Global Regional Plant Guides

New Zealand Temperate Rainforest, Shrubland & Alpine Plant Survival Guide

A comprehensive survival plant guide for New Zealand Temperate Rainforest, Shrubland & Alpine, covering useful woody materials, land foods, aquatic foods, traditional-use plants and poisonous look-alikes.

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Cover of New Zealand Temperate Rainforest, Shrubland & Alpine Plant Survival Guide

Continent: Oceania
USDA-equivalent zones: 6-10
Köppen climate: Cfb / Cfc / ET
Profiles: 20
Regional biome: Podocarp-beech forest, flax wetland, tussock and alpine herbfield

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Useful plants · 5 Land edibles · 5 Aquatic edibles · 3 Traditional-use · 3 Poisonous look-alikes · 4

Useful plants

Wood, fibre, shelter and craft

New Zealand flax

Phormium tenax / P. cookianum

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for New Zealand flax

Identify: Large tough sword leaves in fans; tall stalk with red or yellow tubular flowers; black seed capsules.
Habitat: New Zealand wetlands, coast, forest margins and mountain slopes.
Season: Leaves year-round; nectar seasonal.
Field use: Exceptional leaf fiber for cordage, nets, baskets, lashings and bowstrings; flower nectar has documented food use.
Caution: Leaf edges cut and fiber preparation is skilled. Plants are culturally significant; harvest protocols matter.
Look-alikes: Iris and cabbage-tree leaves differ in flower and fiber structure.

cordagebowstringbasketryfood nectar

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Manuka / tea tree

Leptospermum scoparium

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for Manuka / tea tree

Identify: Small stiff pointed aromatic leaves; white or pink five-petaled flowers; persistent woody capsules.
Habitat: New Zealand scrub, heath and forest edge.
Season: Year-round leaves; flowers spring-summer.
Field use: Hard wood for tools, pegs and fuel; leaves have documented beverage and external traditional use.
Caution: Strong infusions and essential oils are not safe casual medicine.
Look-alikes: Kanuka has softer narrow leaves and smaller clustered flowers.

toolspegsfuelmedicine

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Southern beeches

Nothofagus spp.

Useful plants

Stylized form diagram for Southern beeches

Identify: Small alternate toothed leaves; tiny nuts in cupules; bark and leaf persistence vary by species.
Habitat: Patagonian, Andean and Australasian temperate forest.
Season: Wood year-round; leaves and nuts seasonal.
Field use: Dense wood for poles, pegs, handles and fuel; forest type helps read moisture and elevation.
Caution: Old trees may be protected and dead stems can be internally rotten. Nuts are too small to be a dependable food.
Look-alikes: Myrtle-family trees often have opposite leaves and aromatic oil dots.

polesfuelhandlespegs

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Paperbarks

Melaleuca spp.

Useful plants

Identify: Papery layered bark; narrow oil-dotted leaves; cream bottlebrush flower spikes and woody capsules.
Habitat: Australian wetlands, monsoon forest, swamp and coast.
Season: Year-round bark and wood.
Field use: Loose outer bark is excellent tinder, wrapping and temporary waterproofing; wood makes poles and fuel; some species yield tea-tree oils.
Caution: Do not ring-bark living trees. Essential oils are concentrated and not for drinking.
Look-alikes: Eucalypts have gumnuts and different bark; bottlebrush Callistemon forms are related.

tinderwrappolesfuelmedicine

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Dogwoods

Cornus spp.

Useful plants

Identify: Usually opposite branching; arcuate leaf veins curve toward the tip; clustered flowers and drupes.
Habitat: Forest edge, riparian thicket and mountain slope.
Season: Stems year-round; fruit varies by species.
Field use: Dense straight shoots make excellent arrow shafts, skewers and pegs.
Caution: Fruit edibility varies greatly; some species cause stomach upset. Use as material unless species is confirmed.
Look-alikes: Viburnums may have opposite leaves but different veins and buds.

arrow shaftpegsskewers

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Land edibles

Terrestrial food species

Wild roses

Rosa spp.

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Prickly stems; compound toothed leaves; five-petaled flowers; red to orange hips.
Habitat: Open woods, thickets, prairie, dunes and mountain slopes.
Season: Hips late summer through winter.
Field use: Fleshy hip walls are documented food after the irritating hairs and seeds are removed; good for simmering or drying.
Caution: Internal hairs irritate skin and mouth. Avoid sprayed or moldy fruit.
Look-alikes: Hawthorn has simple lobed leaves and woody thorns.

food fruitcordage

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Stinging nettle

Urtica dioica

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Stinging nettle

Identify: Opposite sharply toothed leaves; fibrous stems; translucent stinging hairs; green flower clusters.
Habitat: Rich disturbed soil, river terraces, old camps and forest openings.
Season: Young tops spring; fiber later.
Field use: Young tops are documented food after thorough cooking or drying; mature stems yield strong bast fiber.
Caution: Wear gloves; do not eat raw. Internal use can affect medicines and kidney conditions.
Look-alikes: Dead-nettles do not sting and have showier mint-family flowers.

food greencordagefiber

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Wild onions and garlic

Allium spp.

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Wild onions and garlic

Identify: Narrow leaves or hollow stems; spherical flower heads; clear onion or garlic odor in leaf and bulb.
Habitat: Meadows, rocky slopes, open woodland and stream terraces.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: Leaves, flowers and bulbs of positively identified Allium are documented food and seasoning.
Caution: Every sampled part must smell of onion, but odor is not the only test. Avoid unknown bulbs.
Look-alikes: Death camas lacks onion odor and can be fatal.

food greenfood bulb

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale aggregate

Land-based edible plants

Identify: Basal toothed leaves; hollow leafless stems with one yellow flower; milky sap; parachute seed head.
Habitat: Disturbed temperate ground, meadow and camp edge.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: Young leaves, flower heads and roasted roots have documented food use where uncontaminated.
Caution: Avoid sprayed lawns, roadsides and animal latrines; latex can irritate.
Look-alikes: Catsear has hairy leaves and branched flower stalks.

food greenfood roottinder

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Broadleaf and ribwort plantains

Plantago major / P. lanceolata

Land-based edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Broadleaf and ribwort plantains

Identify: Basal rosette with strong parallel ribs; leafless spikes of tiny flowers and seeds.
Habitat: Trails, camps, meadows and disturbed soil.
Season: Spring through fall.
Field use: Young leaves and seeds are documented food; clean leaves have traditional external use on minor irritation.
Caution: Do not put dirty leaves on open wounds. Seeds swell with water and can obstruct if taken dry in quantity.
Look-alikes: Docks have netted veins; plantain ribs run from the base.

food greenmedicine

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Aquatic edibles

Water-margin food species

Cattails

Typha spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Tall flat strap leaves; dense brown cylindrical female flower spike below a narrower male section.
Habitat: Marshes, pond edges, slow channels and wet ditches.
Season: Shoots spring; pollen early summer; rhizomes year-round where lawful.
Field use: Documented food parts include young inner shoots, pollen and processed rhizome starch. Leaves make mats, baskets and thatch; seed down can bulk tinder.
Caution: Water can concentrate sewage, metals and parasites. Raw rhizome requires correct processing; avoid contaminated marshes.
Look-alikes: Yellow flag iris has sword leaves and showy flowers but no brown cattail head.

food shootfood starchbasketrythatchtinder

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Watercress

Nasturtium officinale

Water and wetland edible plants

Identify: Creeping hollow stems; pinnate leaves with a larger rounded terminal leaflet; small white four-petaled flowers.
Habitat: Cold flowing springs and streams, often where nutrient-rich.
Season: Cool seasons.
Field use: Tender tops are documented food and are usually cooked in survival settings.
Caution: Raw watercress can carry liver flukes and sewage pathogens. Avoid downstream of livestock, roads or settlements.
Look-alikes: Water hemlock has divided leaves and umbrella flowers; never rely on habitat alone.

food green

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Broad pondweeds

Potamogeton spp.

Water and wetland edible plants

Stylized form diagram for Broad pondweeds

Identify: Submerged or floating leaves with parallel veins; small flower spikes rise above water; flexible stems.
Habitat: Lakes, ponds and slow rivers across temperate and cold regions.
Season: Growing season.
Field use: Tubers, young shoots or seeds of some species have documented food use; beds shelter fish and invertebrates.
Caution: Species identification and water quality are essential. Avoid stagnant, cyanobacteria-rich or polluted water.
Look-alikes: Water smartweed has jointed stems and pink flower spikes.

food aquatic

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Traditional-use

Documented traditional medicine

Kawakawa

Piper excelsum

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Heart-shaped leaves with visible veins and often insect holes; jointed stems; upright orange fruit spikes.
Habitat: New Zealand coastal and lowland forest.
Season: Leaves year-round; fruit seasonal.
Field use: Documented Māori traditional-use plant; ripe fruit and leaves have limited food/seasoning history.
Caution: Cultural authority and medical caution apply; no dosing. Avoid plants with disease or heavy contamination.
Look-alikes: Related Piper species do not naturally share all New Zealand habitats.

seasoningmedicine

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Horopito / pepper tree

Pseudowintera colorata

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Stylized form diagram for Horopito / pepper tree

Identify: Leathery oval leaves often blotched red beneath; peppery hot taste; small green-yellow flowers.
Habitat: New Zealand forest, shrubland and mountain margins.
Season: Leaves year-round.
Field use: Leaves have documented seasoning and Māori traditional-use history; dense twigs make pegs and fuel.
Caution: Strong pepper compounds irritate eyes and stomach; no field dosing.
Look-alikes: Kawakawa has heart-shaped leaves and jointed stems.

seasoningmedicinepegs

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Koromiko

Veronica salicifolia complex

Medicinal and traditional-use plants

Identify: Opposite narrow leaves and long spikes of small white to lilac flowers.
Habitat: New Zealand forest edge, river terrace and shrubland.
Season: Leaves year-round; flowers seasonal.
Field use: Documented Māori external and digestive traditional use; straight stems make light pegs and shafts.
Caution: No field dosing; species limits and chemistry vary.
Look-alikes: Introduced butterfly bush has opposite leaves but larger cone-like flower clusters.

medicinepegsarrow shaft

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Poisonous look-alikes

Do not eat — verify before harvest

Tutu

Coriaria arborea

Poisonous plants

Identify: Opposite leaves on arching stems; hanging dark berry-like clusters; ribbed twigs.
Habitat: New Zealand riverbeds, scrub and forest edges.
Season: Fruit summer-fall.
Field use: No survival food use.
Caution: Seeds and other tissues contain potent neurotoxins and can cause seizures and death; insects may contaminate honey with toxins.
Look-alikes: Wineberry has alternate leaves and true raspberry-like fruit.

poison

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Karaka

Corynocarpus laevigatus

Poisonous plants

Identify: Glossy broad leaves; clusters of orange plum-like fruits with a large kernel.
Habitat: New Zealand coastal forest and old settlement sites.
Season: Fruit late summer-fall.
Field use: Flesh is thin; kernels were a major traditional food only after complex detoxification and repeated washing. Wood and leaves have technical use.
Caution: Raw kernels are dangerously toxic. Do not attempt survival processing without expert cultural instruction.
Look-alikes: Puriri and other orange fruits differ in leaf arrangement and seed count.

poison

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Ngaio

Myoporum laetum

Poisonous plants

Identify: Narrow glossy leaves dotted with oil glands; small white-purple spotted flowers; purple drupes.
Habitat: New Zealand coast and lowland scrub.
Season: Year-round leaves; fruit seasonal.
Field use: Wood has limited technical use; no food or medicine use.
Caution: Foliage and fruit can be toxic, especially to livestock; smoke and sap should be treated cautiously.
Look-alikes: Karamu has opposite broader leaves and clustered berries.

poison

POWO photos iNaturalist photos

Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea

Poisonous plants

Identify: Tall spike of purple, pink or white tubular flowers with spotted throats; soft wrinkled basal leaves.
Habitat: Roadsides, clearings, old farms and disturbed temperate ground.
Season: Late spring through summer.
Field use: No field medicinal use.
Caution: All parts contain potent cardiac glycosides and can cause life-threatening rhythm disturbances.
Look-alikes: First-year rosettes can resemble comfrey or mullein.

poison

POWO photos iNaturalist photos