Forest Vines to Snow Tussocks: The Story of New Zealand Plants

Numbers of Species

Numbers of Species

In the New Zealand conifer broadleaf forest, tree species are numbered in dozens rather than the hundreds found in tropical rain forest. Some see this as a major difference precluding any suggestion of a close relationship between the two types of forest. However, this conclusion may not be justified — species richness is not the only distinctive feature of tropical rain forest as we shall see.

The conifer broadleaf forest, as the name implies, comprises a mixture of conifers and flowering plants.