TRIP REPORT : Keith George Memorial Park / Silverstream Scenic Reserve

Singularybas oblongus.   Photos: Jeremy Rolfe.

 Saturday :   6 October 2006

Jubilee Park

These contiguous areas comprise 114 ha of steep forested hillside on the scarp of the Wellington Fault.   Before the arrival of Europeans, the undisturbed forest was dominated by matai and miro.   Between 1890 and 1920 the forest was logged and is now regenerating, forming a mosaic of several forest types.

On the lower slopes and more fertile sites, broadleaf and podocarp species are present, with a canopy dominated by tawa, with hinau and rewarewa also present.   There are some remnants of matai and miro, but their regeneration has been slow.   However, they are likely to dominate the forest again, given sufficient time without disturbance.

On the poorer leached soils and dry ridges, black beech and hard beech are the dominant species.

Over the last four years, a volunteer group, including BotSoccers Allan and Glennis Sheppard, have drastically reduced the infestations of possums and rats in the forest.   Stoat control began in November 2005.   This work has increased the numbers of kereru, tui, bellbird / korimako, whitehead / popokatea in the area, and falcon / karearea and kakariki have been recorded.

We botanised the North Ridge Track and saw a large matai d.b.h. 1.5 m, and a huge pokaka d.b.h. 1.4 m.   The Peraxilla tetrapetala / red mistletoe, a large plant, was in good health, with numerous flowers developing.   The wet spring has spurred a great response from the ferns, and carpets of fresh green Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum / kidney fern caught our attention.   Among the trees and shrubs we saw were titoki, Coprosma propinqua, poataniwha / Melicope simplex, and manatu / lowland ribbonwood.

We saw the orchids Pterostylis graminea / greenhood / tutukiwi , Drymoanthus adversus, Ichthyostomum pygmaeum, and Singularybas oblongus / spider orchid.

The huge pokaka, North Ridge Track.   Photos: Jeremy Rolfe.

Participants : Bev Abbott, Beth Andrews, Pat Enright, Sue Freitag, Ian and Jill Goodwin, Dave Holey, Chris Hopkins (leader / scribe), Chris Horne, Rodney Lewington, Barbara Mitcalfe, Leon Perrie, Jeremy Rolfe, Darea Sherratt.