Pyrrosia serpens is recorded here for the first time from the New Zealand Botanical Region, based on a single collection from Dayrell Island in the Kermadec Islands. This is a significant southern extension of range for the species, otherwise known in the Pacific from Fiji to Pitcairn and Henderson Islands. The identification of the Dayrell Island collection is based on evidence from both morphology

(2020). Biological classifications as hypotheses about order in nature. New Zealand Journal of Botany. Ahead of Print.

(2020). Absence of evidence doesn’t falsify a hypothesis. New Zealand Journal of Botany. Ahead of Print.

Syzygium maire is an endemic tree in New Zealand and classified as critically endangered. The in situ populations of this species are further threatened by the incursion of myrtle rust. The biology and ecology of S. maire have not been well documented and limited information on seed development, effective germination and seed storage behaviour of S. maire are hampering ex situ conservation and restoration

Photosystem II is the pigment–protein complex that oxidises water and reduces plastoquinone in oxygenic photosynthesis. Each Photosystem II complex contains four core proteins surrounded by 13 low-molecular-weight proteins. The 5-kDa PsbT protein is one of the subunits found at the interface of functional Photosystem II dimers. We previously observed that deletion of PsbT in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis

African termites are classified into five distinct families, Termitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Hodotermitidae, Termopsidae and Kalotermitidae. Termites are undoubtedly one of the key ecosystem engineers. Because they harbour more nutritive plants, herbivory by large herbivores is biased towards mounds. Their engineering role is visible through construction of conspicuous termite mounds, which often harbour

The species described by Georg Forster as Pteris comans was once thought to be widespread across the Pacific. However, previous molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that a subclade within Pteris subgenus Campteria section Tripedipteris comprises a group of Oceanian species with anastomosing veins, and that the species described by Forster is actually a complex of many different species. P. zahlbruckneriana

Pteridaceae is a large family of ferns in New Zealand with six genera, 15 indigenous species and 11 naturalised species. Eleven lectotypes are designated for basionyms relevant to New Zealand – Adiantum affine var. heterophyllum Colenso, A. cunninghamii Hook., A. pullum Colenso, A. trapeziforme G.Forst., A. trigonum Labill., Cheilanthes sieberi var. deltoidea J.B.Armstr., C. kirkii J.B.Armstr., Pteris

The island of Rotuma lies about 580 km north of the main archipelago of Fiji, and while politically part of that country, it differs culturally and floristically. It has not typically been included in botanical treatments for Fiji as a whole despite visits from several botanists. Pteridophytes of Rotuma were described by St. John in 1954 based on a visit there in 1938, but little additional information

The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is widely used as a model organism to study Photosystem II (PS II) of oxygenic photosynthesis. In response to inherent genetic instability in cyanobacteria we re-sequenced our strain of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, designated as Glucose Tolerant Otago 1 (GT-O1), to establish its genomic background [Morris JN, Crawford TS, Jeffs A, Stockwell PA, Eaton-Rye

A new species of Stolonivector (Lophocoleaceae) has been found from two separate sites in southern New Zealand. Stolonivector echioides has been assigned to this genus because it is has all the features of Stolonivector, namely the presence of stolons, a lack of secondary pigmentation, both lateral- and ventral-intercalary branching types, leafy branches that often become flagelliform, highly variable

This review summarises the ecology and biology of the North Island New Zealand endemic evergreen epiphytic shrub Pittosporum kirkii Hook.f. ex Kirk (Pittosporaceae). While mainly found as an epiphyte associated with other nest epiphytes such as Astelia spp., it also exhibits rupestral and terrestrial lifestyles. Pittosporum kirkii is distinguished from other members of New Zealand Pittosporum by distinctive

Over the last 15 years, New Zealand led research on wastewater treatment high rate algal ponds (HRAP) has focused on ways to optimise pond performance, particularly with respect to nutrient removal and resource recovery (microalgal biomass production). The primary motivation for most of this research has been the need to cost-effectively improve wastewater treatment, particularly in small towns and

Cyathus is a genus of gasteroid fungi characterised by a small fruitbody, with a cup or inverted bell shape. Distributed worldwide, the genus contains organisms that degrade organic matter, mainly decaying wood. In Brazilian northeast, there are 21 known of Cyathus, showing a huge taxonomic richness. In this study, nineteen specimens of Cyathus collected at Monte Pascoal National Park were analysed

The current threat of myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) to New Zealand Myrtaceae, including a number of indigenous and socio-economically important species, requires that ex situ conservation is used to complement in situ populations. New Zealand’s Myrtaceae have received little attention in terms of ex situ conservation. In this study, we assessed the integrated ex situ conservation strategies for

Development of specific microsatellite primers is a relatively expensive and time-consuming process, so transferring already developed markers from one species to others is desirable, especially for non-model organisms with large genome structure such as conifers. In austral South America, the three Cupressaceae are monotypic genera of high conservation and evolutionary relevance. Although they had

Compared to continental Antarctica, the lichen biota of the various subantarctic islands and island groups is poorly documented. Here we describe the new species Lecanora muscigena Øvstedal & Fryday from the subantarctic island of South Georgia from a collection made in 1980 that was previously included as Trapeliopsis sp. A. by Øvstedal & Lewis Smith in their comprehensive account of the Lichens of

Pilosella officinarum is a serious adventive weed in New Zealand. It has also proven to be highly invasive in other countries. The areas infested are typically extensive rangelands for which expensive control measures would be hard to justify economically. However, it has been known for many years that species of this genus are particularly sensitive to the concentration of boron in the soil. The application

Seed dispersal service is the proportion of plant species dispersed by a given disperser. It is important since seed dispersal enables colonisation of new habitats, and because movement of seeds even short distances away from trees can reduce vulnerability of seeds and seedlings to disease, predation and density-dependent effects that occur in the immediate vicinity of parent trees. In New Zealand

Phlegmariurus varius is an Australasian species of lycophyte that has long been recognised as morphologically and ecologically variable. A recent study reported incongruence between morphological and genetic variation within New Zealand samples. However, a reappraisal and repeat of the genetic analyses of chloroplast DNA sequence data, and a more detailed examination of morphological variation, strongly

The endemic bull kelp Durvillaea willana Lindauer grows on South and Stewart/Rakiura Islands, with a small North Island population on the northern Wairarapa coast. Drawing on field observations, the distribution of this species is mapped. Within its biogeographic range, there are three lengthy tracts of rocky shore where the kelp is conspicuously absent. These distributional gaps are: Wellington’s

A thorough morphological circumscription of the tribe Mutisieae (Asteraceae) was established in 1977 by Angel L. Cabrera (1908–1999), who made fundamental worldwide contributions to the taxonomy of the family Asteraceae. The advance of molecular phylogenetic studies resulted in portrayals of relationships that have impacted the classification of the whole family and particularly of the Mutisieae. The

Platanthera Rich. is a genus of ca. 125 species with a predominantly Northern Hemisphere distribution. A recent monograph of the genus did not cite important material from New Guinea. On the island the genus is represented by species from the tropical section Mecosa (Blume) Kraenzl. of subgenus Platanthera, which are not widely represented in herbaria and each specimen has a high value for taxonomic

The two frequent Ramalina species in southern South America are R. laevigata Fr., which has abundant apothecia, and R. terebrata Hook. f. & Taylor, which lacks apothecia but has abundant sorediate pseudocyphellae. However, two other taxa that predate Hooker and Taylor’s name were described from the Falkland Islands. These names are investigated here and R. flaccidissima Bory is shown to be the correct

Sophora sect. Edwardsia is a group of 19 species largely confined to the South Pacific, with New Zealand the centre of species diversity. We used DNA and morphological analyses to investigate the origins of six uncurated Sophora sect. Edwardsia specimens from the herbarium of John G. Baker and Silvanus Thompson housed at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. These specimens derive from Sophora

Worldwide, tree species sometimes fall victim to epidemics of microbial pathogens, usually spread by sap-sucking insects. One such example is the recent devastation of cabbage trees (Cordyline australis) in New Zealand by a damaging phytoplasm (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense’). Cabbage trees are among New Zealand’s most emblematic plant species, playing an iconic role in many landscapes. They

Ocellularia (Graphidaceae) is a genus of crustose lichens comprising c.200 species, four known from Australia and New Zealand. Based on recent collections from northern North Island, we describe a fifth species Ocellularia jacinda-arderniae, which is a member of the O. bicuspidata complex. This complex is characterised by peculiar, appendiculate ascospores and a psoromic acid chemistry. Two further

In angiosperms, the usual storage tissue found in seeds is the endosperm, which originates at the characteristic event of the double fertilisation. The mature seeds of Gomortega keule (Molina) Baillon, in the monotypic family Gomortegaceae, contain a storage tissue composed of two distinct parts. This uncommon form suggests one of the parts may actually correspond to perisperm. In this work we aimed

This perspective provides a historical account of the isolation and nomenclature of the cyanobacterial strains currently known as Synechococcus elongatus. The story focuses on an isolate from the San Francisco Bay area of California (Pasteur Culture Collection PCC 7942) that has, for decades, been the genetic model for this species, and its close relative isolated from Waller Creek in Texas (PCC 6301