Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

Our holiday on the West Coast of the South Island (Punakaiki) was just what we needed – weather in Christchurch was cold and wet, but on the West Coast sunny and warm.   I re-discovered a tree I have missed since leaving Auckland 14 years ago: Rhopalostylis sapida is its name. Gardeners know it as the Nikau Palm.  There are two species in the New Zealand Territories: R sapida is the common Nikau in North Island and South Island, occurring mostly on the coast from Okarito in the West and Banks Peninsula in the East.  It also occurs on Chatham Island and Pitt Island and the variety that grow there is a lot more elegant, especially in the younger form: the fronds (leaves) have a more drooping attitude, a bit like the traditional palms in the tropics. I reckon we should have a taxonomic discussion about its identity (a different species?).   The Nikau on the offshore Islands of the Hauraki Gulf show a similar elegance (Little Barrier, Great Barrier etc etc). I must say: I prefer those droopin