Plants that tolerate wet conditions and exposure to full sun and wind are necessary for riparian restoration. Using a small range of Southland species you will have most success. It is important to follow the stream profile diagram (below) for the placement of plants closest to the water.
The following is a list of Southland native plants that thrive in wet places and are the most suitable for Southland.
Factsheets
We have developed a series of factsheets that provide more detail for each species.
Download the factsheets to find out:
- Conditions tolerance levels (sun, shade, wet, dry, frost, wind)
- Where to plant - suitable habitats (forest, shrubland, wetland, riparian)
- Pollination (by birds, insects, or wind)
- Seed dispersal (by wind/gravity, or birds)
See our key to factsheet symbols.
Recommended plants
Black Mapou / Kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium)
- Height: Up to 10 metres.
- Form: Shrub or small slender tree.
- Bark: Dark grey-black, smooth.
- Leaves: Light green, oblong with wavy edges with white mid vein.
- Flowers: Small, dark red flowers that occur singly and are sweet scented at night.
- Fruit: Capsules with black sticky seeds.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Broadleaf / Kāpuka (Griselinia littoralis)
- Height: Up to 15 metres.
- Form: Small tree.
- Bark: Grey, furrowed.
- Leaves: Thick, shiny, yellow-green with rounded apex.
- Flowers: Small, green, in clusters, male and female on separate plants.
- Fruit: Blue/black berries.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Cabbage Tree / Tī Kōuka (Cordyline australis)
- Height: Up to 20 metres.
- Form: Distinctive palm-like tree, unbranched trunk in young tree and branching in the upper half of older trees.
- Bark: Grey, thick, corky and rough.
- Leaves: Mass of long leaves (up to 1m) at the end of stems.
- Flowers: Small, sweet scented, white, in panicles up to 1m long.
- Fruit: Whitish berries becoming dry.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Copper tussock (Chionochloa rubra subsp. cuprea)
- Height: 1 - 1.5 metres.
- Form: Tall tussock.
- Leaves: Long, rigid, rolled, red-brown.
- Flowers: Large spikelets.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Photo credit: Jeremy R Rolfe.
Coprosma virescens (Coprosma virescens)
NOTE: Not a common plant - threatened.
- Height: Up to 4 metres.
- Form: Bushy shrub with tangled, wide-angled branches.
- Bark: Smooth and knobbled, greenish.
- Leaves: Small and oval with pointed ends.
- Flowers: Very small and inconspicuous. Separate male and female plants.
- Fruit: Small, oblong, greenish when ripe.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Flax / Harakeke (Phormium tenax)
- Height: 1-3 metres.
- Form: Robust, fan-like clumps of leaves.
- Leaves: Long and fibrous.
- Flowers: Stalk, 3-5m tall, reddish or orange-yellow flowers.
- Fruit: Dark seed capsule with glossy black seeds – upright pod.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Lemonwood / Tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides)
- Height: Up to 12 metres.
- Form: Small tree – juvenile compact and mature tree more open.
- Bark: Grey-brown, smooth in the juvenile and rough in the adult.
- Leaves: Light green glossy, wavy, with pale midvein, lemony smell when crushed.
- Flowers: Sweet-scented yellow to cream flowers, in large clusters.
- Fruit: Capsules with black sticky seeds when mature.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Mingimingi (Coprosma propinqua)
- Height: Up to 5 metres.
- Form: Bushy tangled dark shrub.
- Bark: Grey.
- Leaves: Small, dark green, thick, paler underneath.
- Flowers: Solitary or in clusters, male and female on separate plants.
- Fruit: Translucent blue, flecked with darker blue.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Narrow-leaved Māhoe / Māhoe-wao (Melicytus lanceolatus)
- Height: Up to 5 metres.
- Form: Shrub or small bushy tree.
- Bark: Grey and spotty.
- Leaves: Bright green, long, serrated, lance-like.
- Flowers: Small, yellow or purplish.
- Fruit: Dark purple berries.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Photo credit: John Barkla.
Native Broom (Carmichaelia petriei)
NOTE: Not a common plant - threatened.
Height: Up to 2 metres.
Form: Yellowish shrub with untidy, erect, leafless branches.
Leaves: Seldom has leaves as flattened stems take their place.
Flowers: Small and pea-like, ranging from pinkish to purple and white.
Fruit: Pods containing 1-2 seeds.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Photo credit: John Barkla.
Needle-leaved Mountain Coprosma (Coprosma rugosa)
Height: Up to 2 metres.
Form: Interlacing wide-angled twigs.
Leaves: Small and very narrow, in clusters or pairs.
Flowers: Very small and inconspicuous. Separate male and female plants.
Fruit: Round, pale to dark blue.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Pukio / Swamp Sedge (Carex virgata)
- Height: Up to 1.0 metre.
- Form: Dense, harsh, spreading tussock (no trunk).
- Leaves: Thin (2-4mm), cutty, drooping.
- Flowers: In spikes – not drooping.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Purei / Pukio / Ballerina Sedge (Carex secta)
- Height: Up to 1.5 metres.
- Form: Harsh, spreading tussocks on trunk-like base.
- Leaves: Thin (3-7mm), cutty, drooping.
- Flowers: In spikes - drooping.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Ribbonwood / Mānatu (Plagianthus regius)
- Height: Up to 17 metres.
- Form: Deciduous tree with interlaced branched juvenile form.
- Bark: Clean trunks with lacy bark.
- Leaves: Pale green, toothed, soft, deciduous.
- Flowers: Yellowish-green, tiny, in clusters, male and female on separate plants.
- Fruit: Downy seed capsules.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Shining Karamū / Karamū (Coprosma lucida)
- Height: Up to 5 metres.
- Form: Tall shrub with green stems.
- Bark: Inner bark layer is yellow.
- Leaves: Oval shape, with smooth shiny surface. Opposite on stem in pairs. Pale main vein.
- Flowers: Very small and inconspicuous. Green or white. Wind pollinated. Separate male and female plants.
- Fruit: Orange-red in clusters.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
South Island kowhai (Sophora microphylla)
- Height: Up to 10 metres.
- Form: Small tree, with feathery foliage, young plants form twiggy bushes, with lots of intertwining branches, adult has characteristic drooping foliage.
- Bark: Grey.
- Leaves: 20-40 opposite pairs of small round leaflets.
- Flowers: Large, yellow, drooping.
- Fruit: Long brown pea-like pods containing hard yellow seeds.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Tea Tree / Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium)
- Height: Up to 8 metres.
- Form: Large shrub or small tree.
- Bark: Stringy grey-brown bark, peels off in long strips.
- Leaves: Small, prickly to touch.
- Flowers: Masses of white flowers.
- Fruit: Characteristic woody seed capsules.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Photo credit: Mike Thorsen.
Tier Coprosma (Coprosma dumosa)
- Height: Up to 2 metres.
- Form: Bushy shrub with ‘layered’ branches
- Leaves: Small, elliptical, in clusters of pairs.
- Flowers: Very small and inconspicuous. Separate male and female plants.
- Fruit: Round, usually transparent, but can be pale pink or bright red.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Toetoe (Austroderia richardii)
- Height: 1 metre or more tall.
- Form: Very robust tussock, coarse.
- Leaves: Long, grass-like, green, rough to touch.
- Flowers: Heads reach up to 2m tall, white and feathery.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Weeping māpou (Myrsine divaricata)
- Height: Up to 3.5 metres.
- Form: Bushy, divaricating shrub, weeping habit.
- Leaves: Small, green, leathery, sometimes with tiny notch in top.
- Flowers: Yellow or red petals, tiny, in clusters.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Willow-leaved Hebe / Koromiko (Veronica salicifolia)
- Height: Up to 5 metres.
- Form: Bright green leafy shrub.
- Leaves: Bright green, long, thin, willow-like.
- Flowers: White, clustered in spikes.
- Fruit: Small dry brown capsules containing tiny seeds.
Download the factsheet to find out more.
Photo credit: Jesse Bythell.
Wire-netting Bush / Korokia (Corokia cotoneaster)
Height: Up to 3 metres.
Form: Highly branched shrub with zig-zag thin grey twigs.
Bark: Rough.
Leaves: Generally small and oval, but variable in size depending on location and exposure. White underneath.
Flowers: Yellow, star-shaped, numerous.
Fruit: Oval, colour can vary from red to orange, to yellow.
Download the factsheet to find out more.