Vascular plants of Otago
Did you know Otago is home to more than 1,300 species of native plants? And that’s just the vascular plants. At least 39 of these are found nowhere else in the world.
Aotearoa New Zealand is home to an exceptional range of native plants, shaped by its long geographic isolation and varied landscapes. From coastal dunes and wetlands to dry inland valleys and alpine mountains, these environments support a wide variety of vascular plants.
Around 2,800 indigenous vascular plant species are recognised nationally, with about 80% endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. This means they occur naturally nowhere else in the world, giving New Zealand’s native plants global significance.
Indigenous vascular plants include ferns, conifers and flowering plants. Their distributions reflect the country’s varied geology, climate and topography, with some species widespread across the country and others restricted to particular regions or habitats.
Otago encompasses a remarkable range of environments, from the Pacific coast and lowland plains to the dry basins of Central Otago and the mountains of the Southern Alps. This environmental variation supports many different plant communities, including widespread New Zealand species as well as plants largely or exclusively found in the southern South Island.
More than 1,300 indigenous vascular plant species occur naturally in Otago, representing almost half of the species found across Aotearoa New Zealand. They occur in many ecosystems, including coastal and wetland areas, forests and shrublands, grasslands, drylands and alpine environments.
Otago is home to many familiar native plants that are closely associated with its landscapes and natural heritage.
Examples of iconic Otago plants include:
Narrow-leaved snow tussock (Chionochloa rigida subsp. rigida) — widespread across Otago’s high country and alpine grasslands.
Copper tussock (Chionochloa rubra subsp. cuprea) — characteristic of dryland and montane landscapes.
Golden speargrass (Aciphylla aurea) — a distinctive plant of Otago’s high-country and alpine environments.
Matagouri (Discaria toumatou) — a familiar feature of Central Otago’s dry landscapes and river terraces.
Tōtara (Podocarpus totara var. totara) — found in lowland and dryland forests and scattered through parts of Otago’s inland landscapes.
Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) — an important component of Otago’s native forests, particularly in wetter areas.
Southern rātā (Metrosideros umbellata) — associated with the wetter forests of western and southern Otago.
Kōwhai (Sophora microphylla) — found across a range of habitats, from coastal areas and river margins to inland valleys.
Silver beech (Lophozonia menziesii) — characteristic of cool, upland and montane forests, particularly in southern and western Otago.
Together, these plants are some of the best-known native plants found across Otago, from tussocklands and dry inland valleys to forests and alpine areas.
Some of Otago’s native plants have particularly restricted distributions. Of the more than 1,300 indigenous vascular plant species found in the region, at least 39 are regional endemics — species that are native to Otago and whose natural distribution is restricted entirely to the region. In other words, they occur naturally and breed nowhere else in the world.
Other species are endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand but occur across several regions, while some are strongly associated with Otago but also extend beyond its boundaries. Understanding these different distribution patterns helps us recognise the importance of protecting the habitats that support Otago’s native plants.
Examples of regional endemic plants include:
Pisa Flats woollyhead (Craspedia argentea) — found in the inland outwash gravels of Central Otago, a naturally uncommon ecosystem.
Salt-pan cress (Lepidium kirkii) — found in inland saline ecosystems on saline and sodic soils, another naturally uncommon ecosystem.
Lindsay’s daisy (Celmisia lindsayi) — found in coastal rockland and flaxland habitats along the southern Otago coast.
Gingidia grisea — restricted to north-eastern Otago.
Myosotis hikuwai — a recently described forget-me-not known from a single location near Wānaka.
Cromwell broom (Carmichaelia compacta) — associated with the dry rocky landscapes of Central Otago.
Helichrysum simpsonii subsp. tumidum — found on the Otago Peninsula.
Together, these plants illustrate the environments that support Otago’s regional endemics, from naturally uncommon ecosystems and coastal habitats to dry inland landscapes and alpine ranges.
You can find out more about regionally endemic species on Otago’s unique species webpage, including its vascular plants.
The Otago Regional Council periodically assesses the conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in the Region. The latest assessment, completed in 2026, identified more than 1,300 indigenous vascular plant species in Otago.
The assessment found that Otago is a national stronghold for at least 330 vascular plant species, with more than 20% of their national populations occurring in the region. It also identified 39 regional endemic species that occur naturally and breed nowhere else in the world.
The 2026 assessment was completed in conjunction with a panel of botanical and ecological experts, including John Barkla, Brian Rance, Dr Geoff Rogers, Richard Ewans and Dr Mike Thorsen.
You can find out more about the conservation status of selected species group in Otago on our regional threat assessments webpage, including assessments of vascular plants.
Species lists are available for vascular plants recorded across Otago, including selected areas, ecosystems and administrative units. These are available to download as Excel spreadsheets:
August 2026
XLSX | 220 KB
Conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago, 2026. Supplementary Information
August 2025
XLSX | 115 KB
This Excel document lists threatened or at-risk indigenous vascular plants of the Otago Region by Territorial Authorities or Freshwater Management Units
August 2026
XLSX | 360 KB
This Excel document lists the indigenous and exotic vascular plants recorded in Mount Aspiring National Park.
September 2026
XLSX | 162 KB
This Excel document has lists of vascular plants for six inland saline sites
August 2026
XLSX | 134 KB
This Excel document lists the indigenous vascular plants in The Catlins Ecological Region.
August 2026
XLSX | 142 KB
This Excel document lists the indigenous vascular plants in the Eyres Ecological District.
Visit our Otago’s lists of selected species webpage for lists of selected species groups in Otago, including vascular plants.
Choosing the right native plants for your site can help restore Otago’s ecosystems and support native biodiversity. The Otago Native Planting Guide is an interactive tool to help you choose native plant species suited to your location.
The guide provides species lists for the Otago ecosystems most likely to be the focus of restoration work, including forest, wetland and coastal ecosystems. These lists are matched to the potential ecosystems map, which shows the indigenous ecosystems estimated to have occurred across Otago without human influence.
The guide is intended to help with species selection, rather than provide instructions for planning or carrying out a revegetation project. Enter your project location or select an area on the map to generate a list of native plants that naturally occur in, or are associated with, the ecosystems in that area.
The guide complements other resources available for native planting and provides additional information where species lists for the potential ecosystems are limited. For areas not covered by the potential ecosystems map, species lists are provided for riparian areas and Central Otago shrublands. Links to other reliable sources of information are also provided to help with planning and implementing native planting projects.
Visit our Otago Native Planting Guide webpage to find native plant species suited to your location and project.
Find out more and connects with others:
To find out more about vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, visit the websites of:
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network / Rōpū Hononga Koiora Taiao ki Aotearoa (NZPCN)
New Zealand Native Orchid Group
Flora of New Zealand
Biota of New Zealand
The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
NZPCN is a society that aims to protect and restore Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous plant life.
The New Zealand Native Orchid Group
The New Zealand Native Orchid Group is a society for the observation, study and conservation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s native orchids.
Flora of New Zealand
Flora of New Zealand Series provides online access to Flora of New Zealand books covering indigenous and naturalised plants, grasses, lichens, liverworts and hornworts.
Biota of New Zealand
Biota of New Zealand provides access to information about the fungi, land invertebrates and plants as well as some virus and bacteria that are found in, or relevant to, Aotearoa – New Zealand.
To connect with people interested in the study and conservation of indigenous vascular plants, visit:
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network / Rōpū Hononga Koiora Taiao ki Aotearoa (NZPCN)
Botanical Society of Otago
The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
NZPCN is a society that aims to protect and restore Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous plant life.
Botanical Society of Otago
A regional society bringing together people interested in botany, native plants and the natural environment, and provides opportunities to learn about plants through meetings, field trips and workshops.
Participatory science:
Have you spotted a vascular plant? Take a photo and upload your observation to iNaturalist, including the location and date. Your observations can help improve our knowledge of Aotearoa New Zealand’s vascular plants.
