The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Brachyglottis perdicioides

Etymology

Brachyglottis: Name comes from the Greek words brachus meaning "short" and glottis meaning "the vocal apparatus of the larynx"
perdicioides: like perdicium, a groundsel from Chile

Common Name(s)

Raukumara

Current Conservation Status

2018 - Threatened - Nationally Critical

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

2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2009 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Gradual Decline

Qualifiers

2012 - Sp
2009 - CD

Authority

Brachyglottis perdicioides (Hook.f.) B.Nord.

Family

Asteraceae

Brief Description

Rare small shrub inhabiting coastal scrub of the southern East Cape and Mahia. Leaves 2-5 cm long, pale green, paler underneath, margin roughly toothed and wavy. Flowers daisy-like with a few yellow, radiating petals, in loose clusters.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

BRAPER

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Senecio perdicioides Hook.f., Senecio multinerve Colenso, Senecio distinctus Colenso, Senecio perdicioides var. distinctus (Colenso) Kirk., Brachyglottis perdicioides var. distincta (Colenso) B.Nord., Senecio tripetaloides Colenso

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: North Island, where it is found in scattered sites from East Cape (Hicks Bay) to Mahia Peninsula.

Habitat

Coastal shrubland and forest - usually in open ground. Often forming cohorts within scrub.

Features

Aromatic shrub 1-2 x 1 m. trunk stout, bark pale to dark grey, peeling in small stringy flakes or shards. Branchlets numerous, spreading, slender and "twiggy" . Leaf buds resinous and sticky, finely covered in "cobb webbed" hairs. Petioles slender, 10-15 mm long. Leaves (10-)25-50(-70) x (15-)20(-25) mm, oblong to elliptic-oblong, finely crenate-serrate, dark green, to yellow-green with paler undersides, glabrescent with undersides usually covered in sparse "cobb webbed" hairs. Inflorescence a crowded corymb. Captitula (5-)12-20(-30), turbinate, borne on pubescent, somewhat resinous and sticky pedicels. Ray-florets 1-3(-5), ligules oblong, yellow, 6-8 mm, apex sometimes bidentate. Phyllaries oblong, pale grey green, with a pubescent midrib, margins scarious. Seed a cypsela, pubescent or glabrescent, 2-2.5 mm, pappus-hairs stiff, 5 mm, finely barbellate.

Similar Taxa

Brachyglottis pentacopa, which differs by the more numerous ray-florets (usually 5), and smaller, rounder leaves. However, there is some indication that these species intergrade, with some of the more southerly populations of B. perdicioides very similar to B. pentacopa. Accordingly some botanists informally treat B. pentacopa as a variety or subspecies of B. perdicioides, while others regard it as an absolute synonym. Further research into the matter is required.

Flowering

(October-) November-April (-May)

Flower Colours

Yellow

Fruiting

(December-) January-April (-May)

Propagation Technique

Easy from fresh seed and semi-hardwood cuttings. A very hardy shrub which is tolerant of a wide range of habitats, soils types and moisture regimes.

Threats

Habitat loss appears to be main threat. However, recruitment appears limitng in some sites, possibly as a consequence of weeds which now often form a permnant ground cover in the places where seedlings would normally germinate. Established plants do not appear to be browsed by livestock, thus mature plants can persist in rough pasture.

Chromosome No.

2n = 60

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Pappate achenes are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 19 Dec 2014