Past Events

Field trip to Blueskin Farm

Blueskin Farm is located on low hills to the west of Blueskin Bay, at 156 Manse Road. The farm supports patches of primary rimu-miro forest, secondary kanuka, a small but distinctive patch of heathland on Taratu Formation, and a LOT of gorse! Geological diversity is high, with volcanic, schist, conglomerate, and sedimentary substrates, and this has resulted in a relatively high diversity of native plants. Native birds are common and there are banded kokopu in the stream. We will be primarily looking at the native forest components, and with any luck the orchids will be out, if not flowering. About 120 indigenous plant species and 50 exotics have been recorded, and a list of these will be provided. Keen botanists are welcome to extend these lists, and we will hopefully make some forays into parts of the forest that have not yet been explored. Some parts of the forest are soft and slippery so wear appropriate footwear, and sensible, weather-proof clothing. If the weather is good we can boil the billy at lunchtime. Gorse makes excellent firewood! Your hosts will be Kelvin Lloyd and Beatrice Lee. Meet at the Botany Department carpark at 9 a.m., or at 156 Manse Road at 9:30 a.m.

Beech forest fungi

A talk by Dr David Orlovich, The University of Otago. A slide show and research talk highlighting the beautiful fungi that grow in Nothofagus forests in NZ. 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.

Spring Fungal and Lichen Foray

A two day trip to collect lichens and fungi in the Catlins, following on from our very successful Autumn trip. We'll do the Catlins River walk from the Tawanui Camp Ground end on Saturday and from the Chloris Stream end on Sunday. Leaders, David Orlovich and Allison Knight. Accommodation on Saturday night will be at Nugget Point Lighthouse Keepers house (numbers limited). Day trippers are welcome to join us on either day. To reserve accommodation or find out more contact David Orlovich by Wednesday 16 September. Leave from Botany carpark at 9.00 am Saturday.

8th Annual Geoff Baylis Lecture. Assoc. Prof. Daphne Lee

Daphne Lee will present a talk entitled: Palms, podocarps, orchids and proteaceans: the contribution of new fossil plants from Otago and Southland to our understanding of New Zealand's vegetation history. Lecture at 6 pm in Castle 1, with nibbles and drinks from 5:15 pm in the concourse outside the Castle lecture theatres.

Mystery Fossil Hunt

A field trip led by Assoc. Prof. Daphne Lee. Leave from Botany carpark at 9 am. Backup date Saturday August 22nd, 2009.

Botanical "Show and tell" evening

Members are invited to bring along botanical items (for example, photographs and slides, plants, books, seeds anything botanical that you'd like to show others!) for a show and tell evening. 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.

Botany student colloquium winners

Three short talks by the winners of the 2009 Botany Postgraduate Student Colloquium. These students (names to be announced) were awarded prizes for the best talks, and will be presenting their research talks to the BSO this evening. 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.

Field trip to Dunedin Botanic Garden

The Dunedin Botanic Garden is an outstanding local botanical resource highly valued by Dunedinites. Botanical Services Officer and Society member Tom Myers will take us on a guided tour of the recently-created Solander Trail and the impressive Native Collection. If time permits we'll also have a look through some of the natural bush areas that are part of the Garden. SPECIAL NOTE: Meet in the carpark next to the Botanic Garden Centre, Botanic Garden, on Lovelock Avenue.

Sullivan's Dam ferns field trip

A field trip to discover the ferns of Sullivan's Dam, led by John Steel. It will be to practice using John's "Key to the ferns of Dunedin". There are close to a hundred species of ferns in the greater Dunedin City area and John has produced this key over the last ten years using student feedback to iron out the more common problems found when trying to identify them. A great opportunity to master this fascinating component of the Dunedin environment. Leave from Botany carpark at 8.30 am.

Ecological excuses for a visit to China

A talk by Emeritus Prof. Alan Mark. 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.

The community structure of epiphytic lichen communities of mountain beech

A talk by Dr Hannah Buckley, Lincoln University. This is a Department of Botany Seminar. Note special venue: At the Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs, corner of Union St (West) and Great King Streets).

Fungal Foray to the Catlins

A two day trip to collect fungi in the Catlins. We'll explore the many patches of native bush in the Catlins area. Bring your camera along. Leader, David Orlovich. Accommodation on Saturday night will be at Nugget Point Lighthouse Keepers house (numbers limited). Day trippers are welcome to join us on either day. To reserve accommodation or find out more contact David Orlovich by Wednesday 20 May. Leave from Botany carpark at 8.30 am Saturday.

Positive interactions and interdependence in plant communities

A talk by Dr Ragan Callaway, The University of Montana. The individualistic view of plant communities has led to successful research on the importance of the abiotic environment and competition as factors structuring plant communities. Negative interactions such as predation, competition for resources, and allelopathy have been central to the study of ecology and evolution. However, it has become clear that organisms can greatly enhance the performance of their neighbors as well as modify the environment in ways that benefit other species. Positive interactions among plants, or facilitation, occur when the presence of one plant enhances the growth, survival, or reproduction of a neighbor. Until recently, examples of facilitation have been relatively rare; however, this rarity may have been an artifact of scientific disinterest rather than ecological frequency. But in the last 20 years, hundreds of peer-reviewed papers have been published on the positive effects of plants on each other. This research challenges a strict definition of the theory of individualistic plant communities, one of the most basic and widely accepted conceptual models in ecology, as a foundation for understanding how groups of plant species are organized. I will discuss this research and its theoretical implications. 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.

Going with the flow: water motion and seaweed productivity

A talk by Assoc. Prof. Catriona Hurd, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. This is a Department of Botany Seminar. Note special venue: At the Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs, corner of Union St (West) and Great King Streets).

Variation in the leaves and fibre of Cordyline spp. ti and toi

A talk by Rebecca Lodge, PhD candidate, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. This is a Department of Botany Seminar. Note special venue: At the Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs, corner of Union St (West) and Great King Streets).