The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Pimelea sericeovillosa subsp. sericeovillosa

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 - Data Deficient
2004 - Not Threatened

Qualifiers

2012 - DP

Authority

Pimelea sericeovillosa Hook.f. subsp. sericeovillosa

Family

Thymelaeaceae

Brief Description

Low growing sprawling shrub with hairy twigs bearing pairs of hairy leaves, hairy white flowers and orange fruit inhabiting the northern South Island. Leaf dimensions not known, hairs curved, denser on underside.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Distribution

Endemic. South Island: Marlborough and North Canterbury

Habitat

Subalpine to alpine. Usually in open fell-field on mountain tops, ridge crests and in open stonefields. occasionally found at lower levels in short short-tussock grassland.

Features

A low, much-branched, loose cushion-forming shrublet to 50 × 250 mm. with brown, clustered, appressed, leafy, densely villous young branchlets, and with older, gnarled, leafless stems often visible (these often leafless and glabrous, dark brown to black, often partly buried by windblown silt or sand). Internode length 0.3-0.6 mm. Branching mainly sympodial and radiating from a stout main stem up to 15 mm in diameter. Node buttresses lunate, dark brown, masked by hairs on young stems, not prominent on leafless branchlets. Leaves decussate, ascending, imbricate, sessile or with very short petioles (0.2 mm). Lamina medium to pale green, elliptic to oblong, 2.2-4.0 × 1.0-1.3 mm, adaxially concave, mid-vein not evident, abaxial surface very densely covered with curled (sometimes straight), yellowish or dull-white, moderately long hairs; adaxial surface less densely hairy, sometimes glabrate (the youngest leaves have more or less dense adaxial vesture), obtuse, base cuneate, stomata on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, with 1 or 2, sometimes 3, flowers. Involucral bracts 4, the same size as, or slightly wider than adjacent leaves (2.3 × 1.5 mm). Receptacle usually with abundant long hairs. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers 1-2 per inflorescence, white, on very short (0.1 mm) pedicels, very hairy outside, inside hairless. Female tube 2.5 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.0-1.2 × 0.5 mm; hermaphrodite tube 3-4 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.5 × 0.8-1.0 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary with dense short hairs on summit, less dense to half way down. Fruits ovoid, fleshy, pale orange 2.5-3.0 × 1.8-2.0 mm, seeds narrow-ovoid 2.0-2.2 × 1.0-1.3 mm.

Similar Taxa

Pimelea sericeovillosa subsp. sericeovillosa is distinguished from the other two subspecies by its loosely and openly branched cushion-forming habit, dull-green colouration, leaf indumentum comprised of curled (rarely straight hairs), and by its restriction to Marlborough and North Canterbury where it inhabits mountain-top (only occasionally extending down to valley floors)

Flowering

September - January

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

December - May

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from semi-hardwood cuttings but difficult to maintain in cultivation. Prefers a moist free-draining soil, planted in full sun. Dislikes humidity, shade and poor drainage.

Threats

Burrows (2011) rates the status of all three Pimelea sericeovillosa subspecies as "precarious to varying degrees". However, no data is provided to show this, nor is the New Zealand Threat Classification system (NZTCS) (Townsend et al. 2008) used for his assessments, rather Burrows consistently confuses the NZTCS with listings provided by Hitchmough et al. (2007). Burrows (2011) also uses the ranking of Molloy et al. (2001) which is superseded by Townsend et al. (2008). Currently Pimelea sericevillosa s.s. has no threat listing (see de Lange et al. 2009). Based on the recircumscription of P. sericeovillosa by Burrows (2011) an interim status of "Data Deficient" for all the subspecies may be necessary until all the subspecies are assessed by an appropriate threat listing panel.

Chromosome No.

2n = 36

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 6 Jan 2014