Species

Raoulia grandiflora

Etymology

Raoulia: Named after Étienne Fiacre Louis Raoul (23 July 1815–30 March 1852) who was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. He published a book Choix de plantes de la Nouvelle-Zélande ("Selected plants of New Zealand") in 1846. The genus was named after him by Joseph Hooker.
grandiflora: large flowered

Common Name(s)

Large-flowered mat daisy

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

Raoulia grandiflora Hook.f.

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

RAOGRA

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 - Composites

Synonyms

Gnaphalium fasciculatum Buchanan, Raoulia grandiflora var. fasciculata (Buchanan) Cheeseman; Psychrophyton grandiflorum Beauverd

Distribution

Endemic. North and South Islands from Mt Hikurangi south.

Habitat

Upper montane to alpine. Usually amongst rocks and fellfield, rarely in ablation zones within herbfield.

Features

Stems woody at base, much-branched; branches and branchlets densely to rather loosely arranged, the plant forming cushions or mats up to c.150 mm diameter, occasionally of more open habit. Leaves densely imbricate, 5-10 × 1-2 mm, 3-nerved, ovate-lanceolate-spathulate, tapering to subacute tip, clad in upper part on both surfaces in appressed silvery tomentum, loosely tomentose near base. Capitula up to 15 mm diameter; inner series of involucral bracts linear, contracted near middle, obtuse, with conspicuous white radiate tips up to c. 5 mm long. Florets 25-45; female 8-15 with narrow slender corolla, perfect with funnelform corolla. Stylopodium prominent. Achenes < 1 mm. long, clad in silky hairs; pappus-hairs c. 5 mm long, stiff, slightly thickened at tips.

Flowering

October - January

Flower Colours

Cream,White

Fruiting

December - May

Propagation Technique

Difficult - should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 28

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

Yes

Endemic Family

No

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Attribution

Description adapted from Allan (1961).

References and further reading

 Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Government Printer, Wellington.

This page last updated on 15 Jan 2014