Mummy didn’t get caught kissing Santa Claus but threatened native mistletoe has been discovered in a corner of the
Eastern Bay of Plenty where it has not previously been recorded.
NZ’s three beech mistletoe species are semi-parasitic plants which host on native beech trees or tawheowheo. They are
best known for their brilliant displays of red flowers in summer.
All are considered under threat largely a result of sustained browsing by possums and the loss of native bird species
which pollinate them.
Department of Conservation botanist Paul Cashmore said finding red mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala) on the remote Motu Rd was a pleasant, if not totally unexpected, surprise when Rotorua Botanical Society members first
discovered a plant in late 2019.
There had been no recorded sightings of any of the parasitic beech mistletoes in areas adjoining Motu Rd until this one
large red mistletoe plant was seen overhanging the road on the northern side of Pāpāmoa Hill.
It was agreed that further survey should be undertaken along rest of the Motu Rd in December and January when plants
were flowering but it took until 2022 for it to happen.
Mr Cashmore said the first task was to relocate the initial plant found in 2019 and record its details including how
healthy it was.
After that, further plants were found either by looking for mature host tawheowheo trees and inspecting them with
binoculars or by walking along the road looking for dropped red petals.
If red mistletoe plants were spotted, the tawheowheo trees were marked and the mistletoe plants’ health was assessed.
Mr Cashmore took two days to survey the entire length of Motu Rd from Meremere Hill Scenic Reserve to Motu township and
found 25 red mistletoe plants, most of which were flowering, on 21 tawheowheo host trees.
“Finding 25 red mistletoe plants on tawheowheo is a significant discovery as there are no known or historic red
mistletoe records in the immediate area along Motu Rd.
“The nearest plants present would be those in Otamatuna to the west or Moanui and Matawai to the south.”
“Twenty-three out of 25 red mistletoe plants - that’s 92% - showed evidence of dieback which generally recognises the
past seasons’ browsing intensity by possums. This shows that plants are under regular possum browsing pressure to some
extent with only two plants free of dieback.”
Mr Cashmore says the survey has demonstrated for the first time that not only is red mistletoe still present in and
around the Motu-Urutawa forest, but that viable populations still exist in several places.
“It is important that these remnant populations are prevented from declining to extinction so, at very least, fur
trapping needs to be encouraged in these areas.
“But ultimately this provides further justification for larger scale landscape pest control across this wider forest
tract.”
There is good evidence from elsewhere that large scale possum control operations will result in a relatively quick
recovery of mistletoe health and recruitment if sufficient residual plants are still present in a block.
Control of predators also contributes to mistletoe recovery through protection of bellbirds and tui which are its main
pollinators.
About Mistletoe
Beech mistletoe populations have drastically declined throughout NZ, especially in the North Island, with only remnant
populations in isolated areas.
In the Bay of Plenty significant populations are found in Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park and parts of Te
Urewera.