Species
Agrostis petriei
Etymology
Agrostis: Greek name for a kind of grass
petriei: Named after Donald Petrei (1846 -1925), Otago botanist
Common Name(s)
None known
Current Conservation Status
2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
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 - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Not Threatened
Qualifiers
2012 - DP, Sp
Authority
Agrostis petriei Hack.
Family
Poaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
AGRPET
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
Grasses
Synonyms
Agrostis petriei Hack. var. petriei; Agrostis petriei var. mutica Hack.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island from Canterbury to Central Otago
Habitat
Montane to subalpine on dry stony ground, cliff faces and rock outcrops. Also on river flats and within tussock grassland
Features
Loosely erect, tussock forming, bluish-green to greyish green clump-forming grass 150-550 mm tall, with slender, involute, finely scabrid leaves << culms. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath firm, light; lower sheaths, minutely scabrid, upper sheaths smooth, sparsely and faintly ribbed. Ligule 1.0-4.5 mm, obtuse to truncate, denticulate, undersides scabrid. Leaf-blade 40-180 x 0.3-1.0 mm, rigid, wiry, densely and minutely papillose-scabrid, apex obtuse. Culm erect or geniculate at base, internodes glabrous. Panicle 40-160 mm, openly, and laxly oblong; rachis smooth, branches and pedicels more or less spreading, delicate, reddish brown, finely and sparsely scabrid. Spikelets 2.5-3.4 mm, pale green to brown, or purple. Glumes more or less equal, lanceolate, keel and margins usually finely scabrid near acute apex. Lemma 2.0-2.6 mm, glabrous, 5-nerved, ovate, obtuse to truncate, minutely denticulate; awn 1.5-3.0 mm long. mid-dorsal straight or slightly wavy, sometimes absent. Palea 0.2-0.4 mm long, orbicular. Lodicules 0.2-0.4 mm long. Callus with very few short hairs. Anthers 1.0-1.8 mm long. Seed 1.5 x 0.5 mm
Similar Taxa
Agrostis petriei is readily recognised by its rigid, strictly involute, wiry blue-green to grey-green leaf-blades, which are very obviously, densely scabrid-papillose. Unlike the other indigenous Agrostis, A. petriei favours very dry sites within lowland to subalpine areas. It is usually found on rock outcrops or along river flats within ablation zones or within open stony pavements on river flats.
Flowering
October - January
Fruiting
December - March
Propagation Technique
Easy from fresh seed and rooted pieces but dislikes humidity and will not flower unless subjected to cold treatment
Threats
Not Threatened
Chromosome No.
2n = 42
Endemic Taxon
Yes
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Florets are dispersed by wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Attribution
Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000).
References and further reading
Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Christchurch, Manaaki Whenua Press. 650 pp.
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2009 Vol. 11 No. 4 pp. 285-309
This page last updated on 10 May 2014