Threatened Plants of New Zealand

About this book

One in 13 of New Zealand's native plants is now threatened with extinction. Six species are already extinct - like the moa and the huia, they are gone forever. Even the popular kakabeak (Clianthus puniceus) is in a serious plight, with just one plant left in the wild. Another 24 species are known in the wild from fewer than 200 plants.

This book combines precise botanical descriptions with colour photographs in describing the 189 species defined by conservation scientists as Extinct or Threatened, using the New Zealand Threat Classification System. Each description contains information on how to identify the plant in question, the specific threats it faces, and its current distribution.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Peter de Lange is a threatened plant scientist with the Department of Conservation, focusing on taxonomy, genetics, ecology and threat classification systems. Peter Heenan is a plant taxonomist with Landcare Research, and has served on the New Zealand Threatened Plant Panel since 1999. David Norton is a botanist and ecologist who heads the Rural Ecology Research Group in the New Zealand School of Forestry at the University of Canterbury. Jeremy Rolfe is a botanical photographer who has worked at the Department of Conservation since its inception in 1987, working mainly on interpreting the natural sciences to the public. John Sawyer is a plant ecologist who has worked for the Department of Conservation for 16 years, focusing on the conservation of threatened plants.