Species

Ranunculus lyallii

Etymology

Ranunculus: From the Latin 'rana' frog, meaning little frog and probably refers to the plants typical marshy habit where frogs abound
lyallii: Named after David Lyall (1817-1895), 19th century Scottish naturalist and surgeon with the Royal Navy, who explored Antarctica, New Zealand, the Arctic and North America and was a lifelong friend of Sir Joseph Hooker.

Common Name(s)

Giant, great mountain or Mount Cook buttercup, Mount Cook lily

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

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 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Ranunculus lyallii Hook.f.

Family

Ranunculaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

RANLYA

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

Distribution

Endemic to South and Stewart island.

Habitat

Apparently confined to montane and subalpine herbfield and creek sides.

Flowering

October - January

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

November - March

Threats

Vulnerable to browsing mammals, in particular hares, chamois, deer and tahr. 

Chromosome No.

2n = 48

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

An early English common name for this plant 'Mount Cook Lily' refers perhaps to the practice of naming any plants with large white flowers lilies regardless of what family they belong to.

The name Mount Cook lily is misguiding as this plant is not confined to the Aoraki/Mount Cook area nor is it a lily. 

This page last updated on 26 Feb 2020