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Recommended Books 
A practical field guide to New Zealand's native edible plants. Andrew Crowe 
Gardener's Encyclopaedia of NZ Native Plants by Cave, Paddison 
Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand by Poole and Adams 
The Reed Field Guide to New Zealand Native Trees by J.T. Salmon 
 
High Altitude Mountain Daisies (Celmisia Semicordata), Mt Cook NP, Canterbury, New Zealand
McCormack, Gareth
18 in. x 24 in.
Buy this Photographic Print at AllPosters.com
| Juvenile and adult forms One of the intriguing features of the New Zealand flora is the high percentage of plants which have a distinctly different leaf shape or growth habit as a juvenile, compared to that of the adult.
The theories put forward to account for this centre on the different environmental factors, both living and non living, present close to the ground, in the case of the juvenile, and higher in the canopy or under story, for the adult. A coarse or unpalatable leaf may hinder browsers close to the ground, while as a tree with a trunk over the height that a browser may reach may mean the juvenile leaf is inefficient and unnecessary in a high-light environment of the canopy.
Pseudopanax crassifolium lancewood is the most well known NZ native plant that adopts this habit. The juvenile may have an unbranched habit with a coarsely serrated leaf of dimensions 4cm wide and 35cm long, while the adult forms a branched canopy tree with a smooth edged leaf of dimensions 6cm wide and 25 cm long. In comparing the 2 leaf types one could be forgiven in thinking they were 2 distinct species. In fact, colonial botanists did classify them as distinct species.
The adult form
The juvenile form
A juvenile leaf with its toothed margin
Dacrydium kirkii monoao is a conifer which also has strikingly different leaf shapes as the picture shows.
The adult form is on the left, the juvenile on the right
These branches are on the same tree
Many plants adopt a divaricating or twisted form as a juvenile, then adopt a more conventional shrub or tree form when they mature. Kowhai, Totara, and Matai all do this.
Whatever the reasons or advantages to the plant for this feature, it reiterates the fact that the New Zealand flora is one of the most interesting in the world. for more information I recommend any of these books
Tell a friend about this site because they will thank you for it. | If you enjoy this website you will love my book. Order it on line from here 
| | Species list for information on native plants Agathis australis Alectryon excelsa Alseuosmia banksii Aristotelia serrata Arthropodium cirratum Beilschmiedia tarairi Beilschmiedia tawa Brachyglottis repanda Carmichaelia Carpodetus serrata Coprosma Cordyline australis Cordyline banksii. Corynocarpus laevigatus Cyathodesfasiculata Dacrydium cupressinum Dacrydium kirkii Dianella nigra Dodonaea viscosa Dysoxylum spectabile Elaeocarpus dentatus Elingamita johnsonii Entelea arborescens Fuchsia excorticta Fuchshia procumbens Gaultheria Geniostoma ligustrifolium Hebe Hedycarya arborea Hoheria populnea Kunzea ericoides Laurelia novae zelandiae Lophomyrtus Libocedrus plumosa Leptospermum scoparium Knightia excelsa Macropiper excelsum Meryta sinclairii Melicope ternata Melicope simplex Melicytus ramiflorus Metrosideros excelsa Myoporum laetum Myrsine australis Nothofagus Phormium tenax Phyllocladus trichomanoides Prumnopitys Pittosporum Pisonia brunonnianum Podocarpus dacrydioides Pratia physaloides Planchonella costata Pseudopanax Pseudowintera colorata Pomaderris kumaraho Rhabdothamnus solandri Rhopalostylis sapida Rubus Schefflera digitata Solanum aviculare Sophora microphylla Tecomanthe
speciosa Toronia toru Vitex lucens Weinmannia 
Scenic New Zealand Blank Greeting Cards 
Classic Walks of Scenic New Zealand Book 
Rainbow Forest - A Magic Forest Walk - New Zealand Nature Sounds Music CD
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