Laurelia is a genus of plants with only two species, both endemic to the southern hemisphere. One occurs in New Zealand and the other one in Chile, an example of Gondwanan distribution. Laurelia novae-zelandiae is a large evergreen tree, endemic to lowland forests throughout the North Island of New Zealand. It requires a temperate to warm subtropical climate, but also a frost-free environment with only very slight winter frosts and high summer heat. Pukatea is the only New Zealand native tree developing large plank buttresses to support the tree's growth in swamp or shallow-soil areas. The vine in the photo is called supplejack, Ripogonum scandens. It is a common rainforest vine endemic to New Zealand. It climbs by coiling its hard but flexible stems around tree trunks and branches. When there are no supporting trees for the vines to climb up, the vines form a dense knotted tangle on the forest floor.

Tags:   Atherospermataceae Laurelia novae-zelandiae Monimiaceae Mount Ngongotaha Scenic Reserve New Zealand New Zealand native forest New Zealand native tree North Island Ripogonum scandens buttress root liana pukatea rainforest supplejack temperate rainforest tree vine Laurelia

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Stypandra is a small genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae native to Australia. Stypandra glauca is a perennial plant with blue, lily-like flowers and yellow stamens that occurs across southern areas of Australia. The tubular stamens look like they require buzz pollination to obtain the pollen reward. Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The plant does not produce any nectar. Native bees and flies are known visitors.

Tags:   Asphodeliaceae Australian native plant Australian wildflower Meelup Eagle Bay Walk Trail Nodding Blue Lily Southwest Australia Stypandra Stypandra glauca Western Australia blue flower flower plant wildflower yellow stamen

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Hypholoma brunneum is a fungus that is processing decayed organic matter. It normally appears in groups on rotting logs. There are scale-like veil remnants around the edge of the cap. The fungus occurs in New Zealand and Southeast Australia.

Tags:   Basidiomycota Flammula brunnea Fungi Hypholoma Hypholoma brunneum Lake Rotokura New Zealand Rotokura Ecological Reserve Strophariaceae beech forest mushroom saprobe saprophyte saprophytic mushroom

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The Eagle River is in the north of the Yukon Territory, Canada. Floodplains stretch from the banks of the river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high rainfall or snowmelt. A series of curves in the channel of the river are called meanders. They are produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank. The result of this coupled erosion and sedimentation is the formation of a sinuous course as the channel migrates back and forth across the axis of a floodplain. Some river loops get cut off from the main river channel and become oxbow lakes. There is an associated plant succession from poplar species on the youngest laid down sediments to spruce species on the oldest. The Eagle River is in the Yukon River watershed and ultimately drains into the Behring Sea. The road in the left top corner is the Dempster Highway as it winds its way north to the Arctic Sea. The photo is a drone panorama stitched from 5 vertical files.

Tags:   Canada Dempster Highway Eagle River Eagle River valley Yukon Yukon Territory aerial aerial photography aerial view boreal forest drone drone panorama drone photography flood plain forest landscape meander oxbow panorama plant succession river dynamics subarctic woodland

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In the southern hemisphere mushroom season is coming up. We are planning a trip to old growth forest remnants to photograph these beauties. Before presenting any new finds I have pulled one from the archives. Roridomyces austrororidus is a species of fungus that grows on rotting wood. The fruiting bodies (mushrooms) have thick, white, viscous stems, and white caps that measure 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in). The gills are widely spaced and have a fused attachment to the stem. Roridomyces austrororidus occurs in Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, and Australia which suggests that its ancestor may have originated from the ancient continent Gondwana. The species was first described as Mycena austrororida in 1962, based on specimens collected in the Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile. The name combines the Latin words austro (from australis, "south") and roridus ("wet with dew"). I found the thick viscous stems the most remarkable feature of this fungus, best seen in the top right corner.

Tags:   Austro dripping bonnet Basidiomycota Dome Forest Fungi Mycena veronicae Mycenaceae New Zealand North Island Roridomyces Roridomyces austrororidus focus stacked fungus mucilaginous stipe mushroom

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