Now there are eight

Forest and Bird, Issue 309, 1 August 2003, Page 13

Now there are eight

Landcare Research.

—DIANA LEUFKENS

reviously, scientists recognised just species of kowhai in New Zealand. But a Landcare Research plant taxonomist, Dr Peter Heenan, and a Department of Conservation scientist, Peter de Lange, say there are in fact eight. ‘Before our study, the only species recognised were Sophora tetraptera, a largeleaved North Island tree, and Sophora prostrata, a small leaved South Island tree, which, as the name implies, often grows flat along the ground. Everything in between was thought to be the common Sophora microphylla, though botanists have struggled for 150 years to explain variations’ says Dr Heenan. ‘The research began with looking at Sophora longicarinata, which was published as a species in 1942, reduced to a variety of S. microphylla in 1961, and which we now recognise as a species again. It grows on marble and limestone, in northwest Nelson and western Marlborough, he says. ‘During this research it became apparent that there were other species that could not be explained away as variations of Sophora microphylla. These species have different growth habits, leaves, flowers and flowering times, as well as different habitats.’ The other new species of kowhai that Dr Heenan and Mr de Lange have named are: * Sophora godleyi, which grows on sandstone, siltstone and mudstone in

areas including Rangitikei, Wanganui, Taihape and eastern Taranaki. Sophora molloyi, a shrub with a very long flowering time. It grows on harsh and inhospitable sites on dry, exposed headlands around Cook Strait, Kapiti Island, and parts of the lower North Island. Sophora fulvida, which grows on basalt and other volcanic outcrops from Northland to Waikato, and has particularly hairy leaves. Sophora chathamica, which grows mainly in western coastal areas of the northern North Island, and also around Wellington, and on the Chatham Islands. ‘We speculate that it does not occur naturally in Wellington and the Chathams, and that it was moved there by Waikato and Taranaki Maori, says Dr Heenan. The botanists say there is a strong conservation need to keep these species separate. ‘Many plants cultivated as Sophora microphylla are in fact a diverse mix of the newly named species and to a lesser extent Sophora prostrata and Sophora tetraptera as well, Dr Heenan says. "The value of keeping the species separate and using the right kowhai in the right areas cannot be overstated.’