Species

Ranunculus haastii

Etymology

Ranunculus: From the Latin 'rana' frog, meaning little frog and probably refers to the plants typical marshy habit where frogs abound
haastii: Honours the New Zealand geologist and botanist Sir Julius von Haast (1822-87)

Common Name(s)

Haasts buttercup

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 - De, DP, EF, RF
2009 - De, DP, EF, RF

Authority

Ranunculus haastii Hook.f.

Family

Ranunculaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

RANHAA

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 Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Ranunculus haastii Hook.f. subsp. haastii

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, Eastern side of the main. divided from southern Marlborough south through Canterbury to the Ben Ohau Range.

Habitat

High alpine inhabiting fine-grained shingle-slide screes.

Features

Stout, fleshy, glaucous, summer green perennial herb, 50-150 mm tall, all parts coriaceous; glabrous except for leaf sheath margins. Rhizomes stout, fleshy, 150-200 mm long, often branching, 10-20 mm diam., marked by scars of old leaf bases and vascular strands, oozing viscid and milky latex when damaged; roots stout, 500-800 x 2-5 mm, laterally branching at apices. Achenes glabrous. Body obovate (3.5-)4.0-5.5 mm long; surface dull, pale brown, to dark brown, tinted orange and purple brown, Beak (3.5-)4.0-5.5(-6.5) mm long, curved.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished by the mobile scree habit, glaucous, glabrous, deeply incised leaves (with fine hairs present on the leaf sheaths), whose segments are divided 5-7-lobed.

Flowering

September - December

Flower Colours

Yellow

Fruiting

November - January

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.

Chromosome No.

2n = 48

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Attribution

Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (12 February 2007). Description based on Fisher (1965).

References and further reading

Fisher, F.J.F. 1965: The alpine Ranunculi of New Zealand. Bulletin, New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research 165: 1-192.

This page last updated on 19 May 2014