The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Pimelea aridula subsp. aridula

Etymology

Pimelea: from the Greek pimele, referring to the seeds

Common Name(s)

Pimelea

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Declining

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - At Risk - Declining
2004 - Not Threatened

Qualifiers

2012 - RR, Sp
2009 - DP

Authority

Pimelea aridula Cheeseman subsp. aridula

Family

Thymelaeaceae

Brief Description

Bushy small shrub with pairs of greyish hairy pointed leaves inhabiting very dry rocky sites in Central Otago. Twigs hairy. Leaves 8-12mm long by 2-3mm wide, widest at base, pointed, hairy on both surfaces. Flowers white with a hairy pinkish body, in clusters. Fruit dry, enclosing black seed.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Pimelea lyallii var. sericea Cheeseman

Distribution

Endemic. South Island: Waitaki Valley and central Otago, in Kawerau, Clutha, and lower Manuherikia Valleys

Habitat

Montane to subalpine. Characteristic of schist country where it grows on schist outcrops and rocky hillsides especially on soils derived from schist

Features

A robust, upright, stiff-stemmed shrub, up to 1 m tall. Long-stemmed plants may be fastigiate; short-stemmed plants often have more divergent branches. Branching mainly sympodial. Main stems stiff or flexible. Young branchlets brown, moderately to densely covered with long hair; internodes 0.5-2.0 mm; old stems at the base may be stout (= 10 mm diameter), grey-brown, glabrous. Node buttresses lunate, brown, hairy, often masked by hairs on young stems, moderately conspicuous on leafless stems. Leaves usually decussate, on short, red petioles (0.5 mm), rarely alternate on some young branchlets, ascending, loosely imbricate. Lamina 8-12 × 2-3 mm, medium green, slightly adaxially concave, narrow-ovate, acute, base cuneate, both surfaces often densely covered by long, fine hispid, appressed dull to shining white or yellowish, usually penicillate hairs. Stomata on both leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, 5-10-flowered, sometimes in small clusters. Involucral bracts similar in size to adjacent leaves or slightly wider (8.0-10 × 3.2 mm), partly hiding the flowers. Receptacle densely hairy. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white, on short pedicels (0.5 mm), tube densely hairy outside, sparsely so inside. Female tube 3.5 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.5 × 0.6 mm; hermaphrodite tube 6.5 mm long, ovary portion 2.5 mm, calyx lobes 2.5 × 1.5 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary hairy from summit to two thirds of the way down. Fruits ovoid, dry, brown, 4.0 × 2.3 mm. Seeds ovoid 4.0 × 2.1 mm.

Similar Taxa

Pimelea aridula subsp. aridula is most likely to be confused with P. concinna, a species from which it is allopatrically separated. Both Pimelea form relatively tall shrubs with mostly upright growth habits. From Pimelea concinna, P. aridula subsp. aridula differs by the leaves which are 10-15 mm rather than 5-8 mm long. Pimelea aridula subsp. aridula differs from P. aridula subsp. olga by its allopatric distribution (being geographically confined to Otago), and vegetatively by the taller more robust habit, and by the narrowly ovate leaves whose surfaces are densely covered by appressed dull to shining white or yellowish, long hispid hairs.

Flowering

October - February

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from semi-hardwood cuttings. Does best in a free draining, sunny site, planted within a rich. fertile soil. Dislikes competition from taller plants and humidity. Will not long tolerate being shaded out. An excellent pot plant or small shrub for a rockery.

Threats

Field surveys indicate that Pimelea aridula subsp. aridula populations mostly comprise mature plants and at few places are seedlings and juveniles seen. For this reason P. aridula (at species rank) was listed as "Declining" by de Lange et al. (2009). Despite the species recircumscription to comrpise two subspecies by Burrows (2011) the comments he offers in his paper for P. aridula subsp. aridula remain unchallenged here.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 4 Jan 2014