A journey southwards to the subantarctic islands

A talk by Adrienne Markey. The flora of the sub-antarctic islands, and its affinities to the flora of New Zealand has always held the interest of botanists, starting from Joseph Dalton Hooker on the Antarctic voyages of the H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror (1839 1843), to recent research using molecular markers to track the dispersal and evolution of plants in these regions. So, with great boldness and audacity, I found myself able to also make a direct comparison of these regions. Yes, the origins and evolution of the Sub-Antarctic plants fascinate me, and it offered a chance to collect both Coprosma perpusilla ssp. subantarctica and Nertera depressa from their southernmost distributions and to complement current studies that I and fellow researchers had in progress. This talk will cover a week-long trip with Heritage Expeditions that Alex Fergus and I took part in earlier this year, and will show some of the glamorous megaphyllous herbs as well as a token seabird or two. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open. Followed by BSO End of year Dinner, 7 pm - see more details.