The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata

Etymology

Wahlenbergia: Named in honour of Wahlenberg, a Swedish botanist and author of A Botany of Lapland.
albomarginata: white-margined

Common Name(s)

New Zealand harebell, harebell

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

Wahlenbergia albomarginata Hook. subsp. albomarginata

Family

Campanulaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

WAHASA

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Wahlenbergia brockiei J.A.Hay

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (in the east from Marlborough to Central Otago)

Habitat

Lowland to subalopine in tussock-grassland, on river terraces and amongst rocks.

Features

Perennial herb with radical, rosulate tufts of leaves, sometimes alternate on elongated stems (shade form). Leaves concolorous or paler beneath, yellow-green, green to red-green, turning glaucous on drying; more or less petiolate, lamina 10 × 2 to 40 × 10 mm, linear to elliptic, gradually narrowed to petiole as long as the lamina or longer, margins entire or subentire, thickened, teeth if present, inconspicuous. Flowers insect-pollinated, narrowly campanulate-rotate, corolla pale flax blue to pale blue-violet, often with white zoning and deeper coloured veins, or all white, 12-17 mm diameter, 10-20 mm long, corolla tube 4 × 3 to 10 × 6 mm, lobes 6 × 3 to 12 × 5 mm; style equal in length to corolla tube, lobes 2 or 3. Calyx lobes less than ¼ corolla length; capsule domed cylindric, 6-8 × 4 mm. Seeds 0.5 mm long, ellipsoid, smooth, glossy brown when mature.

Similar Taxa

Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata is distinguished from subsp. decora J.A.Pettersen, subsp. flexilis (Petrie) J.A.Pettersen, subsp. laxa (G.Simpson) J.A.Pettersen and subsp. olivina J.A.Petetrsen by its inland eastern South Island distribution (and virtual restriction within this area to low-rainfall regions), and by its entire, linear to elliptic leaves which are often white margined. All of the W. albomarginata subspecies recognised by Petterson (1997), except perhaps the ultramafic endemic subsp. olivina, require a thorough revision, as many of the characters used to separate them are overlapping.

Flowering

November – April

Flower Colours

Blue,Violet / Purple

Fruiting

December - April

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from tip cuttings and the division of whole plants. Fresh seed germinates readily. Being insect-pollinated and having an indigenous pollinator, cultivated plants rarely set seed.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 36

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 17 Apr 2014