Vegetation of New Zealand Book
- Author
- Wardle, P.
- Year
- 1991
- Publisher / Organisation
- Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
- Summary
- The present distribution and ecology of New Zealand plants is discussed from a historical viewpoint. It is suggested that during the Miocene a southern extension of the New Zealand archipelago ~upported a cool temperste flora, which gave rise to the present mountain flora after the onset of orogeny and climatic cooling in the Pliocene. As there wa~ scarcely any simultaneous development of a distinctive flora adapted to the dry conditions which prevail to the east of the mountain axis, Cockayne's opinion that extremely arid Pleistocene climates evoked certain characteristic life forms-notably the divaricating;uvenile form of some trees-is considered to be substantially incorrect. That these life forms are adapted to still
Not available electronically