerges. Forest ringlet butterfly live for approximately one month and can be spotted drinking the nectar of mānuka flowers.

With a bit of luck, you might be able to spot one this summer on your bush walk.

---

Source:

New Zealand Plant Conservation Network 2025. Retrieved from http://www.nzpcn.org.nz

iNaturalist NZ. Retrieved from http://www.inaturalist.nz

Nature's Grace Aotearoa. Retrieved from http://www.naturesgrace.co.nz

Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.com

Nelson Natives. Retrieved from http://www.nelsonnatives.co.nz

Auckland Museum. Retrieved from http://www.aucklandmuseum.com

Cosmopolitan Globetrotter - forever for ever, ake ake

Dodonaea viscosa 'Purpurea', ake ake. Photo by Gabriela V.

Notable for its extremely wide distribution over all the continents except Antarctica, by means of oceanic dispersal, Dodonea exhibits a remarkable adaptability, versatility, and resilience.

This attractive, fast-growing shrub or small tree found in coastal to lowland forests, occupies a range of habitats from dune-fields and boulder beaches through to coastal scrub. It prefers sheltered position in full sun with well-drained, moist soil.

Growing to about 3m tall (although in favorable conditions this could be more), its resistance to salinity, drought, and pollution and tollerance of strong winds places this species as the top contestant for multiple uses in a garden situation. Whether as a decorative solo specimen showcasing its fabulous form, a windbreak, or utilised as an attractive hedge. Its leaves display a translucent quality in the sun and when planting to backlight the tree will create a mottled, dappled shadow. Dodonaea viscosa brings subtle beauty and elegance to a garden space.

With its red to dark orange, stringy and flaky bark, it invites us to showcase this quality by lifting the crown and thus exposing the trunk, providing space for lower-growing companion planting at the same time.

Flowering occurs through spring to mid-summer. Male and female flowers usually appear on separate plants; pollen is transported by anemophily (distributed by wind). The fruit that follows is a capsule with two to four wings and is sometimes mistaken for the flowers.

Male Flower arrangement. Photo by L Jensen. http://www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/seed-plants-flowering/sapindaceae/dodonaea-viscosa.html

Female Flower arrangement. Photo by L Jensen. http://www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/seed-plants-flowering/sapindaceae/dodonaea-viscosa.html

Mature fruit. Photo by L Jensen. http://www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/seed-plants-flowering/sapindaceae/dodonaea-viscosa.html

Dodonaea viscosa is named after the Flemish physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens ( 1517 - 1585 ); viscosa- meaning sticky ( young growth and buds are sticky ). In New Zealand, we also refer to this indigenous species as 'ake ake' in the Māori language, which can be translated as 'for ever for ever'.

It is the heaviest of New Zealand native woods and was utilised by the Māori people for making taiaha, patu, and other weapons as well as gardening tools. Medicinal uses have also been recorded.

Its ecological services extend to providing food and shelter for a diverse range of native birds, lizzards and insects, making ake ake a valuable addition to any garden.

---

Source:

New Zealand Plant conservation Network 2025. Retrieved from http://www.nzpcn.org.nz

Maanaki Whenua Landcare Research 2025. Retrieved from http://landcareresearch.co.nz

University of Auckland. Retrieved from http://www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz

Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.com

An Abiotic Component as Artist, Its Biotic Subject a Home- kānuka

An emblem of weatherworn and salt-burnt coastlines, endemic kānuka rise above lowland scrub and lean away from exposed bluffs, their architectural forms bearing the signature of their environment.

Kunzea robusta on the Raglan coast | kānuka, mānuka, manuka rauriki, rawirinui, kopuka | Photo by E. Hanzel

Inhabiting both islands, the most common species Kunzea robusta further occupies regenerating forest, montane forest, and ultramafic scrubland (magnesium and iron-rich substrate). It is able to grow upwards of 30m and its trunk can grow 1m in diameter. Initially growing erect, the trunk develops an undulating quality. A distinct branching pattern characterises Kunzea's dynamic form as numerous fine limbs appear to tangle around each other, awkwardly holding a mass of foliage that forms an almost horizontal canopy.

Bowed over the land, their asymmetrical growth and diminutive foliage tell the history of the wind and salt that have shaped them. More than scrub, these trees are sculpture exhibiting the Krummholz effect, an environmental reshaping of trees. The German word describes deformed or stunted vegetation found in subantarctic-subalpine- and coastal- landscapes, shaped by continual exposure to fierce wind and cold conditions. Often it expresses the unilateral habit and almost horizontal postures exhibited by these trees.

Photo by J. Morton. (2012). The roaring forties, Otago Harbour, New Zealand. https://www.flickr.com/photos/184659367@N07/49165822006

Photo by J. Sullivan. (2014). kānuka, Oakains Bay, Canterbury. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/16287684146

A similar species, though smaller and more graceful in appearance, Kunzea ericoides is common in like habitats in the South Island only- north of the Buller and Wairau Rivers in north-west Nelson. Despite this, nursery stock in outer regions may bear this name, but misidentify the species. This is because all plants but a low-growing Great Barrier Island form (K. sinclairii) were recognized as K. ericoides until 2014, when Auckland botanist Peter de Lange identified 10 separate species in the genus Kunzea. It was not until 1983 that Kunzea was even declassified as Leptospermum, a misguided legacy that endured taxonomic revisions since French botanist Achille Richard collected and formally described the species (as L. ericoides) in 1832. Following additional misclassification in the 1980s, Kunzea was maligned as an Australian weed and removed in offensive swaths through the 90s. Population decline persists perhaps not due to miseducation but rather growing pastoralism.

Indigenous Māori had, however, recognized some of this diversity in their different growth forms and wood properties. Importantly, iwi refer to Kunzea as mānuka and Leptospermum as kahikatoa. More distinctly, Kunzea robusta may be referred to as mānuka, manuka rauriki, rawirinui, or kopuka and Kunzea ericoides as manuoea, atitire, titire, and mānuka.

Still of concern is the casual identification of these morphologically similar genera- most easily done by discerning their leaves and flowers. Kunzea's small lanceolate leaves of bright olive-green emit a scent similar to Eucalyptus when crushed and are thought to have a soft texture. Mānuka leaves, though a similar shape, are darker, duller and have a bite when stroked. Their flowers are similarly formed with white petals and a red centre from which sprightly stamens protrude, but are notably borne in corymbiform clusters at the terminal ends of Kunzea's characteristic branches. They are also significantly smaller, no more than 1cm wide, and bloom from late spring-early summer. The subsequent small dry capsules generally open in the autumn, and frequently drop within a few months rather than persisting.

Photo by John B. (2015). kānuka (Kunzea ericoides). https://inaturalist.nz/observations/1214950

The abundant nectar and pollen feeds native bees and endemic arboreal geckos. Its bark, long, flaky, and tessellated, provides habitat and refuge for native spiders and other invertebrates. Resourceful tūī and kākā fossick through the long grey strips for these insects and splinter dead branches for burrowed grubs. Extensive stands of kānuka are also home to large numbers of forest birds, including threatened whitehead (pōpokatea) and fern bird (mātātā).

The leaves feed most of New Zealand's native stick insects and are the almost exclusive host plant for the two Clitarchus species. At night while sexually seeking, C. hookeri females emit volatile emissions abundant in terpenoids to signal mates (males are searchers). These are also the main compound found in their host plant, suggesting that the females sequester the scent of the kānuka and emit it at night when the plant cannot synthesize the compounds, thereby using it as concealment and a sexual signal.

Photo by S. Trewick. (2019). Mate guarding the New Zealand stick insect Clitarchus hookeri on the host plant, kānuka, Kunzea ericoides. https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/10/7/202

Associations also exist with the endemic orchids Corybas cheesemanii (helmet orchid, Cheeseman's spider orchid) and Corybas cryptanthus (hidden spider orchid, icky) which grow in the moist semi-decomposed leaf litter at the base of the tree.

A pioneer species, kānuka (and mānuka) colonises impoverished, eroded, and exposed environments following ecological disturbance or the cessation of agricultural land use. Smaller than Kunzea robusta, Leptospermum grow below the kānuka's dominant canopy. This protective cover shelters a nurse crop of podocarps and broadleaved species like kauri, rimu and other species, increasing biodiversity. A productive microbiome of fungi and other soil micro-organisms benefits the emerging plants as well. Recent research even suggests kānuka compounds have a negative effect on kauri dieback spores. The dominant kānuka forest ultimately diversifies and cedes to a mixed forest in natural vegetative succession, typically over one hundred or more years.

Although Kunzea robusta, K. ericoides, and K. serotina (a montane species) are not formally threatened, the other species in this valuable genus are at risk- and all can be vulnerable to habitat loss, disturbing the fragile ecological processes that interact in regenerating forest.

Current stand of kānuka in a Raglan ecotone with primarily kikuyu (Cenchrus clandestinus)undergrowth x historical stand in the n. Urewera Forests with developing native grass and sedge sward | Photo by Elaina Hanzel.