Species Overview
New Zealand's native gymnosperms are all conifers, representing three families, ten genera and twenty species.
All species, but only two genera (Halocarpus and the monotypic Manoao) are endemic to New Zealand.Feb 28, 2023.
There are over 600 species of conifers around the world, and they exhibit enormous diversity..
Kauri, kaikawaka and kawaka are the only native conifers to produce woody cones that split open when mature, releasing seeds into the wind.
The seed cones of podocarps and celery pines are smaller, surrounded by a fleshy support or cover, and their seeds are distributed by birds.Sep 24, 2007.
Totara is a native conifer and member of the podocarp family, with two species growing into large trees, Podocarpus totara and P. hallii.
These species naturally hybridise (Bergin, 2003), with P..
Kauri, kaikawaka and kawaka are the only native conifers to produce woody cones that split open when mature, releasing seeds into the wind.
The seed cones of podocarps and celery pines are smaller, surrounded by a fleshy support or cover, and their seeds are distributed by birds.Sep 24, 2007.
Seedling foliage consists of narrow little leaves, lying flat in two rows on thin branches.
Adults have scale-leaves, similar to those of rimu, but often bright green or blue-green.
Kahikatea has ascending branchlets, in marked contrast to rimu's long weeping branchlets..
Three of the most common conifers that grow in North America are pine, fir, and spruce trees.
Conifers are among the smallest, largest, and oldest living woody plants known in the world..
Kauri, kaikawaka and kawaka are the only native conifers to produce woody cones that split open when mature, releasing seeds into the wind.
The seed cones of podocarps and celery pines are smaller, surrounded by a fleshy support or cover, and their seeds are distributed by birds.Sep 24, 2007.
About a quarter of New Zealand's forests consist of exotic plantations, 90 per cent of them radiata pine.
On the pumice lands of the central volcanic plateau, Kaingaroa Forest (seen here) covers hundreds of kilometres–a vast resource for the myriad native plants and animals that have taken up residence within it..
This level of endemism is typical for the vast Austro-Malesian archipelago, where most conifers are island endemics isolated from each other since the Cretaceous
For example, the nearest large island to New Zealand, New Caledonia, has 43 conifer species, all of them endemic
The second conifer family we have in New Zealand is the Araucariaceae, with one native species, kauri
The Araucariaceae is a small family with three genera, Agathis (22 species), Araucaria (20 species including Norfolk pine) and Wollemia (1 species)
Agathis extends from New Zealand through Australia and Melanesia to SE Asia
Dellow The conifersnative to this country range in size and importance from the giant Kauri — one of the most valuable timber trees in the world — to the little heath-like Pygmy Pine of the mountain herbfield, and include a variety of species which provide fine timbers and some which make noble ornamental trees
They belong to four families:
