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Cheeseman’s Native Geum – A Rose Relative
Geum divergens specimen from Cheeseman’s type herbarium sheet (AK 4760) collected in January 1893 from the slopes of the Hanmer Range in North Canterbury. Of the six New Zealand native geum species it has the largest flowers.
In January 1893 during one of his southern botanical expeditions, Thomas Cheeseman of the Auckland Museum collected a new species of geum, a member of the rose family, from the slopes of the Hanmer Range in North Canterbury. Twenty-three years later he described it as Geum divergens with yellow flowers (Cheeseman 1916). After diligent searching it was rediscovered 98 years after Cheeseman’s visit, close to his original site, and, surprisingly, with white flowers (the pressed flowers fade to light yellow). |
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Thomas Cheeseman, Auckland Institute and Museum botanist and sole Curator for nearly 50 years (1874-1923) |
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