clings to the exposed rocky ridges
- Size
- Height: 2-5 cm, Diameter: up to 20 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Diet
- Not applicable as this is autotrophic. Photosynthetic cushion plant. Obtains nutrients from thin, rocky alpine soils. Tolerates extreme cold and wind.
- Habitat
- Alpine areas. Grows on rocky slopes, scree, and exposed ridges. Prefers well-drained soils and full sun.
- Range
- Endemic to New Zealand. Found in alpine and subalpine areas of the South Island, from Nelson to Southland.
- Endemism
- Endemic
- Main Threats
- Climate change is the primary threat. Alpine habitats are warming. Plants are being pushed to higher elevations.
- Population
- Found in alpine areas of the South Island. Locally common. Not threatened.
- Conservation Status
- data_deficient
- Human Risk
- harmless
- Handling Note
- protected alpine cushion plant, do not walk on or disturb
- Conservation Note
- Endemic alpine cushion plant; data insufficient for full threat classification.
- Assessment
- NZTCS Vascular Plants (2023)
- Te Ao Māori
- Ewartia meredithae has no recognised Māori name. The alpine zone was not heavily used by Māori. This silvery cushion plant grows in the highest places. It is part of the high mountain ecosystem. A zone of spiritual significance. The plant remains outside traditional frameworks. Its presence is noted by climbers. Not by ancestors. The silence is part of the record.
Wind defines its shape. Ewartia meredithae, the alpine cushion daisy, forms tight, silvery cushions. It lives where trees gave up. The leaves are small and white-felted. They are pressed against the stem. The flowers are tiny, white, and daisy-like. They are almost invisible. The plant is the colour of frost.
The leaves are small and narrow. They are covered in silvery hairs. They are packed tight together. The cushions are dense and hard. The flowers are small and white. They have yellow centres. They appear in summer.
Ewartia meredithae grows on rocky slopes. It lives in scree and on exposed ridges. It likes sun. It likes wind. It grows where trees gave up.
The name meredithae honours a specific contributor. The plant is worthy of note. It survives in the harshest places.
The species is endemic to New Zealand. It is found only in the South Island mountains.
In the alpine zone, Ewartia meredithae is an important pioneer. It stabilises scree. It creates microhabitats for other plants.
The genus Ewartia is named for Alfred Ewart. He was a botanist who studied Australian and New Zealand plants.
Ewartia meredithae is not threatened. It is common in suitable habitat. But alpine areas are threatened by climate change.
This alpine cushion daisy is a reminder. The high mountains have their own daisies. Silvery. Compact. They live where trees gave up.
The ridge is exposed. The cushion sits. Silvery and hard. The wind blows. The plant does not move. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as the rock remains.
It just holds on. That is enough.