When the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana broke up, the islands of New Caledonia got a bigger range of plants than the larger land mass that became New Zealand.
Dr Shane Wright will talk about that diverse and rich plant life in Whanganui on November 27. His talk is titled Windowon Gondwana: The Flora of New Caledonia and it starts at 7.30pm in the Davis Lecture Theatre.
Wright is a senior lecturer at Auckland University, a biogeographer, and the researcher who discovered why evolution proceeds more quickly in the tropics than it does in colder climates. He has worked in Oceania for many decades, spending time in both New Caledonia and South America.
He has a special interest in plants of ancient land masses - places like the Gondwana supercontinent, which began splitting up about 180 million years ago.
New Caledonia is only one fifteenth the size of New Zealand, but it is much richer in plant species. Wright will explain why it became a refuge for the plants of Gondwana, and why they include so many conifers.
New Caledonia is the only country that still has the oldest flowering plant in the world, Amborella trichopoda - a single species and sister to all other flowering plants.
His talk will cost $4 for Whanganui Science Forum Members and $5 for others, and be followed by supper.
