'twiggy hide-plant', possibly because some species were used to tan leather. A common robust subshrub inhabiting open or disturbed areas, and on debris slopes as here in the cirque at Homer Tunnel...

'behold this snow grass' The Māori name means "hiding place of the moho" - the North Island takahē and the secretive banded rail / moho pererū. AKA Arundo conspicua, Cortaderia conspicua,...

'Vauvilliers' aromatic shrub' - Geneviève Jean Victor Vauvilliers (1784–1861) being a French official who authorized and funded voyages of exploration to New Zealand and elsewhere. Originally...

'finely crimped rag cap' Originally described as Dryptodon crispulus by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and William Wilson in 1844. AKA Grimmia crispula, symphyodonta, emersa, sullivanii, and pseudopatens,.....

Unfortunately not bearing any spore capsules at the moment, so narrowing it down to which of the dozens of species, or even which of the nine or so genera know from New Zealand is beyond me. The name....

'looks like a membrane-toothed moss (Hymenodon), and like a Mnium moss' Yet another NZ moss, finding the perpetually sodden climate of Fiordland very much to its liking. Originally described by Hooker...

Fairly sure it's not the same species I saw on Ulva Island. The genus of Leafy Liverwort found in southern South America, Juan Fernandez, tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Malesia.....

'putrid soot' Spotted by Purrdence at Christie Falls. AKA scrambled egg slime or flowers of tan.  First described by French botanist Jean Marchant in 1727, who referred to it as "fleur de tan" (bark.....

We made sure we had a full day to go see Milford Sound, since it's much more accessible than Doubtful Sound and actually has a paved road the whole way to the fiord. At least when it isn't closed...

'single-coloured dark blue beak' Originally depicted and described in 1831 by English artist Edward Lear in his Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots, as the "uniform parakeet"...

'Rust fungus of Coprosma'. The genus is named after Tommaso Puccini (1664–1735), an Italian physician, anatomist, and professor of medicine and botany at Florence. Puccinia is a large genus with over....

'twisted nose', from the effect eating them has. They have a peppery, pungent flavour. A small genus in the Mustard family, and also known as yellowcresses. I'm not sure which species this is -...

'yellowish and without scales', refering to the colour and certain missing bracts on the flower stems. This was at the bird sactuary in Te Anau, but I also saw some at Mavora Lakes, a few days...

Named after King Teucer, the legendary first king of Troy in Greek mythology, who according to the ancient Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides, was the first to discover the plant's medicinal...

'New Zealand stonefly' A Longtailed Stonefly (Gripopterygidae) genus endemic to NZ, with 5 accepted species, and two now considered ecotypes of  Z. fenestrata - one flightless, and the other very...

'good diver with a thick beak' While we were coming back up Doubtful Sound we stopped near one of the tiny grey beaches that have built up underneath one of the cliffs - and one of these stuck its...

Named after Johann Christian Breutel (1788–1875), a German bishop, botanical collector, and missionary. A large moss found at high latitudes and altitudes in Australia and New Zealand, although it's.....

The sound not being 'ehhhh' with hand waggling. It was named Doubtful Harbour by Captain James Cook in 1770 because he was unsure if he'd be able to sail out again against the strong westerly winds,...

'pointed fringe.' Tiny caddisflies I spotted on one of the walls at the holiday camp. There's over 210 named species in the genus, and its family - the Hydroptilidae AKA microcaddisflies or purse-case...

A small leaf-mining fly native to NZ and Eastern Australia. The larva live inside the shoots and pseudostems of grasses and cereals, and can be highly abundant in pasture in warmer months, but seem to...

'variable butcher' because some parts of the body are deep red, although it's quite variable. First described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1877 as Cryptolechia carnifex. In 1883 Edward Meyrick moved.....

Usually regarded as a subspecies - Uresiphita polygonalis maorialis. The wider species is found from Europe and Africa to Hawaii, but this subspecies is endemic to NZ. The moths prefer to lay their...

'bisected southern Cidaria' First described by Louis Beethoven Prout in 1958, as an abberant form of Horisme anguligera ( now Austrocidaria anguligera ). John S. Dugdale raised this moth to species...

'scorched sharp-edge' A Geometrid first described by Francis Walker in 1863. The caterpillars have been found eating Tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides) leaves. The forewings are about 2cm long. Also the...

"resembling something indistinct, sick, or pale." First described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1879 as Selidosema aegrota. George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species under the name...

'Thaxter's beaver-like belly-mushroom' Named after American mycologist Roland Thaxter (1858–1932), the sac-like growth form of the specimen he collected, and some aspect of the mushroom that reminded...

'fibrous ear of the false beech' Very decrepit specimens, alas. In fact, despite seeing the species three different times on the trip, none of them were in good shape. They're supposed to look like...

Possibly Russula roseopileata, going by the uneven colour of the cap, but there's at least 9 other Russula species known from the area around Lake Manapouri. Russula roseopileata is endemic to NZ and...

A convoluted, rubbery mass on a Nothofagus root. Protohydnum is a jelly fungi in the order Auriculariales, but exactly where in that order is a bit uncertain - the status of families within the order...

'sticky alder', after the young shoots. First described by Linnaeus in 1753, as Betula alnus. AKA black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder. A tree native to most of Europe, SE...

'reed growing in meadows' AKA meadow cat's-tail or common cat's-tail. Not a reed, although it superficially resembles one. A perennial grass native to much of Eurasia, but introduced to other parts.....

'umbrella-branch' Either kerri, which is endemic to NZ, or menziesii, which is also found in New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands. A frondose moss with pinnate branching, and a distinct stipe. It's...

'boat-shaped leaves'. There are two species in the genus, at least at the current count - it may go up, if species in Weymouthia get moved across, or down, if clandestinum and divulsum turn out to be....

Probably not what they had in mind in the Dr Who episode. 'Cunningham's belly-tooth' First described by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817 – 1911) and named after Allan Cunningham (1791–1839), an English....

A small town on the eastern edge of Fiordland and the enormous Fiordland National Park, on the shore of Lake Manapouri. The lake, gouged out by glaciers, is the second-deepest in NZ at 444m. It would....

'uniting plant' A borage named from the Latin confervere to 'heal' or literally to 'boil together', since they are used in traditional medicine. The specific epithet of one, S. officinale, is derived...

Tiny predatory mites about a millimeter in size, best known for running around like mad things. One species, Anystis baccarum, is reared as a biological control agent against another mite, Panonychus....

The oldest permanent European settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand, established in the 1830s, although at the time they called it Jacob's River. It got changed to Riverton in 1858, and one hundred and.....

'honey-cave shaped like a lance', referring to the floral nectaries and the shape of the leaves. Described by the English botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1852. One common name, Kaiwētā, means 'food...

Named after Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), a prominent Welsh naturalist, traveler, and zoologist, and the fact the flowers are born in clusters with all flowers reaching the same level. The common name...

'shining dung-smell', although this species isn't one of the ones that smells bad. 8PM at night, in the rain, in dense forest, and it was still bright enough to get these shots - being as far south as...

Formerly known as Asplenium terrestre - ground spleenwort - until they realised appendiculatum was the same species as the one in SE Australia. In NZ it grows in the ground, but in Tasmania it's...