Species

Carmichaelia crassicaulis subsp. crassicaulis

Etymology

Carmichaelia: after Carmichael, a botanist

Common Name(s)

coral broom

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Declining

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 - Declining
2004 - Gradual Decline

Qualifiers

2012 - RF
2009 - RF

Authority

Carmichaelia crassicaulis Hook.f. subsp. crassicaulis

Family

Fabaceae

Brief Description

Rare robust shrub with erect leafless thick blunt-tipped grooved branches. Branches to 1cm in diameter, tip oval in cross section, grooves filled with white fuzz. Flowers small, pea-like, pale pink, streaked with purple. Fruit a small dry hairy pod with a long curved tip and containing 1-3 hard yellow seeds.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CARCSC

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 Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Corallospartium crassicaule (Hook.f.) J.B.Armstr.; Corallospartium crassicaule var. crassicaule (Hook.f.) J.B.Armstr.

Distribution

South Island: east of the main divide.

Habitat

Upland and subalpine grassland, scrub and rock.

Features

Rigid shrub up to 2m tall. Branches stout, erect, yellowish-green, deeply grooved with numerous parallel hair-lined grooves. Branchlets similar but somewhat flattened, up to 1cm or more diameter, new growth densely covered in white hairs. Juvenile leaves almost round, adult leaves oblong. Plants nearly leafless when mature. Flowers creamy coloured, 6mm long, up to 20 in a tight cluster. Flower stalks and sepals covered in thick, soft, white hair. Seed pods 6-7mm long, rounded, usually one-seeded.

Similar Taxa

Other Carmichaelia species. C. crassicaule has stout, erect, grooved branches, compressed one-seeded pods and tight bundles of flowers with woolly sepals.

Flowering

December - January

Flower Colours

Cream,Violet / Purple

Fruiting

March - May

Propagation Technique

Easy from fresh seed. Can be grown with some difficulty from semi hardwood cuttings. Dislikes humidity and once established should not be moved.

Chromosome No.

2n = 32

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Seeds are possibly dispersed by wind and granivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Where To Buy

Not commercially available.

Attribution

Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange 28 October 2009. Description based on Allan (1961)

References and further reading

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

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 31 May 2014