Mistletoe
Tiny green leaves are the first signs of success from last year’s mistletoe translocation to Mt Pirongia in Waikato.
Leaves of hope; first signs of mistletoe success at Pirongia. Photo: Department of Conservation.
Mistletoe
Restoration efforts began at Pirongia in the early 2000s, and since then the Department of Conservation’s Waikato team has worked with Pirongia Te Aroaro ō Kahu Restoration Society, Te Pahū Landcare, and local iwi to restore the maunga and reintroduce native species.
DoC Waikato Biodiversity Ranger Cara Hansen says the mistletoe species was found on the maunga, but the introduction of possums to New Zealand completely wiped the plants out. Possums were the main culprits.
Beginning in 2023, DoC staff and volunteers attached pirita/mistletoe seeds to dozens of host trees at Kaniwhaniwha and Pirongia Lodge on the edge of Pirongia Forest Park.
Each host tree received between 10 and 20 mistletoe seeds, which were sourced from a property near Maungatautari. Recent monitoring of 18 host trees at Kaniwhaniwha showed 53 individual mistletoe plants had germinated, and after one year they had between two and four leaves each.
Mistletoe
The plants can be a little slow to get going, so they’re still pretty tiny,” Hansen said. “Once they germinate, they can take a while to attach successfully to the host tree and will reach maturity in about five years. By then, they’ll have grown to the size of a basketball and will have started producing fruit.”
She said continued control of possums and rats would be a key to the project’s success.
Pirongia is part of DoC’s National Predator Control Programme, which uses aerially applied toxins to control possums and rats. The two community groups have also contributed with extensive ground control efforts.
