Introduction
Overview
New Zealand native ground covers are diverse, hardy plants that form low-growing mats and carpets, perfect for stabilizing soil, covering difficult areas, and creating attractive underplantings. These resilient species include Acaena species (Bidibidi), Fuchsia procumbens (Creeping Fuchsia), and Leptinella species, many of which produce distinctive flowers, fruits, or seasonal colour changes. Native ground covers are invaluable for erosion control, wildlife habitat, and low-maintenance landscaping in challenging sites where traditional lawn struggles to thrive.
Mueller's Starwort
Callitriche muelleri
Mueller's starwort ( Callitriche muelleri ) is a tiny, short-lived perennial or annual herb that forms matted patches on damp ground.
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Māori Dock
Rumex flexuosus
Māori dock ( Rumex flexuosus ), known to Māori as runa, is an endemic perennial dock grown for its striking bronze-brown foliage.
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New Zealand Sea Spurrey
Spergularia tasmanica
New Zealand sea spurrey (Spergularia tasmanica) is a low perennial herb with a thick, woody rootstock, fleshy pointed leaves and small pink to mauve flowers that fade to.
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New Zealand Sneezewort
Centipeda aotearoana
New Zealand sneezewort ( Centipeda aotearoana ) is a small, prostrate member of the daisy family endemic to New Zealand.
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Nohi
Luzuriaga parviflora
Nohi, also called pūwatawata or lantern berry ( Luzuriaga parviflora ), is a wiry, low-growing, semi-herbaceous perennial endemic to New Zealand.
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Papataniwhaniwha
Lagenophora petiolata
Papataniwhaniwha (Lagenophora petiolata), once spelt Lagenophora petiolata , is a small creeping daisy endemic to New Zealand.
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Tarn Speedwell
Veronica lilliputiana
Tarn speedwell (Veronica lilliputiana), long known as Veronica lilliputiana, is one of New Zealand's smallest flowering plants: a creeping herb only 3 to 10 mm tall that.
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Pigface
Carpobrotus glaucescens
Pigface (Carpobrotus glaucescens) is a sprawling succulent ground cover of sandy beaches, with thick, faintly bluish three-angled leaves, large magenta flowers that are.
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Pinātoro
Pimelea carnosa
Pinātoro (Pimelea carnosa) is a very low, sprawling native shrub of coastal cliffs and banks, with creeping greyish-haired stems up to 70 cm long and tiny, thick, fleshy.
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Round-Leaved Willowherb
Epilobium rotundifolium
Round-leaved willowherb ( Epilobium rotundifolium ) is a small, widely creeping herb endemic to New Zealand and found on the North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands.
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Shore Cress
Lepidium tenuicaule
Shore cress ( Lepidium tenuicaule ) is a small, rosette-forming perennial herb endemic to New Zealand.
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Sinclair's Stonecrop
Crassula sinclairii
Sinclair's stonecrop ( Crassula sinclairii ) is a tiny perennial succulent endemic to New Zealand that lives mostly underwater.
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Stewart Island Vegetable Sheep
Raoulia goyenii
Stewart Island vegetable sheep ( Raoulia goyenii ) is a cushion-forming daisy endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura.
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Thompson's Oxalis
Oxalis thompsoniae
Thompson's oxalis ( Oxalis thompsoniae ) is a low, creeping native herb with greyish, hairy three-part leaves and small yellow flowers.
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Thomson's Mountain Daisy
Celmisia thomsonii
Thomson's mountain daisy ( Celmisia thomsonii ) is a small alpine daisy found only in the Eyre Mountains, between Lake Wakatipu and northern Southland.
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Traill's Button Daisy
Leptinella traillii
Traill's button daisy (Leptinella traillii subsp. traillii) is a creeping, mat-forming herb in the daisy family, found only on Stewart Island/Rakiura and its adjacent.
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Waxweed
Hydrocotyle heteromeria
Waxweed ( Hydrocotyle heteromeria ), also called waxweed pennywort, is a small creeping herb endemic to New Zealand.
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Lesser Joyweed
Alternanthera denticulata
Lesser joyweed (Alternanthera denticulata) is a low, sprawling perennial herb of the amaranth family that grows in fertile coastal and lowland wetlands, lake margins.
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Dwarf Bedstraw
Asperula perpusilla
Dwarf bedstraw ( Asperula perpusilla , now treated as Asperula perpusilla) is a tiny perennial herb endemic to New Zealand.
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Native Bedstraw
Galium trilobum
Native bedstraw ( Galium trilobum ) is a slender, straggling perennial herb endemic to New Zealand.
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Creeping Lawyer
Rubus parvus
Creeping lawyer ( Rubus parvus ) is a low, scrambling bramble endemic to the South Island, found west of the Main Divide from Nelson to South Westland.
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Dryland Button Daisy
Leptinella serrulata
Dryland button daisy (Leptinella serrulata) is a tiny, creeping perennial herb endemic to the drier eastern side of the South Island, from the Wairau River in.
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Silver Cushion Mountain Daisy
Celmisia argentea
Silver cushion mountain daisy ( Celmisia argentea ) is a tiny, densely branched subshrub that forms silvery cushions or mats up to about 20 cm across.
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Native Cudweed
Euchiton polylepis
Native cudweed ( Euchiton polylepis ) is a tiny, creeping perennial daisy endemic to New Zealand.
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Shore Dock
Rumex neglectus
Shore dock ( Rumex neglectus ) is a small, fleshy-leaved dock endemic to New Zealand's southern coasts.
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Sand Gunnera
Gunnera dentata
Sand gunnera ( Gunnera dentata ) is a small, creeping endemic herb that forms low mats of toothed leaves only 1 to 4 cm long.
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Creeping Gunnera
Gunnera prorepens
Creeping gunnera ( Gunnera prorepens ) is a low, mat-forming endemic herb of bogs and wet ground, usually only 5 to 20 cm tall.
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Alpine Kelleria
Kelleria dieffenbachii
Alpine kelleria ( Kelleria dieffenbachii ) is a tiny woody subshrub in the daphne family, Thymelaeaceae, that forms dense to loose mats about 25 cm across and only a few.
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Small Knotweed
Polygonum plebeium
Small knotweed ( Polygonum plebeium ) is a prostrate annual or short-lived perennial herb whose stems rarely exceed 15 cm, carrying tiny grey-green to blue-green leaves.
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Shore Lobelia
Lobelia anceps
Shore lobelia ( Lobelia anceps ) is a small, hairless perennial herb that forms loose to compact patches up to about 40 cm long on coastal rocks, cobble beaches and.
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Sand Lobelia
Lobelia arenaria
Sand lobelia ( Lobelia arenaria ) is a creeping, hairless, somewhat succulent herb endemic to New Zealand.
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Mountain Lobelia
Lobelia linnaeoides
Mountain lobelia ( Lobelia linnaeoides ) is a small, hairless creeping herb endemic to the South Island, where it grows from Marlborough to Southland in high montane to.
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Dwarf Musk
Mazus novaezeelandiae
Dwarf musk ( Mazus novaezeelandiae subsp. novaezeelandiae ) is a small creeping perennial herb, endemic to New Zealand, that forms compact leafy rosettes only a few.
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Common Water Milfoil
Myriophyllum propinquum
Common water milfoil ( Myriophyllum propinquum ) is a soft native aquatic herb with slender stems about 5 to 40 cm long that grows in ponds, slow-flowing streams and wet.
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Creeping Raspwort
Gonocarpus micranthus
Creeping raspwort ( Gonocarpus micranthus ) is a slender, hairless creeping herb of the water milfoil family (Haloragaceae), usually under 10 cm tall in New Zealand.
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Mountain Raspwort
Gonocarpus montanus
Mountain raspwort ( Gonocarpus montanus ) is a small perennial herb of the water-milfoil family, Haloragaceae, that grows 10-15 cm tall with trailing or ascending.
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Swamp Hypericum
Hypericum pusillum
Swamp hypericum ( Hypericum pusillum ) is a small, creeping native herb with thin stems up to 20 cm long, tiny wavy-edged leaves and pale to dark yellow flowers up to 9.
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Green Vegetable Sheep
Raoulia haastii
Green vegetable sheep ( Raoulia haastii ) is a cushion-forming daisy endemic to the eastern South Island.
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Small Water Milfoil
Myriophyllum votschii
Small water milfoil ( Myriophyllum votschii ) is one of New Zealand's smallest native wetland plants: a creeping, dioecious herb that roots at its nodes to form patches.
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White Oxalis
Oxalis magellanica
White oxalis ( Oxalis magellanica ) is a small, creeping native herb that forms dense mats of three-part, clover-like leaves, each leaflet just 2 to 13 mm long, and.
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Nertera balfouriana
Nertera balfouriana
Nertera balfouriana is a small endemic creeping herb in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) that forms dense patches up to about 25 cm across in damp and boggy ground.
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Nertera ciliata
Nertera ciliata
Nertera ciliata is a tiny creeping herb in the coffee family (Rubiaceae), endemic to New Zealand.
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Nertera depressa
Nertera depressa
Bead plant (Nertera depressa) is a low creeping herb in the coffee family that forms dense mats of tiny rounded leaves, sometimes up to 3 m across, studded from summer.
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Nertera dichondrifolia
Nertera dichondrifolia
Nertera dichondrifolia is a slender, mat-forming herb of the coffee family, endemic to the Three Kings Islands and the North Island from Te Paki south to Waitomo and.
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Nertera scapanioides
Nertera scapanioides
Nertera scapanioides is a small creeping herb in the coffee family that forms mats or loose cushions about 5 cm deep in peaty wetlands, usually where Sphagnum moss grows.
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Acaena buchananii
Acaena buchananii
Acaena buchananii is a low, mat-forming bidibid (piripiri) endemic to the eastern South Island, from Marlborough to Otago.
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Acaena glabra
Acaena glabra
Acaena glabra is a small, clump-forming bidibid (piripiri) endemic to the mountains of the eastern South Island, from Marlborough to North Otago.
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Acaena profundeincisa
Acaena profundeincisa
Acaena profundeincisa is a stoloniferous bidibid (piripiri) that forms loose, prostrate mats up to about 1 m across and around 10 cm high in the mountains of both main.
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