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Virtual New Zealand Photo Library

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New Zealand Plants Photo Albums
Rainforest	Beech Forest	Manuka	Tussock
Silver Fern	Ferns	Koru	Cabbage
Kowhai	Pohutukawa	Rata	Mt Cook Lily
Kauri	Puriri	Nikau Palms	Kahikatea
Mosses	Toetoe	Rimu	Rimutaka
Photos
Matai	Rewarewa	Kawakawa	Gorse
Information

New Zealand is one of the world's richest bio-diverse areas for flora. It is home to a large variety of beautiful plants of which 84% are endemic. The forests range from sub tropical to temperate, evergreen rainforest, and beech forests. Native trees include Rimu, Totara, Matai, Kahikatea and many species of ferns including some giant tree ferns. Other notable trees include, the Cabbage Tree, the Nikau Palm which is New Zealand's only palm tree, and the Giant Kauri, which hold the record for the greatest timber volume of any tree on Earth.

Flowering trees include the Kowhai, which has a beautiful yellow flower, plus the Rata and Pohutukawa tree's which both flower each summer with different shades of red.

New Zealand also contains large areas of tussock grass in sub-alpine areas. Prominent areas of tussock include the South Islands McKenzie Country and the Central Plateau of the North Island.

Some areas of New Zealand contain introduced species such as California's Pinus Radiata and the Canadian Douglas Fur. Both these trees are New Zealand's primary crop for forestry and they take about 30 years to fully grow, compared to 90 years in the Northern Hemisphere. This is attributed to New Zealand's lush volcanic soil and year round rainfall.

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