A rare endemic plant has been rediscovered in the Wellington area after it was believed extinct in the region for more than a century.
Te pua o te Rēinga, also known as wood rose or Dactylanthus taylorii, was found near Wainuiomata and is the first time the species had been observed in the wild in Wellington since 1914.
Plants had previously been transplanted from Pureora Forest in Waikato to the Zealandia wildlife refuge in Wellington in 2020.
Greater Wellington ecosystems and community manager David Boone said a bird specialist was not looking for the plant but stumbled across several clusters in an area closed to the public.
“In a remarkable and unexpected discovery, our contractor spotted the plants close to a bird count station we have been surveying annually for the last two decades.”
Boone said the plants were not found in a healthy condition and were like “relics of a remnant population”.
“Further monitoring is needed to understand the size and health of the population, and what we can do to preserve it.”
Greater Wellington contractors were stunned by its discovery in the wild. (Source: 1News)
Department of Conservation operations manager Avi Holzpfel said this was the southernmost population of the plant in New Zealand.
“Individual plants can be long-lived, for decades or even more. Initial indications are this is a remnant population of mature plants which may have been at the site for a long time – right under our noses.”
The plant’s parasitic nature meant the plant was fully dependent on host trees, Holzpfel said.
“Therefore, all conservation efforts need to take the wider forest into account as well. Regular pest control carried out by Greater Wellington helped the population survive.”
The working group that translocated the plant to Zealandia and Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush in 2020 has reconvened to development a co-management plan for the rediscovered population.
