Species

Callitriche antarctica

Etymology

Callitriche: From the Greek kalli 'beautiful' and thrix 'hair', referring to the beautiful stems
antarctica: Antarctic

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 - Range Restricted

Qualifiers

2012 - RR, SO

Authority

Callitriche antarctica Hegelm.

Family

Plantaginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CALANT

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 other than Composites

Synonyms

None Known

Distribution

Indigenous. In New Zealand known from Campbell and Auckland Islands. Also on Macquarie, Heard Island and Tasmania. Probably elsewhere on the subantarctic islands.

Habitat

Coastal to montane in damp, peaty and boggy ground. Common around sea bird nesting grounds, penguin rookeries and seal haul outs. Prefers open, disturbed habitats,

Features

Tufted to spreading, much branched, succulent perennial herb forming dense bright to dark green patches on mud. Branches thick, creeping below with ascending branches up to 100 mm long. Leaves on stout petioles 2-3 mm long, lamina succulent, 2.5-10 x 1.5-4.8 mm, dark green to light green, spathulate to oblong-spathulate, 3-nerved, sometimes with free veins, apex rounded, base scarious. Flowers solitary, males in upper and femal lower axils, ebracteate or with bracts shedding early. Filaments to 13 mm, tapering from broad base. Mericarp more or less elliptic, laterally compressed, 0.9-1.2(-1.5) mm long, surface reticulate, or colliculate, dull pale orange-yellow, orange-brown or dark brown.

Similar Taxa

Callitriche aucklandica R.Mason is similar but differs by its longer, laxly creeping, rather than ascending stems, fleshy rather than succulent leaves with broadly fused petioles, shorter filaments (9 cf. 1.3 mm) and larger fruits (1.0-1.6 cf. 0.9-1.5 mm).

Flowering

November - December

Fruiting

December - January

Propagation Technique

Probably easy. However, not known to have been cultivated.

Threats

Not Threatened. Listed becaus ein the New Zealand region it has a restircted geographic range.

Chromosome No.

2n = 40

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Mericarps possibly by water and attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).

References and further reading

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 23 Sep 2014