Māhoe berries
Image: Shellie Evans | ©

Native plants natural to coastal areas

Introduction

Find out about native plants found in coastal areas.

Grown from seed collected from coastal areas of Banks Peninsula, Christchuch and the Lyttelton Basin.

Very little of our original native coastal vegetation has survived. Farming and urban settlement have destroyed the coastal natural communities, and exotic species such as marram grass, lupins and pine trees have replaced the natural vegetation of pingao, flax and ngaio.

The native species once colonised dry and unstable soils and sand dunes, where they provided shelter against strong, salt-laden winds, and habitat for the native wildlife.

We can still appreciate the richness and beauty of our herbaceous plants, grasses, hardwoods and ferns in remnants of our coastal forests and undisturbed sand dunes. Planting the species represented in these gardens will restore some of these plant communities, provide shelter and food source for our native fauna and the seed source for natural regeneration.

Species name and common name

R = rare
T = threatened

Coastal forest

    1. Austroderia richardii toetoe
    2. Coprosma crassifolia thick-leaved coprosma
    3. Coprosma propinqua mingmingi
    4. Coprosma robusta karamū
    5. Cordyline australis ti kōuka, cabbage tree
    6. Corokia cotoneaster korokio, corokia
    7. Discaria toumatou tūmatakuru, matagouri
    8. Dodonaea viscosa akeake
    9. Griselinia littoralis pāpāuma, broadleaf
    10. Hebe salicifolia koromiko
    11. Kunzea robusta kānuka
    12. Leptospermum scoparium mānuka, tea tree
    13. Macropiper excelsum kawakawa
    14. Melicytus ramiflorus
    15. Myoporum laetum ngaio
    16. Myrsine australis māpou
    17. Olearia paniculata akiraho, golden akeake
    18. Phormium tenax harakeke, New Zealand flax
    19. Pittosporum eugenioides
    20. Pittosporum tenuifolium black matipo, kōhūhu
    21. Pseudopanax arboreus
    22. Solanum laciniatum poroporo
    23. Sophora prostrata dwarf kōwhai

Mid dunes

    1. Acaena novae-zelandiae
    2. Carex littoralis (R/T)
    3. Carex trifida tataki
    4. Carmichaelia appressa (R) maukoro, common native broom
    5. Clematis afoliata pōhue, leafless clematis
    6. Coprosma acerosa sand coprosma
    7. Craspedia ‘Kaitorete’ (R/T)
    8. Festuca novae-zelandiae fescue tussock
    9. Helichrysum lanceolatum niniao
    10. Muehlenbeckia astonii (T) shrubby tororaro
    11. Muehlenbeckia axillaris
    12. Muehlenbeckia complexa pōhuehue
    13. Muehlenbeckia ephedroides (R)
    14. Ozothamnus leptophylla tauhinu, golden cottonwood
    15. Pimelea prostrata native sand daphne
    16. Poa cita wī silver tussock
    17. Raoulia australis
    18. Salicornia australis southern grasswort
    19. Samolus repens sea primrose
    20. Scleranthus uniflorus nāereere
    21. Tetragonia trigyna kōkihi, New Zealand spinach

Fore dunes

  1. Calystegia soldanella wihiwihi, sand convululus
  2. Carex pumila sand sedge
  3. Disphyma australe horokaka, Maori ice plant
  4. Euphorbia glauca (R/T) waiuatua
  5. Ficinia spiralis pīngao, golden sand sedge
  6. Linum monogynum rauhuia, New Zealand linen flax
  7. Pimelea arenaria daphne
  8. Poa billardierei (R/T) sand tussock
  9. Raoulia australis
  10. Zoysia minima (R)

Swampy hollows

  1. Apodasmia similis oioi, jointed wire rush
  2. Bolboschoenus caldwellii purua, sedge
  3. Ficinia nodosa
  4. Isolepis basilaris (R/T) turf club rush
  5. Juncus maritimus sea rush
  6. Plagianthus divaricatus marsh ribbonwood
  7. Schoenoplectus pungens three-square
  8. Selliera radicans remuremu, a mat plant

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Native plants natural to coastal areas (PDF, 897K)

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