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Otari-Wilton’s Bush - Collections

The Otari-Wilton's Bush plant collections contain about 1200 species, hybrids and cultivars. The collections include plants from New Zealand's mainland and off-shore islands.

Almost all the plants have been grown from cuttings or seeds collected from their original habitats. The collection has the following roles:

Conservation: Seedlings of threatened species are raised and either kept in the gardens as a conservation measure, or returned to the wild in plant conservation recovery programmes.
Research: Scientists use the plant collections for studying plant ecology, economic potential, and classification.
Education: Plants are labelled to help visitors learn about their names and characteristics.
Recreation: Otari-Wilton's Bush is a great place for locals and tourists to escape urban life and appreciate New Zealand's unique flora.

The plant collections were started in 1926 by eminent New Zealand botanist Dr Leonard Cockayne. He aimed to establish a collection of solely New Zealand native plants, displayed in family groups or as re-created ecosystems representing different areas of New Zealand.

Natural Forest

Northern rata

The forest area at Otari includes a stand of original bush, 17 acres set aside by Job Wilton in 1860, and a much larger area of regenerating bush. The original bush has some very large trees such as rimu and rata, which are estimated to be between 400-800 years old.

The regenerating bush started in the gullies and now covers most of the reserve, working its way up to the tops of the hills on the far side of the valley.

Plants for Home (Main Cultivar Border)

Kakabeak blossom

This garden shows a range of horticultural cultivars and hybrids of native plants.

They have been selected for their colours, foliage, or other unusual features.

Brockie Rock Garden

The rock garden is home to a wide variety of plants that have special growth requirements. The collection features plantlife from the coastline to mountaintop including subantarctic islands.

Wellington Coastal Plants

Plants from the Wellington Coast, many of which are now fairly rare in the wild. This collection is one way of helping to ensure conservation of these species by establishing populations in a protected and managed area.

Grass & Sedge Species

Toetoe

This border is home to a collection of native species of grasses and sedges. It shows the wide range of colour, size and form of these plants in New Zealand.

Threatened Plants

This border includes threatened native species. Of 2300 plant species, New Zealand has about 250 species listed as threatened or endangered.

Hebe

There are two hebe borders - a hebe cultivar border with a collection of horticultural selections, and a hebe species border with naturally occurring species from around New Zealand.

Harakeke

Flax plant

The harakeke or New Zealand flax border is a collection of highly coloured horticultural selections of flax. Harakeke attracts birds and is regularly visited by nectar feeders such as tui.

Pittosporum Species

This border highlights the diversity of the Pittosporum genus, from large-leaved trees to small-leaved twiggy shrubs.

Coprosma Species

A collection of Coprosma species from around New Zealand, showing the diversity of this genus. The collection includes shrubs, spreading groundcovers and a wide range of other forms.

Olearia Species

New Zealand's native tree daisies are found in nearly all New Zealand habitats, from the sea shore to alpine scree slopes.

Divaricate Collection

Divaricate describes shrubs with stiff, interlaced, zig-zagging stems. New Zealand has about 60 species with this growth habit.

Conifer Collection

This border houses a number of the larger native conifers, and features many larger trees such as miro, matai, kauri, rimu, and kahikatea. There are also a number of less well known species.

Fernery

Ponga fern

On the edge of the bush area, this collection of native ferns from around the country includes a range of forms from the giant parapara, or king fern to the iconic silver fern and small ground-covering and tree climbing species.

Alpine Garden

Native plants from habitats ranging from subalpine to high alpine. There are grasses, some trees, and a wide range of alpine herbs.

Dracophyllum Garden

Chatham Island Forget-me-not.

Dracophyllum or "grass trees" are a distinctive and unusual genus. This garden showcases these plants, with an underplanting of Chatham Island forget-me-nots and rengarenga lilies.

Wild Garden

This area has been gardened since the canopy trees were thinned out by the 1968 Wahine storm. It is an ideal area for growing shrubs, trees and climbers which occur naturally under some forest cover or need protection from frost.

Kowhai Kakabeak Border

Kowhai flowers.

This border has a collection of mature kowhai trees in it, and includes some kakabeak and varied other underplantings. It is very attractive to birds, particularly tui and kereru when it is in flower.

New Zealand Broom

A collection of New Zealand broom (Carmichaelia) species, some of which have unusual branch structures and are highly scented when in flower.