Winter frost resistance of leaves of some plants from the Three Kings Islands, grown outdoors in Dunedin, New Zealand

Abstract

The minimum temperature at which plants from the Three Kings Islands escaped damage was determined as -2°C for Elingamita johnsonii, Tecomanthe speciosa, and Meryta sinclairii; -4°C for Pennantia baylisiana, Paratrophis smithii, and Davallia tasmanii; -5°C for Coprosma macrocarpa; and -6°C for Cordyline kaspar. Although the first three species have freezing resistances slightly less than those recorded for any other New Zealand plants, the range of resistance is otherwise similar to that of species of northern and lowland distribution and it appears that low freezing resistance is unlikely to be the major factor preventing the establishment of these species on suitable sites on the mainland.