Rush Blitzes Competition

Rush Blitzes Competition

A native species of wetland rush has beaten the silver fern and Pohutakawa as this year’s favourite New Zealand plant.

Voting closed on Saturday in the annual favourite native plant elections held by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (NZPCN), and with a clear margin for the winner no recount is necessary.

The winning species – Bamboo Rush (Sporadanthus ferrugineus) – highlights many of the issues surrounding New Zealand’s plants and ecosystems.

Relatively new to science, this handsome and impressively tall rush is now only found in the Waikato region because 95% of its wetland habitat has been destroyed.

Thousands of votes were cast by plant enthusiasts from New Zealand and around the world with over 140 different species nominated.

The top ten ranking plants for 2011 range from lowly liverworts to lofty Kauri, and include many rare or threatened species. Some old favourites returned, such as Pohutakawa which has previously won the favourite title twice.

Less well-know species also emerged, such as the gorgeous New Zealand calceolaria (Jovellana sinclairii) whose showy bell-like flowers mean it is often mistaken for an exotic.

“Despite being a national icon for our sports teams the silver fern has never featured in the top ten, not even this year after the Rugby World Cup win” said Network President Philippa Crisp.

“However, one voter managed to work rugby in to his vote explaining that he voted for Golden Speargrass because the area Ritchie McCaw comes from is called Hakataramea ‘valley of dancing speargrass,’” said Crisp.

The reasons why people chose particular plants are almost as varied as the number of plants nominated. They include a plant’s association with a special place or person, the fact that a plant is local and iconic for an area, its beauty or scent, or because it is fascinating to study.

To see full results of the vote and learn more about the plants that were nominated visit the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network’s website: www.nzpcn.org.nz
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