Story: European discovery of New Zealand

Documenting native plants (1st of 2)

Documenting native plants

James Cook returned to Europe with an extensive visual and written record of New Zealand’s natural history. On the first voyage the wealthy botanist Joseph Banks and his assistant Daniel Solander assiduously collected plants new to European science. They mounted the specimens they had found, and many of their herbarium sheets survive. On this sheet is the orchid Earina mucronata, collected at Mercury Bay in 1769.

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Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

John Wilson, 'European discovery of New Zealand - Cook’s achievement', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/object/1427/documenting-native-plants (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by John Wilson, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 May 2016