Muehlenbeckia astonii or shrubby tororaro is an endemic New Zealand shrub in the family Polygonaceae. It has distinctive small heart-shaped deciduous leaves amidst a tangle of wiry interlocking branches. Although common in cultivation around the world, it is extremely rare and threatened in the wild.
Muehlenbeckia astonii
M. astonii's distinctive interlaced branches and heart-shaped leaves
One mature fruit and seed at bottom, and an immature seed (recently pollinated flower) above.
The flowers of M. astonii are inconspicuous, being pale and only 3 mm across.
Kaitorete Spit is a long finger of land which extends along the coast of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs west from Banks Peninsula for 25 kilometres, and separates the shallow Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora from the Pacific Ocean. It is technically a continuous barrier beach, though at its western end it tapers to a point less than 100 metres in width which is occasionally breached at high tide. The spit is noted for its isolation and for its pebbly beaches. At its eastern end is the small settlement of Birdlings Flat, and west of its narrowest point is the settlement of Taumutu.
Kaitorete Spit separating Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora from the Canterbury Bight
Kaitorete Spit to the south of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, with Christchurch and Lyttelton Harbour to the north
