Two beautiful new books, He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers and Case Studies: A story of plant travel may have different narratives but would nevertheless appeal to many of the same audience - art appreciators, flower enthusiasts, gardeners, nature-lovers, botanists, photographers, artists and students interested in our environment.

He Puāwai is an astonishing publication, hailed as revolutionary in the botanical world, with over 500 mind-blowing images of native flowers. Aotearoa has at least 2,200 native flowering plants, and because of our geographical isolation, these have evolved differently from the rest of the world, with 85% found nowhere else. Like our nation, most native flowers are small and, like most New Zealanders, usually understated. Now, thanks to this book, by internationally renowned botanist Philip Garnock-Jones, we can celebrate these miniature marvels in magnified 3D glory.

The book comes with a stereo viewer, which, when used to view side-by-side photos, tricks the brain into seeing a 3D image, transporting you into a magical realm. It may take a moment to get the hang of this ingenious device, but if you follow the instructions, a multidimensional image will unfold right before your eyes. If stereo vision eludes you, there are also extraordinary, standalone colour photos.

As well as a celebration of mother nature’s spectacular floral artwork, He Puāwai is an exploration of the biology of Aotearoa’s native flowers. Each of the 100 flowers included is accompanied by easy-to-read descriptions of the different flora structures and the often very particular pollination process (whether by birds, bees or bats).

He Puāwai deserves a place in any library as an inspiration for art (wineberry/makomako flowers are so exquisite), as a gardener/nature-lover’s guidebook (who knew we had a spectacular native hibiscus?) or a textbook (the kiekie is famous as the world’s largest blossom and evolved with our tiny bats as the pollinator). As well as increasing my knowledge, this book has inspired me to use the macro setting on my phone camera to capture close up images of the fabulous native flowers in my garden. In his final words, Garnock-Jones asks for help to fill in knowledge gaps about our native flora by posting photos e.g. on iNaturalist. He says citizen science images of insects on flowers would be of particular interest and insists that including names is not necessary, as there are plenty of obliging experts.

On the surface Case Studies may appear as the visually captivating and compelling documentation of an art project, a collaboration between multi-talented botanical artist Felicity Jones and photographer Mark Smith, however, deeper delving reveals the book is also a labyrinthine journey through space and time. 

The book was a decade in the making. What began with curiosity about how exotic plants arrived in New Zealand evolved organically to become a voyage of discovery that travelled around the motu and across the other side of the world. One of these paths led to the Wardian case, a portable glasshouse/terrarium that enabled the transport of live plant specimens around the world during the 1800s. Made of wood and glass, the cases sat in the open on the poop deck of ships, protected from the salt spray and requiring no irrigation, as a water cycle in miniature, of evaporation and condensation, continued in perpetuation inside. Jones designed her own version of the Wardian case to display a framed botanical arrangement within the frame of a photographed setting - hydrangeas on the windswept dunes of Piha, or a wild rose in remote Northland or Otago.

Each photographic account tells a story with diverse themes (cultural, historical, environmental, biological, geographical), expounded on by commentary in the form of poetic prose, essays, or personal note on aspects of botanical ecology in Aotearoa and the impact of exotic plants. Contributing writers include a range of esteemed figures in their respective fields, such as Dame Anne Salmond, Gregory O’Brien and Dr Huhana Smith.

The title, Case Studies, is a clever play on the Wardian case and the term for a record of scientific research. Jones’ investigations led to many fascinating findings on how the international conveyance of plants impacted global ecology and the repercussions experienced in Aotearoa. One historical account of ‘The Lupin Lady’ tells of how a misguided woman, wanting to brighten the South Island landscape, scattered thousands of lupin seeds near Tekapo and became solely responsible for a significant environmental transformation along the area’s river plains, with massive ecological consequences for the successful nesting of numerous endangered birds.

While Case Studies is a reminder to think twice about what to plant in your garden, He Puāwai brings enlightenment that not everything beautiful is big and brash, and if only we look a little closer, we will see that a treasure trove of tiny taonga can be found amongst the leaves of our native plants. Either of these books will likely inspire you to give a specimen or two of our endemic flora a patch of earth in your backyard and grow your very own quintessentially Kiwi plant with breathtaking blooms that are uniquely Aotearoa.