During one of my afternoon breaks, I stumbled across a copy of the Otago Botanical Society's newsletter in the Garden's staff room. In it were detailed a number of upcoming trips to nearby sites of botanical interest. Cup of coffee in hand, I perused the itinerary and decided that it was high time that I went to view some of New Zealand's flora in its natural habitat. So on the morning of the 2nd of November, I dragged myself out of bed and down to the University of Otago's Botany department where I was to hitch a lift down to Long Point in the Catlins.
Long Point is a rocky outcrop on the very south coast of New Zealand and provides a habitat for a number of coastal plants as well as seals and penguins. It is also very, very windy. Here are some snaps from the day of a few plants that we managed to stumble across.
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| Long Point |
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| Ranunculus acaulis- Sand Buttercup |
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| Celmisia lindsayi- Lindsay Daisy |
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| Myosotis pygmaea- Flower is 2mm across |
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| Rumex neglectus- Native NZ Shore Dock |
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| Wee Yellow Eyed Penguin pal |
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| Breezy Cabbage Trees (Cordyline australis) |
Having worked in the Native section of the gardens for the past month and a half, getting out and about gave me some fantastic context for a number of the plants that I had become familiar with. There is really no better way to learn and gain an appreciation of nature. Thank you to the Otago Botanical Society for having me!
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