Rare rock daisy rescued

A rare native flower that was almost wiped out by the Kaikoura earthquake is being brought back to life in a Nelson nursery.

The unnamed Marlborough rock daisy, which only grows on rock faces at Ohau Point, north of Kaikoura, was at risk of extinction following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in November.

Its habitat on the bluffs between the Hapuku and Clarence rivers was decimated.

Department of Conservation technical advisor Shannel Courtney said he ‘‘blew the whistle’’ following the quakes that the rarest rock daisies could be at risk.

In collaboration with the North Canterbury Transport and Infrastructure Recovery Group (NCTIR), DOC arranged for a helicopter survey of the rock faces at Ohau Point. They took aerial photographs and blew them up to find between 80-100 plants appeared to have survived, meaning about 95 per cent of the population had been destroyed.

‘‘It was great. It meant it wasn’t extinct. But it still meant it was in peril,’’ Courtney said.

A rescue plan was hatched that involved abseillers collecting seeds from six plants found on the bluffs in April.

The seed was transferred to Titoki Nursery in Brightwater where owner Tim Le Gros, a native plant specialist, has been propagating them.

Courtney said the seeds have germinated and there were about 200 successful seedlings.

The cultivated seedlings will be grown to a year old. Some will be kept as species insurance and harvested for seeds. Others will be transplanted back onto the Ohau bluffs, wherever there is sufficient soil to do so.

The feasibility of hydroseeding the bluffs by helicopter will be investigated as a method to reintroduce the next generation of rock daisy seed back onto the new Ohau bluff surfaces.

Over time it is hoped that the remaining and replaced rock daisies will continue to thrive and spread back over the new Ohau rock faces.

Courtney said it was DOC’s role to protect the native rock daisy from extinction. ’’These are really special plants,’’ he said.

‘‘It may be that this species will actually bounce back anyway. Our job is to make sure it doesn’t disappear altogether.’’

PHOTO: SUPPLIED The rarest of the Marlborough rock daisy, which was almost wiped out in the Kaikoura earthquake.