No need to panic - plenty of Brachyglottis repanda for everyone

NZ Association of Tree Nurseries spokesman Graeme Cairns is urging the public not to panic-buy the native plant rangiora - Brachyglottis repanda, also known as bushman's toilet paper. Photo / Supplied

NZ Association of Tree Nurseries spokesman Graeme Cairns has made an impassioned plea to the plant-buying public of New Zealand not to panic-buy the native plant rangiora – Brachyglottis Repanda, commonly known as bushman's friend or bushman's toilet paper.

"The middle of summer is a very tricky time to plant out trees," he said.

"Unless you have a watering system already plumbed in, these trees will most likely cark it, so impulsively stockpiling them whenever a new strain of Covid pops up is pointless and counterproductive," he said.

Nurserymen throughout the country have been caught with their pants down by the unprecedented surge in demand for young rangiora plants, with most running out of stock.

Some farmers who had recently planted manuka forests on marginal land in order to capitalise on the high-end honey market, have ploughed in their tea tree and replanted with rangiora, such is the perceived demand for this handy plant.

"It appears that opportunist amateur tree propagators are stripping existing trees bare in the hope of making a fast buck from growing cuttings. If this continues unabated, the entire species is likely to be wiped out," warned conservationist Dr Amelia Pujol.

Graeme agrees, and has called for national restraint.

"Please just buy what you normally would, when you normally would, and there'll be enough bushman's toilet paper for everyone."