Past Events

Insights of South American flora and fauna.

A talk by Pascale Michel. This informal talk presents the ecological uniqueness of two main national parks in South America: Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi (San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina). Serra de Cipó NP was created in 1984 to preserve a rich endemic flora, specific to dry high-altitude plateaux, and in particular the canela-de-ema (Vellozia pirestana) and a rare orchid (Constantia cipoensis). Nahuel Huapi NP comprises a large diversity of habitats expanding from Andean mountain beech forests to Patagonian steppes, and is home to humming birds and chinchillas. 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.

Lichen trip to Sutton Salt Lake with David Galloway

Led by David Galloway, author of the Lichen Flora of New Zealand. Orange Caloplaca on the shores of this lake are remarkably similar to coastal Caloplaca, while the schist tors bear rich communities of large foliose and smaller crustose lichens. Definitely bring a hand lens, or contact Allison Knight, 487 8265, if you would like to buy one.

Desert island botany: plants, pests, and 750 000 seabirds.

An impromptu talk by Mike Thorsen on the flora of the equatorial Pacific Phoenix Islands and the impacts from pests (people, rats, and rabbits) and the phenomenal density of ground-nesting seabirds. 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.

Ross Creek-Woodhaugh Garden Track Network

This half day trip in the heart of Dunedin will explore the network of tracks that begin at Woodhaugh Gardens and wind their way up the Water of Leith and into the Ross Creek Reservoir area. There's quite a range of natural vegetation passed on the walk including kahikatea-kowhai-ribbonwood-lacebark forest through to more recent kanuka dominated successional communities. Be prepared for a couple of hours walking on well maintained tracks. The trip will start and finish at Woodhaugh Gardens. Meet at 10 am at the George Street entrance to Woodhaugh Gardens. Back about midday

Fungi: New Zealand's hidden diversity

A talk by Dr David Orlovich. Fungi are nature's recyclers. They form the connections between between plants and soil, algae and rocks, toxic wastes and the atmosphere, even life and death! In New Zealand, fungi support the beech forests of Fiordland, the high country tussock grasslands and our agricultural pastures through symbiotic mycorrhizal associations. I will give an overview of research on fungi in New Zealand, illustrate the beauty of many species found in New Zealand, and emphasise the importance of societies like the BSO in furthering research on New Zealand fungi. 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.

Fungal Foray to Orokonui

A fungal foray led by David Orlovich to Orokonui Reserve. Note that collecting will be subject to DoC approval. Bring hand lens, a basket or bag for collecting fungi, greaseproof paper (for wrapping specimens in the field) and a camera if you have one.

Leave 9 AM from the Botany Dept carpark (corner of Great King Street and Union Street (West)) or 9:15 AM at the Orokonui carpark (the "Tallest Tree" carpark, off Orokonui Road, Waitati). We will aim to collect in the morning, and then return to the Department of Botany by 1 PM to record and dry our collections for the herbarium.

Some rain is forecast for Saturday, but we will still go if it is only light rain. You can check on the morning of the trip by calling David Orlovich on 021 122 7230 anytime after 8:00 AM. In case of really bad weather, we will postpone and go on Sunday 28th May instead.

Members who can't come in the morning are welcome to come to the Botany Dept (464 Great King Street) and see what we collected at 1:15 PM - be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

A magnificent obsession: the botanical life and legacy of Tony Druce

A talk by Geoff Rogers. An account of the wit, wisdom, mentoring role, and scientific achievements of a great New Zealand botanist. 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 Nenthorn, inland from Palmerston, with John Barkla

The DOC reserve at Nenthorn/Macraes is best known as a site for rare skink conservation but there is also great botanical diversity, including over 25 threatened plants. It's a landscape of rolling tussockland dotted with lichen encrusted schist rock outcrops, shallow ephemeral wetlands, and the odd deep gully with shrubby remnants. We'll seek out some of the less familiar species and should encounter coral broom, wetland herbs such as Gratiola nana and Tetrachondra hamiltonii, and the rare grass Simplicia laxa. Leave Botany carpark at 8.30 am Saturday and return late afternoon. Bring lunch and be prepared for cool changeable weather conditions. This mileage for this trip is expected to be about 100 km. Students are encouraged to apply for the student subsidy for this trip.

AGM and talk by Peter Bannister

A short AGM will be followed by an introductory talk by Emeritus Professor Peter Bannister on mistletoes. Then we'll see a special screening of a DVD entitled Exhuming Adams: a forensic investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a native mistletoe, by Brant Backlund and Thassilo Franke from last year's Natural History Film Making Course. 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.

Trip to Akatore

Trip led by Mike Thorsen, DoC. Times to be confirmed. Akatore is a remnant of diverse coastal shrubland at the mouth of Akatore Creek 45 minutes south of Dunedin. Some special features of this site include the diversity of shrub species and threatened species such as Coprosma obconica, Olearia fragrantissima, and Carex littorosa with the possibility of our discovering other threatened species. We'll also visit the adjacent coast where the threatened cress Lepidium tenuicaule is present as well as Myosotis pygmaea.

Fish, frustules, fungi, flowers and foliage

A talk by Jennifer Bannister. An investigation into the biota of an Early Miocene maar lake and its surrounding forest. About 20 million years ago a volcanic eruption near Middlemarch, formed a crater in the schist that filled with water. This type of lake is known as a maar. Sediment gradually built up on the lake floor, mainly the valves (frustules) of diatoms, where over time a finely varved diatomite formed. A forest grew up around the lake and leaves, flowers and fruits fell or were blown into the lake, sank on to the sediment and were preserved. We are trying to identify the leaves from their cuticles to build up a picture of the type of vegetation that grew there. We already have a pollen list although this is incomplete. 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, and seats fill fast.

Free BSO BBQ

Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch! A BBQ to welcome new botany/ecology students and new BSO members. At the front lawn, Botany House Annex, Great King Street (across the road from the main Botany building). Sausage sandwiches and drinks provided free by the Botanical Society of Otago. All BSO members welcome!

BBQ Postponed till Friday 10 March

Due to bad weather, we've decided to postpone the BBQ till next week.

Field trip to Guilds Hill near Seacliff, Warrington, with John Barkla

Seacliff Scenic Reserve comprises three discrete indigenous forest remnants near the Truby King Reserve. One of these, Guilds Hill, has a distinctive coastal forest element that includes the uncommon fragrant tree daisy, fierce lancewood and at least two species of mistletoe, one of which is hemi-parasitic on the other! The hill top provides a great view to the south and a lunch spot. Prior to its reservation the forest had a checkered history and suffered a partial forest collapse. A number of serious weedy lianes and shrubs have subsequently established and some grazing still occurs. Come along and give your views on management options. Leave Botany carpark at 9.30 am Sunday and return early to mid afternoon. Bring lunch and be prepared for untracked walking and muddy conditions.

Flora of Macraes and potential skink/plant interactions in a changing environment

A talk by Mike Thorsen, DoC. Flora surveys of the Macraes area has shown a surprising diversity of plant species and a high number of threatened plant species. This talk introduces some of the unusual species found at Macraes and discusses how the vegetation in this area has changed in the past, how it continues to change, and how this change could impact on the population of grand and Otago skink found there. 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, and seats fill fast.