Included here is the Chatham archipelago situated in the South Pacific some 450 miles east of New Zealand. The largest is Chatham Island measuring about 30 miles in length while the next largest, Pitt Island, barely measures 8 miles.

Chathamian Maritime Rock Vegetation

In the soil filled crevices of rocks above the shoreline Crantzia lineata, Samolus repens and Triglochin striatum are usually the main species, but where the soil is less developed the endemic Senecio radiolatus (Asteraceae) becomes the more characteristic species. On maritime cliffs, the endemic Veronica chathamica (Scropulariaceae) seems to be able to grow on almost solid rock, while in other places there are luxuriant stands of Mesembryanthemum australis accompanied by Apium australe, Salicornia australis and the endemic Geranium traversii (Geraniaceae).

References

Cockayne, L. 1958. The Vegetation of New Zealand. H. R. Engelmann (J. Cramer).

Cockayne, L. 1902. A short account of the plant-covering of Chatham Island. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 34: 243-325.

Molloy, L. 1994. Wild New Zealand. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Northcroft, E. F. 1975. Adventive flora of the Chatham Islands. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 13: 123-129.