Chatham Island forget-me-not NZ’s Favourite Plant 2010

The innocent Chatham Island forget-me-not has beaten a deadly nettle to become New Zealand’s favourite plant for 2010.

In a national poll by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (NZPCN) to find the country’s preferred plant, the potentially deadly tree nettle (Urtica ferox) dominated voting until the Chatham Island forget-me-not overtook its rival in the final fortnight.

The Chatham Island forget-me-not is an iconic megaherb, growing in patches up to 1m tall. It is endemic to the Chatham Island archipelago where it grows on wild coastal cliffs, rock outcrops, above the strand zone on beaches, and in coastal forest openings.

With its large blue-flowered inflorescences, it is revered by gardeners nationwide but is threatened with extinction in the wild.

Supporters of butterfly conservation – the red admiral in particular – placed their votes in favour of the tree nettle that is a host plant for the butterfly. Others cited its home security value, saying that the killer plant was perfect for deterring burglars when planted below windows.

More than 125 plant species were voted for via the website of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network – a national on-line repository of information about plants. The more traditional New Zealand plant icons missed out again with the silver fern placing only 11th and the pohutukawa 23rd.

Previous winners of the annual poll have included pohutukawa, Cook’s scurvy grass and pingao (the golden sand sedge) in 2009.

The Top 10 native plants for 2010 (To view the top 100 go to – www.nzpcn.org.nz): Myosotidium hortensium (Chatham Island Forget-me-not, kopakopa, kopukapuka) Urtica ferox (ongaonga, tree nettle) Sporadanthus ferrugineus (bamboo Rush, giant wire rush) Metrosideros bartlettii (rata moehau, Bartlett's rata) Rhabdothamnus solandri (New Zealand gloxinia, kaikaiatua) Clianthus maximus (kakabeak, Kowhai Ngutu-Kaka) Cordyline australis (cabbage tree, ti, ti Kouka, palm lily) Muehlenbeckia astonii (shrubby tororaro, wiggywig, mingimingi) Dacrydium cupressinum (rimu, red pine)

ENDS

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