Rare rhododendrons gifted
An endangered plant that only grows on the top of two mountains in India now has a new home in Gore.
The town’s Bannerman Park became the home of some of the world’s rarest rhododendrons thanks to a gift from a Taranakibased trust.
Taranaki Regional Council collection and projects officer Andrew Brooker was in Gore on Thursday to oversee the arrival of 40 species of rare and endangered rhododendrons, ranging from small shrubs to trees.
The plants are part of programme to safeguard the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust’s world-renown collection of rhododendrons, in Taranaki, by planting species at alternative sites. The programme is a joint initiative between the regional council, the Trust, New Zealand Rhododendron Association and Massey University.
Gore District parks manager Keith McRobie said it was a ‘‘feather in the cap’’ for the trust to choose
Bannerman Park as a location for its rare plants. ‘‘We are one of only three sites in the South Island, although the trust is looking to include other sites in Canterbury, Southland, and Otago in the future.’’
Included in the donation are a rhododendron called Macabeanum, which is classified as endangered. Brooke said it only grows on the top of two Indian mountains and its seeds have only been collected once in the last 100 years.
The critically endangered Auritum and Griersonianum varieties are potentially extinct in
their natural habitat in the Himalayas and south-west China.
‘‘If there are any left, it’s likely to be less than 10,’’ he said.
Former council parks manager Gordon Bailey established Bannerman Park’s rhododendron collection, which now has about 30 different species.
McRobie said the microclimate in the park was ideal for rhododendrons. A Rhododendron Festival is held in Gore each year and the New Zealand Rhododendron Society will hold its annual conference in Gore in November.