arthurs pass plants and birds

ARTHURS PASS PLANTS AND BIRDS

there are three types of lancewood the rarest type is the fierce lancewood. Lancewood can either be in its juvenile stage or its adult stage when it's in its juvenile stage the leaves are skinny, light green and pointy. After about 15 to 20 years it goes into its adult stage then the leaves goes thick, a greeny brown and not as sharp.  Lancewood is native to new Zealand and its scientific name is pseudopanax crassfolious. the reason lancewood has a spiky edge is when the moa was around they tried to eat it but they couldn't because of the spiky edge.

There are three types of beech tree in Arthur's pass the first one is mountain beech grows at high altitudes and grows up to 20 metres. The second type is red beech or fuscospora fusca it is a medium sized tree growing up to 35m tall. The leaves are 2 to 4 cm long and 3 cm width and the last type is silver beech or lophozonia menziesii the reason it is called silver beech is because the bark is a whitish colour and silver beech grows up to 30m tall.

The total estimation of the kea population is about 5000. Kea normally live at the high ground and mountains in New Zealand south island.  Kea eat all sorts of things like berries, roots, shoots, insect larvae and human food like things left on the skifield an in rubbish bins. The best place to go to see keas is Deaths corner on highway 73.