Species

Brachyglottis kirkii var. kirkii

Etymology

Brachyglottis: Name comes from the Greek words brachus meaning "short" and glottis meaning "the vocal apparatus of the larynx"
kirkii: after Thomas Kirk (18 January 1828 - 8 March 1898), a NZ botanist and lecturer in natural sciences and regarded as a leader of botanical enquiry in NZ for over three decades. One of his most significant publications was Forest flora of NZ (1889) but he also contributed over 130 papers to the Transactions and Proceedings of the NZ Institute and other journals.

Common Name(s)

kohurangi, Kirk's daisy, oro

Current Conservation Status

2018 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable

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

2012 - At Risk - Declining
2009 - At Risk - Declining
2004 - Serious Decline

Qualifiers

2012 - DP
2009 - DP

Authority

Brachyglottis kirkii (Kirk) C.Webb var. kirkii

Family

Asteraceae

Brief Description

Fleshy small green usually epiphytic shrub bearing large white daisy-like flowers. Twigs reddish-purple, brittle, with old leaf scars. Leaves, shiny, fleshy, with a few large lobes on margin. Flowers with long white radiating petals around a yellow centre, clustered together.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

BRAKVK

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Senecio kirkii var kirkii Hook.f ex Kirk; Urostemon kirkii var. kirkii (Kirk) B.Nord., Senecio neo-zeylandicus Druce, Senecio glastifolius Hook.f. nom. illegit.

Distribution

Endemic to the North Island. Locally scattered throughout.

Habitat

An epiphyte of lowland to lower montane forest, sometimes terrestrial.

Features

A spring flowering, usually epiphytic shrub to 1.5 m tall with purple stems and grey bark developed on old wood. Leaves 40 to 100 by 20 to 40 mm, fleshy, variable in shape, usually toothed in upper third, hairless, upper surface pale to dark green, often tinged maroon, undersides paler. Flowers 30 by 40 mm diameter, borne in dense inflorescences of 3 to 20 flowers, the individual daisy-like flowers have white petals (rays). Fruits dry, windborne, dandelion structures.

Similar Taxa

A very distinctive species. However, because it is usually epiphytic and so often well out of reach, plants could be confused with the epiphytic Pittosporum kirkii and P. cornifolium. These pittosporums have leathery leaves, non-daisy like flowers and round fruits which split to reveal hard black seeds embedded within sticky gum.

Flowering

August to October

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

October to December

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and semi hardwood cuttings but, as a rule, difficult to maintain in cultivation.

Threats

This plant is intolerant of browse and targeted by possums, goats and deer.

Chromosome No.

2n = 60

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

References and further reading

Variation in Senecio kirkii Hook.f. by F.J. Newhook (Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 72, 1942-43)

This page last updated on 19 Dec 2014