New Zealand's economic native plants

Abstract

The native flora of New Zealand is to be treasured not only as among the most ancient in the world but also as a valuable resource. Dr Cooper and Professor Cambie draw on their knowledge of traditional Maori usage, scientific research, and economic developments in this account of past, present, and possible future uses of many of New Zealand's plants. The authors conduct a critical review of the materials and products which can be obtained from plants, and of the planting of some species for physical effect. Many of the applications they examine are in chemistry (dyestuffs, tannins, resin acids, alkaloids) and horticulture (plants for gardens and conservatories); others concern the extraction or manufacture of medicinal products, food and beverages, fibres, essential oils, and perfumes. Plants may check erosion or slow run-off, and are always of scenic value. Grasses can be used for pasture or turf; microalgae are important oxygenators of sewage ponds. Lichens fix atmospheric nitrogen, vital to the well-being of forests, themselves a source of timber. Informing their account throughout is the authors' belief that the genetic resource of New Zealand's native flora should be tended and maintained, in stark contrast to the traditional European approach of exploitation and replacement with introduced species. Plants are listed with common, scientific, and Maori names, and there is a comprehensive index of chemical terms. The book is illustrated with photographs both of paintings and actual specimens. Broad in its appeal, New Zealand's Economic Native Plants will interest teachers and students of botany, ecology, chemistry, biology, and Maori Studies, at secondary and tertiary level, as well as horticulturalists, historians, environmentalists, chemists, and entrepreneurs.