Year 9 Research Task 2- New Zealand Plants 1)Plants can be classified into five main groups:

Algae Mosses (and Liverworts) Ferns Gymnosperms Angiosperms ( can be further split into monocotyledons and dicotyledons)

Group

Characteristics
Algae are simple and basic plants that are found in water. Most of the seaweed that you find normally is brown algae. Most attach themselves to rocks by holdfast, and they also fill their tissue with gas to make it float. You can normally find green algae in fresh water, which is usually called slime. Algae do not have any stems, roots, leaves or flowers.

Examples Green Algae, Brown Algae, Red Algae, Blue Green Algae.

Algae

Mosses and Liverworts

Mosses and Liverworts are the smallest land plants. They do not have a vascular system. A vascular system is a series of tubes that transport water through the plant. Without a vascular system, mosses and liverworts cannot grow very large. They have simple leaves and roots. Liverworts look like they have small green patches of liver on them. They like to grow in darker cooler areas, because the sun would dry the plant out. Mosses are little plants that have no stem and no leaves and they use each other to stay upright. Mosses have a thin layer of wax covering the plant so that it helps keep water from evaporating. You will usually find Mosses in most areas and not in direct sunlight.

Mosses: Spagham Moss, Common hair moss, Funaria, Polytrichum Liverworts: Crystalwort, Asterella, Plagiochasma, Reboulia, Lunularia

Ferns

Ferns were the first plant species to develop a circulatory system that lets them grow larger. Ferns grow in many places in New Zealand. They are are often used in landscaping. Some have large stems which are several feet in length. Some forms of ferns include tree ferns, and bracken. All ferns have special and unique leaves called Fronds. Fronds unroll as they mature and spread out into a nice fan shape. Ferns mainly grow in dark and damp areas, but some do also grow to expose itself in the sunlight. Gymnosperms are cone-bearing plants. Some might include Kauri, Miro or Pine cone trees. Gymnosperms are mainly large and grow in various areas. Cycads are a type of gymnosperm. You wont be able to find them in cold areas, because they need warm weather to survive. They have cone like structures for reproduction. Conifers are used a lot in the wood and paper industries. They have needle-shaped leaves, which are typical of many types of gymnosperms.

Birds nest fern, Tree fern, Common Polypody

Gymnosperms

Kauri, Miro, Pine cone trees, Conifers, Cycads, Ginkgoes.

Angiosperms

Angiosperms are the flowering plants. Many are small, but they also form some of the larger trees. Depending on how many food storage cotyledons there are in the seeds, there are two types of angiosperms. The leaves of monocotyledons have veins that run from the bottom of the leaves to the top. The dicotyledeons have leaves that have a main leaf vein with side branches.

Monocotyledons, Dicotyledons, Magnoliids, Chloranthaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Eudicots, Nymphaeaceae

3)Naming one plant that kills for prey and one plant that kills for protection. Plant that kills for Prey Sundew Plant An example of a plant that kills for prey is the Sundews. Its botanical name is Drosera, and has about 130 species. Many of them look like fireworks, and are very attractive plants. They are very deadly when insects come near them. Sundew plants have a gel like substance at the tips of the tentacles that cover their leaves. This gel like substance can trap insects that fly near it, because the insects fly onto the sundews and get caught by the sticky gel. The plant can then eat the insect. The sundew plant can be found in many places around the world, and in every single continent. It is also here in New Zealand too. This is very peculiar because normally carnivorous plants are only found in one or two places in the world because of the temperature and weather conditions that they live in. The reason the plant is called the Sundew is because it has the gel like substances at the end of the tips, which makes it look like it has morning dew on them all day long. When they are in the sun, this is more noticeable. There are various types of Sundew plants. The temperate sundews, look like a red flower that is in a tube shape, and are covered with tentacles. Pygmy sundews are also a type of sundew plant. It has tiny red balls with small tentacles all over it. The King Sundew is tall and thin, with red tentacles up the four sides of it. Plant that kills for Protection Tree Nettle(Urtica Ferox) The Tree Nettle is a woody shrub that can grow up to 2 metres or even higher in length. The trunk of the shrub can get up to twelve centimetres in diameter. The tree nettle can also be classified as Ongaonga. The tree nettle has pale green leaves that are arranged opposite each other. The shape of it is triangular with pointed ends. The leaves are about 8-12 centimetres long and 3-5 centimetres in width. The veins, edges and stalks of the leaves and the branches and flowers are covered in quite a few stiff stinging hairs. The stinging hairs are about six millimetres long and have sharp pointed ends. When you touch the hairs, they break and release a toxic substance which causes a prickling-burning feeling. The Urtica ferox plant is covered with other numerous, smaller, softer hairs.

4) Pick any native NZ plant and answer the following questions: a) Describe a medicinal use for your plant. The Harakeke (Flax) The Harakeke can be used for many medicinal uses. Some included: The leaf or root was pulped, heated and put on boils. The hard part of the leaf was used as a splint. Umbilical cords were tied with scraped flax. Sore backs were heated by the fire and then strapped up with a flax belt. A bad cut was sewn up with muka (flax fibre), using a sharpened stick. When someone had tutu-tree poisoning, a flax gag was crammed in their mouth to stop them biting their tongue or their throat was brushed with flax on the end of a stick to make them vomit. The juice of the root was used to kill intestinal worms, and as a purgative.

b) Describe one way that the Maori traditionally used this plant. Explain why the plant is suited for this use. Most Maoris liked to use some of these methods, maybe even all. The Maori traditionally used these methods, and helped them for many years. The Flax was one of the most used plants for the Maori. They used the Harakeke to make: Clothing: loincloth, raincape, kilts, hats, grass skirts, bodices, dress capes, fine woven cloaks etc. Utensils: food baskets, mats, baskets for gathering food and seafood, fishing lines, fishing nets, ropes, sails for canoes etc. Toys: whips, spinning tops, balls, lashings and bindings for kite-making, finger weaving, tukutuku etc. The flax was suitable for these uses because it helped them in everyday life, or when they did not have any other supplies in hand. It would also be very easy for everyone to find.

c)Describe one modern use for this plant. Explain why the plant is suited for this use. Proverbs in the country honour the virtues of Harakeke and celebrate by singing songs and significance that Harakeke holds within the spiritual way and physical way. Many also still weave patterns from flax for everyday hobbies. The Harakeke is very important to Maori people and their culture and as such is treated with much honour and great respect. Flax's natural quality and amazing use make it an important part of many fine products we use today. Flax is environmentally friendly. It makes coatings and floorings better, concretes tougher, and fibre products stronger. Bibliography Websites http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=1354 (New Zealand Plant Convservation Network 23/08/12) http://www.scribd.com/doc/29142161/New-Zealand-Plants-Research(not) http://www.rohadesign.co.nz/first.html ( Roha Design 27/08/12) http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/english/index.jsp?p=industrial1&mp=industrial (go on : Flax Council 27/08/12) http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_gymnosperm.html ( Biology 4 Kids 22/08/12) http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_angiosperm.html ( Biology 4 Kids 22/08/12) http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_moss.html ( Biology 4 Kids 22/08/12) http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_fern.html ( Biology 4 Kids 22/08/12) http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-algae.html ( Buzzle 22/08/12) http://tolweb.org/Angiosperms/20646 ( Tree of Life 22/08/12) http://www.carnivorous--plants.com/sundew-plant.html ( Carnivorous plants 22/08/12)

Books Hunt,G. (2000).New Millenium Science, New Zealand.