BOTANY DIVISION DSIR
REPORT MOUNTAIN FLORA OF MT HUTT
~i. J. A.SI t·rPSON OCTOBER 1984 MOUNTAIN FLORA OF MT HUTT .
M.J.A. Simpson
The Mt Hutt range, an outlier to the main axia l range forming the
Southern Alps, lies just to the south of the Raka ia river, west of the township of Methven. The ski basin carpark, c. 1600 o, can be reach ~ d in little more than an hou rs drive from Christchurch. The road up the mountain passes beside some old cushions of the vegetable sheep , Raoulia eximia and so f ar as I know this is the only place where one · can see this renowned plant without an ene rgetic, stiff climb. A mountain buttercup, closely rela ted to the celebrated Castle Hill buttercup, grows on rather consolidated screes at a similar altitude. It rejoices in the n Ranunculus cr•ithr.rifolius subsp. crithmifol,ius and was once known as R. chordorhizos. Exposed roadside banks at lower levels provide a h3.bitat for the bright yellow-flowered Sene.~io glaueophyI·(us subsp. basiru;_d~u s. The slopes around the carpark are, of co~rse, covered with snow in wintet:' and well trodden by the mu l titudinous skiers who frequ c: r~t this popular resort. Even in summer the seemingly bare shingle slopes, ~l interspersed with rock outcrops,Areaching up to the suumit ridge! do not appear very inviting botanically. However, the list presented here recot·ds over 120 species known fron the vicinity of the carpark and up to the final su:::imit c. 2.0QO i'l-\. Just helow the carpark there are some deep, narrow gullies hedged by rock ridges that need to be traversed with care because of loose rock. But botanising here is r ewarding with the shaded damp slopes providing ideal habitats for ma ny species. Probably the ~ost notewo rthy plant h ere is the large s ·..,re etly scented forget-me-not, l•!!J080t.1:s rr.acrantha. which can h ave flowers of yellow, maroon or rich brown. Mats of South Island edelwe iss, 2 Leucogenes grandiceps sprawl over rocks, the re a re several Ce?,misias, the lovely Geum leiospermum, gentians> Parahebes and many other species. The seepage area to the left just above the carpark are.a has a small mountain stream cascading through it. This oasis is, unfortunately, decreasing year by year but still carries a wide range of mountain plants which in summer provide a. floral display worthy of any garden. Mat plants s~(~-:.1~.5. i:;( including~Anisotome 1 c~t.,/t.i.,;Gingidia P Coprosma pi.J..rTi"la_, ---- and others form a continuous green ground cover. An unnamed grass, Poa sp., with short glaucous leaves lines the stream bank. Here the Senecios, S. lyallii (yellow flowered) and Senecio scorzoneroides (white flowers), together with their apricot coloured hybrid, grow luxuriantly. In a flowering year the tawny orange. male ai1d female flower· spikes of AciphyU.. a montana. make at~ eyeca.tching display. The smaller A. monroi also grows here. Along the damp stream banks and in snow hollows, the whJ.te flowered Caltha obtusa is the first plant to flower once the wJ.nter snows have melted, and the pinkish flowers of Epilobium macropus add colour. Two small leaved buttercups are. common, Ranuncu7.us enysii with entire toothed leaves and R. sinclair-'ii with deeply divided leaves. There are two species of Pygmea1 P. ci~Uolata var. and P. pulvincwis. A forget-me-not with tiny white flowers, Myosotis pygrn:te.a var. minutiflora is not uncommon. The gentian is G. beUidifolia. Both grey and green-leaved forms of Celmisia angustifo-lia are here, together with other CeZm·i.sia spp. In fact, a good proportion of the species listed will be found i~ this and adjacent areas. On nearby scree areas with sufficient seepage, the sprawling Mantia austral-asica with succulent, linear leaves r.iay be found. This Ht Hutt form has distinctly rosy flowers and they are sweetly scented. Throughout the scree slopes a good many of our very specialised scree plants still find a home. The large yellow flowered Ranuncul.us ho.astii is not uncommon, 3 showing up best when in flower but also very noticeable when bearing its chubby seed head. The penwiper, Noto!;h7.,a::;pi rosuLatwn, also sweetly s~ented 7 tends to grow on the loi,1er slopes and llaast·ia sincLairi·i, Stell.aria roughii_, Paa buchanani and EpiiobLum pycrwstachyum are all present. But sp-:e.1::.s of the stars here are twoACotula ~1ith Fell field plants find a home throughout the rock rib running up from the seepage area. There are extensive olive-green mats of RaouLia hectoi-i,, here at its northern limit. Dracophy?,Lum prom Pentachondra pu.miLa, the grass, Poa colensoi and other species are all to be seen. The bright green cushions are of PhylLachne colensoi. On the rock outcrop at the head of this rib and on other outcrops at a similar altitude there are more special plants. Lovely grey- leaved RaouLia youngii with its 'everlasting ' white flower heads grows in spreading mats and there are tight cushions of RaouLia mt;,mrni1.Lar·is tucked into rock crevices~ The scree-loving Hamrtia sind,air-ii can be found here as well as mats of H. recui>va with woolly buff- coloured leaves. There are two small ferns, PoLystichum cystostegia and Grammitis p!Jeppigiana and sometimes the rosettes of Cheesemania are to be seen. Four species of the rather insignificant Colobanthus can be found, including C. monticoLa_, well north of its previously recorded range. Hebe epacridea and H. pir1guifolia are both present. The ridge on the skyline leads up to the peaks of Mt Hutt and in a saddle between the two peaks c:. 2100 o, we r2cocded Raou?,i:i gr-andiflor>a, R. hector>i, R. youn.gii, Pygmga puLvinaris, Paa colensoi> CeLm,isia a"v;;ustifoLia, C. La"f'icifo7.,ia, Anisoto:r;e imbricata, Luzula pur.1i'la and Gen.tiana divisa. 4 Amo ngst the summit rocks (c. 2200 m) Hebe haastii i s common and Co1.obarrthu s s p., i s pres e nt just below the summit. The black lichen N e~ ropogon sp., is common on the s unmit rocks. On one occasion we r ecor ded ladybirds , blow flies and white but t erflies while on the summit. The ridge around the top of the bas in i s flat topped with rather firm scree and h e re there are solitary pla nts of Gentia.na d-ivisa, Hebe haastii, and Ranunc u!us haastii. The only adventive plants which seem to h ave esta blish ed to date on this part of the mountain are Cerast-ium fontanwn subsp. trivia!e , Viol.a arvensis, and pe rhaps Cardamine sp. Other speci es r ecorded are Cirs·iv.;n arvense , Lupinus arboreus and Prunus sp., but all as seedlings only. Flowering starts early in some mountain plants h e re wit h Ca}tha sho'.·Ting blooms as soon as the snow me lts. Ranuncu1.u s spp., . are generally flowe ring by mid October and Pygme a. pu1.vinari s and PhyLlachne colensoi were both recorded in flower in October. ~ - - 5 SPECIES LIST, MT. HUTT. from vicinity of the carpark to the summit (c. 1500 c - 2200 m) Ferns and fern allies Blechnum penna -marina Grarnmitis pDep pigiana Lycopodium australianum Polystichum cys tostegia richardii Rushes & Sedges Carex pyrenaica var. cephalotes Luzula pumlla rufa Schoenus paucifolius Grasses Agrostis subulata Chionochloa macra p a llens Erythranthera pumila Koeleria cheesemanii novae·-zelandiae Poa buchanani colensoi novae-zela ndiae sp. 6 Herbs & woody plants Acaena fissistipula profunde-inc: isa Aciphylla montana monroi Anisotome aromatica flexuosa imbricata pilifera Astelia petrie i Brachycome sinclairii Caltha obtusa Cardamine debilis sp. Celmisia angustifolia (two forms ) bellidioides discolor gracilenta setifolia haastii laricifolia lyallii sessiliflora specta bilis viscosa Cheesemania sp. 7 Colobanth us aclcularis buchanani apetalus var. alpinus monticola Coprosma purn ila Cotula atrata de ndyi pectina t a pyre thrifolia Craspedi a incana Cyathodes f raseri Drape t es dieffenbachii lyallii villosus Dracophyllum p ronum Epilobium brunn escens subsp. minutiflorum cocka ynianum glabellum macro pus melanoca ulon porphyrium pycnostachyum tasmanicum Erechtites sp. Euphrasia r e vo luta zelandica Fors t e r a bidwillii 8 Gaulthe ria crassa Gentiana be llidifolia corymbifera di visa Geranium sessilif lorurn (purpl e form) Geum l e iospermum Gingidia decipiens Gnaphalium mackayii Haastia recurva sinclai r.U Hebe epacridea haastii lycopodioides pingui.f olia Helichrysum be llidioides Hymenanthera alpina Leucogenes grandiceps Mentha cunninghamii Microseri s scapigera Montia australasica Muehlenbeckia axillaris Hyosotis rnacrantha pygr.ia ea var. minuti flora Myrslne nummu laria Notothlaspi rosulatum 9 Oreomyrrhis colensoi Ourisia caespitosa Oxal is l ac tea Parahebe decora lyallii Pentachondra pumila Pernettya nana Phyllachne colensoi Plantago unif lo r~ Pratia angulata macro don Pygmea ciliolata var. pu lvinaris Ranunculus enysii haastii insignis gracilipes l a go pus Raoulia apice-nigra grandif lora hectori rnamrr.illaris sub-seri.cea youngii Schizeleima haastii Scleranthus uniflorus 10 Senecio logopus lyalHi scorzoneroides lyallii x scorzoneroides Stellaria parviflora rough ii Taraxacum magellanicum Viola cunninghamii Wahlenbergia albo-marginata (v. small form) Adventives Cardamine sp. Cerastium fontanum subsp. triviale Cirsium arvense (seedling only) Lup:lnus arboreus Prunus sp. Viola arvensis List of lichens collected on Mt Hutt, Canterbury, New Zealand by J.A. Elix, 14.1.1980. - Alectoria nigricans Arthroraphis citrinella Cetraria islandica spp. antarctica Claclia aggregata Claclenia averi II capitellata II carneola II chlorophaea II firnbriata I! rnitis ll scabriu scula II verticillata Cornicularia aculeata Diploschistes cervinus Hypogymnia kosciuskoensis II lugubris v. compacta II lugubris v. lugubris Lecanora parmelina Lecidea sp. Lopadium fuscoluteum Menegazzia aneofusca II inflata Neuropogon ciliatus " subcapillaris _,_ Pa:anelia mouge<>l~ina II stygioides II sp. Peltigera rufescens Pertusaria dactylina Placopsis lateritioides Pseudocyphellaria australiensis 11 berberina I! lechleri Psoroma buchanani " hirsutulum Rhizocarpon geographicum Siphula roccellaeformis Solorina crocea Stereocaulon corticatulum It ramulosum Thamnolia verrnicularis Toninia bullata.