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Pureora Forest Park
Pureora Forest Park is a protected area in the North Island of New Zealand. Within its rich rainforest are an abundance of 1,000-year-old podocarp trees. It is "recognised as one of the finest rain forests in the world". Established in 1978, after a series of protests and tree sittings, the park is one of the largest intact tracts of native forest in the North Island and has high conservation value due to the variety of plant life and animal habitats. New Zealand's largest totara tree is located nearby on private land. History Anti-logging protests were led by conservation activists Stephen King, Shirley Guildford, and others in the late 1970s in what is now Pureora Forest Park. They had a novel way of erecting platforms on treetops, sitting over it to protest logging operations in the forests. The result of their efforts was tri-fold: the park was established in 1978; the Government of New Zealand changed rules to meet the protesters' demand to permanently stop logging operat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest island. The world's 28th-most-populous island, Te Ika-a-Māui has a population of accounting for approximately % of the total residents of New Zealand. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Hastings, Whanganui, Palmerston North, and New Zealand's capital city Wellington, which is located at the south-west tip of the island. Naming and usage Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with the South Island, the North Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board offic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupō District, and parts of Rotorua District. It is governed by the Waikato Regional Council. The region stretches from Coromandel Peninsula in the north, to the north-eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the south, and spans the North Island from the west coast, through the Waikato and Hauraki to Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast. Broadly, the extent of the region is the Waikato River catchment. Other major catchments are those of the Waihou, Piako, Awakino and Mokau rivers. The region is bounded by Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east, Hawke's Bay on the south-east, and Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki on the south. Waikato Region is the fourth largest region in the coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prumnopitys Ferruginea
''Prumnopitys ferruginea'', commonly called miro, is an evergreen coniferous tree which is endemic to New Zealand. Before the genus '' Prumnopitys'' was distinguished, it was treated in the related genus ''Podocarpus'' as ''Podocarpus ferrugineus''. It grows up to 25 m high, with a trunk up to 1.3 m diameter. The leaves are linear to sickle-shaped, 15–25 mm long and 2–3 mm broad, with downcurved margins. The plants are dioecious with pollen cones being solitary while those of female plants hang from a curved, scaly stalk. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 2–3 cm long bearing 1-3 scales, each scale maturing berry-like, oval, about 20 mm long and 10–15 mm broad, red to purple-red with a soft edible pulp covering the single seed. The seeds are dispersed by the New Zealand pigeon, which eats the very conspicuous 'berries' and passes the seeds in its droppings. It is found growing on both lowland terrain and on hill slope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prumnopitys Taxifolia
''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī ( mi, mataī) or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there. It grows up to 40 m high, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are linear to sickle-shaped, 10–15 mm long and 1.5–2 mm broad. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 3–4 cm long bearing 1-6 scales, each scale maturing berry-like, 10–15 mm long, violet-purple with a soft edible pulp covering the single seed. The seeds are dispersed by the New Zealand pigeon (kererū), which eats the 'berries' and passes the seeds in its droppings. Classification The scientific name ''taxifolia'' derives from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the yew (''Taxus''). In the past the species, like the other species of '' Prumnopitys'', was often included in ''Podocarpus''; in this species under the name '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dacrycarpus Dacrydioides
''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was first described botanically by the French botanist Achille Richard in 1832 as ''Podocarpus'' ''dacrydioides'', and was given its current binomial name ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'' in 1969 by the American botanist David de Laubenfels. Analysis of DNA has confirmed its evolutionary relationship with other species in the genera ''Dacrycarpus'' and ''Dacrydium''. In traditional Māori culture, it is an important source of timber for the building of waka and making of tools, of food in the form of its berries, and of dye. When Europeans discovered it in the 18th century they found large remnant stands in both the North and South Islands, despite burning of forest by early Māori. Its use for timber and its damp fertile habitat, ideal for dairy far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyatheales
The order Cyatheales, which includes most tree ferns, is a taxonomic order of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms from a vertical rhizome, others have shorter or horizontal expanding rhizomes. Some species have scales on the stems and leaves, while others have hairs. However, most plants in the Cyatheales are tree ferns and have trunk-like stems up to tall. It is unclear how many times the tree form has evolved and been lost in the order.Judd, W.S., C.S. Campbell, E.A. Kellogg, P.F. Stevens, and M.J. Donoghue (Eds.) 2008. Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach, Third Edition. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA. Description While the Cyatheales have been shown to be monophyletic through molecular analysis, no prominent morphological characteristics are common to the entire g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tawa (tree)
''Beilschmiedia tawa'', the tawa, is a New Zealand broadleaf tree common in the central parts of the country. Tawa is often the dominant canopy tree species in lowland forests in the North Island and the north east of the South Island, but will also often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country in these areas, beneath podocarps such as kahikatea, matai, miro and rimu. Individual specimens may grow up to 30 metres or more in height with trunks up to 1.2 metres in diameter, and they have smooth dark bark. The Māori word "tawa" is the name for the tree. Tawa produce small inconspicuous flowers followed by 2–3.5 cm long fruit of a dark red plum colour. With such large fruits, tawa is notable for the fact that it relies solely on the New Zealand pigeon (kererū) and (where present) the North Island kokako for dispersal of its seed. These are the only remaining birds from New Zealand's original biota large enough to eat the fruits of this tree and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pumice
Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular volcanic rock that differs from pumice in having larger vesicles, thicker vesicle walls, and being dark colored and denser.Jackson, J.A., J. Mehl, and K. Neuendorf (2005) ''Glossary of Geology'' American Geological Institute, Alexandria, Virginia. 800 pp. McPhie, J., M. Doyle, and R. Allen (1993) ''Volcanic Textures A guide to the interpretation of textures in volcanic rocks'' Centre for Ore Deposit and Exploration Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania..198 pp. Pumice is created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. The unusual foamy configuration of pumice happens because of simultaneous rapid cooling and rapid depressurization. The depressurization creates bubbles by lowering the solu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subfossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanekaha Kahuroa
''Phyllocladus trichomanoides'', the tānekaha or celery pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. Description Tānekaha is a medium-sized forest tree growing up to 25 m in height and 1 m trunk diameter. The main structural shoots are green-skinned for 2–3 years, then turn brown as the bark thickens. The leaves are sparse, tiny, scale-like, 2–3 mm long, and only green (photosynthetic) for a short time, soon turning brown. Most photosynthesis is performed by phylloclades, highly modified, leaf-like short shoots; these are arranged alternately, 10-15 on a shoot, the individual phylloclades rhombic, 1.5-2.5 cm long. The seed cones are berry-like, with a fleshy white aril surrounding but not fully enclosing the single seed. Distribution In the North Island this species is found in lowland forests from Te Paki to 40°S. In the South Island this species is found in northern Marlborough and Nelson to 41°30'S. Economic uses Like the kauri, tānekaha shed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Titiraupenga
Titiraupenga (also known as Mount Titiraupenga) is an extinct high basaltic andesite stratovolcano on whose southern slopes is located the geographical centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is in the Pureora Forest Park between Lake Taupō and Te Kuiti on the North Island Volcanic Plateau in New Zealand. The area of the mountain is in a scenic reserve that is "recognised as one of the finest rain forests in the world". Geography The mountain is covered in native forest and is in the southern Waikato region. Geology Mount Titiraupenga has a prominence above the surrounding countryside of about and a diameter of about . It is to the north east of a larger stratovolcano, Mount Pureora, and both are located to the south of the extinct Mangakino caldera on a basement of Waipapa composite terrane. The basaltic andesite lavas are made up of plagioclase, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene, with rare olivine and hornblende phenocrysts with an age of 1.89 ± 0.02 Ma. Acce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
