NEW ZEALAND MISTLETOE

New Zealand has six endemic mistletoes in the family Loranthaceae. Since 1992 a team led by Dr Dave Kelly has been investigating the reproductive biology of the five extant species (the sixth species, Trilepidea adamsii, has not been seen since 1954 and is presumed extinct). The research covers pollination, seed set, dispersal, germination and establishment of seedlings, but the areas of greatest interest so far concern pollination.

Mistletoes are unusual parasitic plants that use host tree branches for support, water and nutrients. Eight species of mistletoe grow only in New Zealand, and three of these, known as the "beech mistletoes" (Peraxilla tetrapetala, Peraxilla coensoi and Alepis flavida), have declined significantly over the past 100 years. We believe that educational efforts will assist the conservation of these increasingly threatened species. In addition, mistletoes can also be used to introduce many important ecological concepts to the public, such as how plants and their bird pollinators can form ecological mutualisms and how ecosystems can be affected by human impacts and introduced pests such as possums, stoats and rats.

In November 1998, we received a grant from the Brian Mason Scientific and Technical Trust to produce educational materials on the ecology and conservation of New Zealand beech mistletoes for the general public. We produced six full-colour outdoor panels about mistletoes that have been placed at sites throughout the South Island where beech mistletoes are abundant. You can view the panel at Round Bush Reserve (Lake Ohau, MacKenzie Country), Craigieburn Forest Park (near Arthurs Pass), Roaring Billy Falls (Haast Pass), the Eglinton Valley (Fiordland), the Marble Hill carpark (Lewis Pass), or the start of the St. James walkway (Lewis Pass).

We have also produced a two-colour pamphlet and a full-colour poster on beech mistletoes, and these materials are available free to the public. We have had tremendous response from organisations and individuals throughout the country, and as a result, we have given out more than 500 posters and 5,000 pamphlets in the past year. With the help of a second grant from the Trust in 2000, we have been creating a matching pamphlet on the other two native New Zealand mistletoes (Tupea antartica and Ileostylus micranthus) that will be ready for distribution in June. We also worked with Natural History New Zealand to produce a short, professional quality video on mistletoes, which is available to educational groups throughout New Zealand.

If you would like to receive copies of any of these materials, please contact Laura Sessions at:
Plant and Microbial Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch,
email: l.sessions@botn.canterbury.ac.nz, website: http://www.pams.canterbury.ac.nz/105mtd.htm

Tui in Mistletoe	Scarlet Mistletoe (Peraxilla colensoi)	Red Mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala)
Native bee on Peraxilla tetrapetala	Yellow Mistletoe (Alepis flavida)	Tui in Mistletoe
Quicktime movie Tui on Peraxilla colensoi	MPEG movie Bellbird on Peraxilla colensoi	Quicktime movie Native bee on Peraxilla tetrapetala

Photos and videos on this page are courtesy of Canterbury University
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- Photos may be viewed full-size by clicking on thumbnail graphics -

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