File:CA0008880350001 Watercolour illustration of the borageforget-me-not (Boraginaceae) family flowers Plate 12 from Wild Flowers in New Zealand Te Papa 829656 817489.jpg

Nancy Adams was one of New Zealand’s most prolific botanists, and a talented artist. She painted an incredible number of botanical illustrations, using them to produce important books about New Zealand flora, seaweeds, mosses and trees. One of these books is Wild Flowers in New Zealand, Nancy Adams’ homage to the flowers often overlooked—dismissed as weeds, or too commonplace to be investigated with curiosity.

In her introduction to Wild Flowers in New Zealand Adams outlines her philosophy towards this kind of flora:

"We are rightly concerned with the preservation of our native vegetation in all its forms, yet strangely blind to a most diverse and interesting flora made up of naturalised and native plants that is now found in all but the more remote areas of mountain, bush and swamp."

The fifteen full-colour watercolour plates are skilfully painted by Adams, accompanied by charming descriptive text. She includes rich descriptions of the flowers’ colours, the places they tend to pop up, and oftentimes their reputation among gardeners. Much like Adams’ botanical illustrations, Wild Flowers in New Zealand is a book that blends the whimsy and the precision of her approach to botanical illustration.

This watercolour is included in Wild Flowers in New Zealand as 'Plate 12'.

Clockwise from bottom left, here are Adams' descriptions of the flowers:

"Borage is a rough-leaved herb that is commonly found in either shaded or open places. Flowering may occur at all times of the year and the many seedlings quickly invade exposed soil. Botanical name: Borago officinalis, Europe. Family: Boraginaceae."

"The beautiful blue flowers of alkinet appear in early spring, often on shaded stream banks, roadsides and wasteland in the vicinity of gardens. Botanical name: Pentaglottis sempervirens, Europe. Family: Boraginaceae."

"Forget-me-nots, particularly the woodland forget-me-not, have escaped from gardens to colonise shady places. They make a carpet of soft blue in the spring. Botanical name: Myosotis sylvatica, Europe. Family: Boraginaceae."

"Viper's bugloss, or blue devil, often incorrectly called "borage", makes a sea of blue on open ground, particularly on dry pastures in the South Island. All vegetative parts of the plant are clad in rough hairs and are transported by clinging to clothing or animals. Botanical name: Echium vulgare, Europe. Family: Boraginaceae."

"On the sea cliffs of a number of coastal towns a handsome, grey-leaved, shrubby echium with tight spires of flowers is part of the colourful flora largely made up of garden escapes. An even taller echium at least two metres high is also naturalised in southern districts near the sea. Botanical name: Echium fastuosum, Canary Islands. Family: Boraginaceae."