A Preliminary Study of the Vegetation of “Otari Plant Museum”

Abstract

Otari Plant Museum is an area in the vicinity of Wellington for which an ambitious scheme of development has been laid out. It is a monument to the energy, foresight and outstanding ability of the late Dr. Cockayne. Most of this Reserve is clad with forest, portions of which appear to be fairly representative of the original vegetation; the major portion of the forest, however, is "indigenous-induced". In its capacity as a museum, purely of the New Zealand vegetation, the scheme proposes to establish on the cleared areas various associations of plants bearing some resemblance to the primitive associations, not only of the Wellington district, but of many parts of the New Zealand Botanical Region. A commencement has been made with the forming of kauri (Agathis australis), sub-antarctic beech (Nothofagus spp.) and other forest tree associations, sub-alpine scrub, and a river valley association.