DOC plea: have you seen this?
BY MAIKE VAN DER HEIDE
Relevant offers
Home and Garden
The Department of Conservation is asking Marlborough's observant outdoors men and women to keep an eye out for one of New Zealand's rarest plants.
Leonohebe cupressoides is a nationally endangered species of hebe common in people's gardens, but not in the wild, says Department of Conservation South Marlborough biodiversity ranger Jan Clayton-Greene.
She is urging anyone who spends time outdoors, be it for recreation or for work, to help spot the rare species, which is found only in the South Island, from Marlborough to Otago.
The plant has not been seen in the wild in Marlborough for many years, and most now grow in the Mackenzie Basin and the Shotover River Valley, near Queenstown.
Ms Clayton-Greene says any sightings could indicate whether the plant still exists in Marlborough, and if so in what sort of areas.
Leonohebe cupressoides is a rounded, greyish-green shrub, one to two metres high, with small, scale-like leaves.
It has white to pale blue-purple flowers from November to February. It is found in alpine shrublands and scrub, usually at the bottom of large boulder scree slopes, on alluvial terraces or on talus slopes.
The plant is not usually found in closed forest and open grassland.
Anyone who sees this species is asked to phone DOC South Marlborough, 035729100.
- The Marlborough Express
