What to plant in Canterbury lowland freshwater wetlands
Look at our planting tables for different wetland environments to find the native plants best suited to your wetland area.
The table below is a generalised planting list for lowland Canterbury. Some of these species may not naturally occur in your area. You can check
these wetland plant species against the Planterguide species list for your ecological district on the New Zealand Ecological Restoration Network
website (www.bush.org.nz).
Male and female plants may be required for fruiting in some species.
Table Key
1.
2.
3.
tolerates or needs
tolerant of some
not tolerant
Attracts birds
Wind
Sun
Frost
Plant
Height
Comment
Zone One: Standing water
Bog rush
Schoenus
pauciflorus
Spike-sedge
Eleocharis acuta
2
1
2
0.5 m upright
sedge
Tussock-forming, with wiry, pale green or red stems, grows in 0-30cm of water.
2
1
2
Leafless green stalks grow in tufts from shallow water. Will tolerate temporary drying.
Purei
Makura
Carex secta
Purei
Makura
Carex virgata
Water milfoil
Myriophyllum
propinquum
Red pondweed
Manihi
Potamogeton
cheesemanii
Lake clubrush
Kapungawha
Schoenoplectus
validus
Raupo
Typha orientalis
1
1-2
2
9
Variable size,
10 to 90 cm,
erect sedge
2m sedge
1
1
2
9
1m sedge
Boggy margins, shelter and nesting for birds
9
aquatic herb
Submerged, tolerates temporary drying. Wildlife and fisheries value, shallow to 3.5m water
depth
3
9
aquatic herb
Sheltered water, up to 4m deep, bottom-rooted with floating leaves, tolerates temporary drying.
Wildlife value.
Shallow open water, boggy margins and dry soil. Excellent shelter and nesting for ground birds.
Can be split or grown from seed.
2
1
2
9
1.2m herb
Up to 0.8m water depth, fertile waters, tolerant of salt water. Wildlife shelter
2
2
2
9
1-3m reed
Common sight in sheltered fertile waters, growing in up to 1m of water depth. Has high wildlife
value, although dense growths limit access.
Attracts birds
Wind
Sun
Frost
Plant
Height
Comment
1m sedge
0.5m fern
Grows on boggy or damp sites with infertile soils.
Found in flax and sedge swamps and under manuka scrub.
9
0.5m sedge
2m sedge
Tolerates flooding.
Grows in shallow water, boggy margins and dry soil. Shelter and nesting for ground birds.
Zone Two: Boggy
with temporary
flooding
Baumea tenax
Swamp kiokio
Blechnum novaezealandiae
Carex maorica
Purei or Makura
Carex secta
Carex virgata
Mingimingi
Coprosma propinqua
Cabbage tree
Ti kouka
Cordyline australis
Toetoe
Cortaderia richardii
Kahikatea
White pine
Dacrycarpus
dacrydioides
Wire rush
Empodisma minus
Juncus gregiflorus
Manuka
2
2
2
1-2
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1-3
3
2
9
9
1m sedge
3m shrub
Boggy margins, shelter and nesting for birds.
White/blue fruit in spring, bird distributed. Prefers boggy to dry soils.
1
1-2
2
9
12m tree
Tolerates wet and dry soils. Young plants are eaten by rabbits. Able to grow from seed. Hardy.
Good erosion control.
1
1-2
2
9
2m grass
1-2
1-3
2
9
60m tree
Pioneer. Damp sites and steam banks in open areas. Rats and stoats can inhabit dense stands.
Fast growing, provides wind shelter and erosion control. Propagate by seed or division.
New Zealand's tallest tree. Plant with shelter in a moist site. Possum hardy. Attracts birds with
red fruit in autumn. Can be grown from seed. Separate male and female trees.
9
1m rush
Waterlogged peat and damp acid soils.
9
1m rush
Damp sites, wide variety of other Juncus species. Provides dense bird cover for nesting and
shelter. Unpalatable to livestock.
Fast growing hardy pioneer, useful as a nurse crop. Good erosion control, can withstand some
1
1
3
1
5m tree
Attracts birds
Wind
Sun
Frost
Plant
Tea tree
Leptospermum
scoparium
Harakeke
NZ flax
Phormium tenax
Height
Comment
grazing and grow on a wide range of soils.
1
1-2
1
9
1-3m herb
Fast growing hardy pioneer. Withstands 5cm of water flooding and dry soils. Does not have
deep or wide roots but is useful for drain edge protection. Unpalatable to possums. Easily split
into small fans or grown from seed. Particularly attracts tui.
1
1-2
3
9
6m tree
Fast growing cover plant. Berries in late summer, bird distributed. Highly favoured by possums.
Can grow from a cutting or by seed.
1
1-3
1
9
2m shrub
5m tree
2
1-3
3
10m tree fern
Grows under kahikatea stands and other woody wetland vegetation.
Quick cover, good erosion control with fibrous roots, bird distributed seeds. Eaten by rabbits but
not possums. Can be used a nurse crop. Grown from seed or cutting. Pioneer.
Plant with shelter in damp shaded site, fibrous roots for some erosion control. Can be grown
from spores. Needs good drainage.
1-2
1-3
2
6m tree fern
Hardy, open or shaded sites, fibrous roots reduce erosion.
2
1-2
3
10-20m tree
Prefers damp shady forest conditions, provides fruit for birds, possum hardy. Can be grown
from cuttings.
2
1-3
3
9
14m tree
Often grows with kahikatea in moist conditions.
2
1-3
3
9
10m tree
Fast growing deciduous tree, seedling frost tender but mature adult frost hardy. Will not tolerate
drought and prefers moist soils. Good erosion control. Eaten by possums and rabbits. Can be
Zone Three: Moist
soils
Wineberry
Makomako
Aristotelia serrata
Coprosma rigida
Karamu
Coprosma robusta
Ponga
Silver tree fern
Cyathea dealbata
Wheki-Ponga
Dicksonia fibrosa
Hinau
Elaeocarpus
dentatus
Pokaka
Elecocarpus
hookerianus
Kotukutuku
Tree fuchsia
Attracts birds
Wind
Sun
Frost
Plant
Fuchsia exorticata
Bog pine
Halocarpus bidwillii
Koromiko
Hebe salicifolia
Narrow-leaved
lacebark
Houhere
Hoheria angustifolia
Mahoe
Whiteywood
Melicytus ramiflorus
Matai
Prumnopitys taxifolia
Lemonwood
Tarata
Pittosporum
eugenioides
Kohuhu
Pittosporum
tenuifolium
Lowland
ribbonwood
Manatu
Plagianthus regius
Pate
Schefflera digitata
Kowhai
Sophora microphylla
Height
3m shrub
Comment
grown from seed or cuttings.
Dense shrub, commonly grows on infertile acid soils. Possum hardy, can be grown from seed.
1
1-2
3
1
1-2
1
2
1-2
1
2
1-2
2
9
7m tree
Birds distribute the blue berries. Eaten by possums and stock. Propagate by seed or cutting. A
fast growing plant, yet long lived, good as a nurse crop and for erosion control. Pioneer.
2
1-3
2
9
20m tree
Propagate by seed or cutting. Berries eaten by birds.
1
1-2
2
9
6m tree
Possum hardy. A good nurse plant, bird distributed, fast growing. Propagate by seed or cutting.
Good erosion control and hedge plant - withstands pruning. Will not tolerate waterlogging or
very dry conditions.
1
1-3
2
9
6m tree
Fast growing pioneer, bird distributed. Will not tolerate waterlogging or very dry conditions.
Possum hardy. Can prune into a hedge.
1
1-2
1
9
12m tree
Semi-deciduous, prefers a moist soil, often lining riverbanks, fast growing. Eaten by possum.
Provides thick shelter.
2
2-3
2
9
3m shrub
1
1-2
3
9
10m tree
Plant with shelter on a moist site. Reduces erosion. Propagate by seed or cutting. Fast growing.
Attracts tui and waxeye. Highly palatable to possum and rabbits.
Fast growing semi-deciduous shade tree, often lining riverbanks. Grown from seed or by cutting.
Possum hardy and useful for erosion control.
9
2m shrub
10m tree
Fast growing pioneering native shrub, fibrous roots reduce erosion. Propagate by cutting or
seed. Possum hardy.
Fast growing, pioneering tree. Showy display of white flowers in autumn.