Pachystegia rufa, or the red-stemmed Marlborough rock daisy is one of three species of Pachystegia, all endemic to New Zealand. There is only a small population of Pachystegia rufa that remains in the wild, that occur in about four valley's in the Haldon Hills, Marlborough. Pachystegia rufa is a species of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is a dwarf, robust, spreading, evergreen shrub growing to a height of 1 m and to a width of 1m. It has stout branches are covered with brown hairs, with has large, leathery, oblong, dark green, shiny leaves which are smaller than those of Pachystegia insignis. It has shiny, deep green leaves that crowded towards the ends of the branches, that have an under surface that is clad with a thick red-brown, rusty coloured tomentum. In spring it has large white daisy-like flowers with a yellow disc in the centre. When Pachystegia rufa is brought into close association with Pachystegia insignis it readily hybridises creating a variety of hybrids. It is naturally uncommon due to the narrow range in which it grows, but is quite common within its range. Some populations have been damaged by goat and possum browse. In a garden situation it should be grown in a very dry, sunny place in free draining soil, a rock wall is ideal. It dislikes humidity and once established will not tolerate much root disturbance, and transplants with difficulty. It is an attractive species which should be grown more than it currently is.

Aristotelia serrata, makomako or wineberry is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands where it is commonly found from sealevel to 1060m asl in lowland to mountain forest. It is particulary abundant in second-growth bush, where slips have occured. A very handsome fast growing tree up to 10m that is at it's best in the spring, when the leaves are just commencing to break and the bare branches are covered with large clusters of small rose-pink flowers during October, followed by small dark red- black berries which attracts birds. As male and female flowers are generally on different trees, both sexes must be grown to obtain berries. It makes a great specimen tree, but because it is very common in the bush most people tend to overlook it for that pupose. It prefers a good moist soil and an open situation, but in colder areas it is deciduous and better in a more sheltered site where it is ideal in semi-shade. Ideal plant for erosion control. Few native trees have a wider distribution and it is usually one of the first to reapppear when the forest is cleared, or after a fire and the light is let in. Like numerous other plants it was collected by Joseph Banks & Daniel Solander. The only economic use was the wood had been used to produce charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder in earlier years. The berries were eaten by Maori children and early European settlers have been said to have used the berries to make jelly or jam. Some may have possibly made wine from them aswell. It also had a number of medicinal uses.

Gaultheria antipoda, tawiniwini, takapu, or snowberry is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands, and is found in lowland to montane forest, scrub and rocky places from 400-800m asl. It is an erect or spreading evergreen shrub, which grows up to 1–2 m tall, withbranchlets that are clad in bristly black hair, sometimes short downy hair, with round leathery, shiny leaves that have bluntly serrated edges. In November it develops lots of small, white, bell-shaped flowers from October to December, which are followed by juicy white, pinkish, or red berries that ripen from January to May.

Myrsine nummularia or creeping matipou is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands. It is fairly widespread in montane to low alpine regions from the East Cape southwards, but absent from Mount Taranaki and often local elsewhere. It usually grows in sheltered places in tussock  grassland, tussock-low shrubland, snow tussock-herfields, open alpine shrubland and around rocky outcrops from 600 to 1520m asl., but descending to sea-level on Stewart Island. This rather small, low rambling subshrub can have slender branches up to 50cm long that are pale to deep reddish brown in colour, and often rooting. Its rounded to sometimes heart-shaped leaves can be bronze when exposed to full light, paler brownish green underneath or sometimes purple. Its very minute flowers are often inconspicuous and appear from October to February, then its bright bluish purple fruits can appear in December to May the following year as they take 12 months to ripen. It makes a very handsome ground-cover in a rock garden, or in an alpine house. It is easily grown in any well-drained soil in either sun or part-shade. It will tolerate  fairly dry conditions, but growth is slow, so for best results it should be grown where it has adequate moisture.

Cyathea dealbata, ponga or silver fern is endemic to New Zealand, and occurs on the main islands of New Zealand and on the Chatham Islands to the east, mostly in the sub canopy areas of drier forests and in open scrub. Its distribution is not even, and does not occur naturally in an area around Lake Taupo in the North Island and is largely absent from most of the South Island except for scattered occurrences on the Kaikoura Coast, Banks Peninsula, Costal Marlborough and Northwest Nelson south to about as far as Westport, parts of Fiordland on the southern west coast, and the Catlins on the southern east coast. It is common, and found primarily in coastal and lowland habitats but extending to lower montane areas, preferring dry forest and shrubland, often under pines. It is the most distinctive and easily recognised tree fern because it has large fronds with a silvery underside, and grows 3-10m or more tall. Although hardy it prefers to be under tree canopy and sheltered from the wind, with adequate moisture and good drainage, but can tolerate dry.  It is a symbol commonly associated with New Zealand both overseas and by New Zealanders themselves. The silver fern leaves appear on the coat of arms of New Zealand. Some of the earliest uses of the silver fern were adopted by the New Zealand Army during the Second Boer War. Since then, the silver fern has been used by the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces during both World Wars and all Commonwealth war graves of fallen New Zealand soldiers have the silver fern engraved on their tombstones.  New Zealand peacekeepers have since used both the silver fern and kiwi symbols for different deployments to differentiate from their Australian and British counterparts. The koru symbol is inspired by the shape of an unfurling silver fern frond, and is found extensively in Māori art, and is used in a stylised form as the logo for our national airline, Air New Zealand. The silver fern is widely used as a symbol by New Zealand national sports teams in various stylised forms, including the national netball team which also takes its name from it. Traditional Māori uses include using ponga as building material, for treating skin problems, marking tracks for night-time use, and the trunk’s woody fibre was used to make poisonous spear tips.

Dicksonia squarrosa or wheki is endemic to the North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands, and is abundant in lowland and hilly forests from sea-level to 760m asl. This is one of the most abundant tree ferns and is easily recognised by its slender trunk , that is clothed by the hard black bases of its frond stalks, and dead fronds can often form a dense skirt around the trunk. Adventitious buds are often produced on the trunk especially if the crown is damaged, with rather stout rhizomes sent up from the root up to a metre or so up the trunk and forming a new plant. An adaptable and hardy tree fern, it suits a filtered light to partially sunny situation, and can sometimes grow in full sun provided the roots are well shaded. Provide shelter and add plenty organic matter to soil. Water whole plant to get established. Can grow  a 1.8 to 4m high trunk over time, but sometimes up to 6m.

Brachyglottis rotundifolia, Puheretaiko, or muttonbird scrub that is endemic to the South and Stewart Island’s.  It is a large leathery shrub growing 1.8-6m tall or more, that inhabits coastal shrub in the western and southern South Island southwards. It has dark green,  thick and leathery leaves with white or tan fuzz underneath. It has small insignificant white flowers.  It is frost hardy and grows well in dry situations, but best results can occur if planted in moist soil in well drained sites. It does not like high humidity and prefers good airflow at all times.