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 BOOK
REVIEWS
New
Zealand Coast and Mountain Plants
Their Communities and Lifestyles
By John Dawson and Rob Lucas
Published by Victoria University Press, New Zealand, 1996
Reviewed by Dr Ross E. Beever, Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research
Recent years have witnessed an explosion in nature photography in
New Zealand and Rob Lucas is amongst the most skilled of those focusing
on native plants. There are many of his superb images in this book,
my favourite being that of two vegetable sheep, Raoulia eximia
and Haastia pulvinaris, growing together in Nelson
Lakes National Park. However, this book is more than just a collection
of photographs, as these are accompanied by a text written by retired
Victoria University botanist John Dawson. It concentrates on plants
of open spaces, especially the substantial areas of coastline, inland
wetlands, and the uplands where forests are absent. As such it complements
an earlier book on forest plants by the same team. Like its predecessor,
this book will appeal to the layperson as it avoids technical terms
and statistics but nevertheless remains authoritative. However,
it will frustrate those wishing to delve further into the topics
discussed as the reference list is rather general and the index
minimal.
Two main themes weave through the book. First the diversity of geology
and landform in New Zealand, and how this provides habitats for
plant communities to develop, and second the ways in which plants
have adapted to the environmental stresses imposed by life in situations
which generally do not support tree growth. Indeed, to those more
familiar with our forest flora, it is salutary to realise that there
are more species of plants in the alpine vegetation than in the
forests.
Following a brief historical introduction, the story begins at the
coast with an account of the seaweed forests of the sublittoral
and the lichens of exposed rocky shores. It moves to a discussion
of the problems posed by salt water to most land plants, and the
communities of rocky coasts, beaches and sands dunes, and saline
wetlands. Human interference has grossly modified coastal New Zealand,
and the authors address the question as to whether offshore islands
such as the Three Kings preserve examples of 'original vegetation';
they conclude that they are a mixed bag. As a diversion, they describe
some of the spectacular endemics found on the northern islands.
They then move to the gaps in the forest (and nowadays pasture),
i.e. the open places between coast and mountain, from various wetlands
and river-bed to short tussock grasslands and serpentine vegetation,
concluding with an account of the Chatham Islands. Progressing upwards,
they describe the transition between forest and shrubland in the
mountains, before emerging onto the tussock herbfields. Here some
emphasis is placed on the tussock grasses themselves and the spaniards
or speargrasses, before moving to a discussion of some of the many
white-flowered alpine plants. The next chapters deal in turn with
fellfield with its distinctive vegetable sheep, cushion moorland
of the flat-topped Otago mountains, plants of snow banks and cushion
bogs, and finally those remarkable plants of shingle scree slopes.
Scree species pose a number of intriguing evolutionary questions;
one posed by the authors is why they are so well camouflaged as
to be difficult to see among the stones. From high altitude, the
text moves to high latitude with a discussion of the subantarctic
islands, including their spectacular megaherbs, and a discussion
of the human impact on the subantarctic. To complete the text a
brief account of the evolutionary origins of the alpine flora is
provided, along with a list of useful references, a glossary of
common names, and an index.
In a book covering such diversity in a relatively small compass,
it is natural that each reader will find something to quibble about
in the emphasis given different aspects. I would like to have seen
a stronger indication of the dynamics of vegetation change. The
title page features a sundew growing on a log felled by a Taupo
eruption 1 800 years ago, but there is no further description of
the role of lava flows and ash showers in moulding plant communities.
Also, I would question the ability of text and photograph to adequately
convey the essential features of plant communities, and would have
liked to see some use of diagrams. The nonvascular plants - important
components of many of the communities described - feature only in
passing, except for the section on the marine environment, where
seaweeds are indeed impossible to ignore. Some photogenic lichens
are illustrated (e.g. Figs 7 and 134) but not named, and those in
Fig. 7 are incorrectly described as 'erustose' rather than 'foliose'
(though admittedly oppressed). However, my major criticism is of
the appendices. The 'Glossary of common names' lists only some of
the names used in the text. It would have been helpful to many readers
to have all names used listed, along with their scientific equivalent
and their plant families. Parataniwha is mentioned (p. 74), but
there is no indication as to its scientific name. We are told (p.
47) that sea grass (Zostera) is not a grass nor a seaweed
but a flowering plant. Well yes, but so are grasses. A more comprehensive
index, perhaps combined with a glossary, would have gone some way
to helping those readers wishing to delve deeper.
The production of the book is of a very high standard, the colour
printing excellent, and the layout pleasing, although it sometimes
takes a little time to match caption to photo. Amongst the few errors
is the misspelling of naturalist E. G. Turbott's surname (p. 55).
The choice of common names is generally excellent, although one
I would quibble with is the use of golden tainui for kumarahou (Pomaderris
kumeraho).
I suggest that this book, along with its companion volume, will
appeal to those beginning botanists wishing to move past providing
a name for a plant and wanting to learn something of its ecology.
Together they provide an overview of New Zealand plants suitable
for horticulturists interested in cultivating the New Zealand flora,
and for the visitor from overseas seeking an insight into its many
novelties. While primarily concerned with providing an account of
the plants and their communities, it addresses the various ongoing
human impacts upon these systems, thus providing reasons as to why
such systems have to be actively conserved.
(This book was winner of the Natural Heritage Section of the 1997
Montana New Zealand Book Awards).
New
Zealand Garden Journal: Journal of the Royal New Zealand Institute
of Horticulture 1997 2(3): 24
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