Local iwi Ngāti Rangi has gifted a Māori name for a new species of alpine cress, discovered on the southwestern slopes of Mt Ruapehu.
Ngāti Rangi, who are mana whenua over the portion of Mt Ruapehu where the species was found, has gifted the name of the white flowered cress - Cardamine panatohea.
The name is derived from the names "panapana", a common name for the type of cress, and "tītōhea", which is the description of the land above the bush line on Mt Ruapehu. For Whanganui tribes the term tītōhea means a sacred area, usually desert or mountainous, where special species live.
Ngāti Rangi chairman Che Wilson said that giving a Māori name acknowledged the need to treat the area with great respect.
"In giving this name for this specific Ruapehu-based species, it is acknowledging the need to treat the entire area, and not just the species, with special care and is an encouragement to all to remember that Ruapehu is the sacred altar for the Whanganui tribes and is recognised for both its cultural and natural heritage status," Wilson said.