The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Celmisia laricifolia

Etymology

Celmisia: Apparently named after Kelmis, one of Idaean Dactyls, a group of skilled mythical beings associated with the Mother Goddess Rhea in Greek mythology. Kelmis, whose name means ‘casting’, was a blacksmith and childhood friend of Zeus, son of Rhea and later king of the gods. In Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’, Kelmis is described as offending Zeus who turned him into adamant so he was as hard as a tempered blade
laricifolia: larch leaf

Common Name(s)

needle-leaved mountain daisy

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

Celmisia laricifolia Hook.f.

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CELLAR

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Endemic. South Island: Widespread from Nelson south to Southland

Habitat

Montane to subalpine in open sparsely vegetated ground, on the margins of mires, in grassland, fellfield, and rocky places.

Features

Small slender branched subshrub up to c. 150 mm tall; branches slender, diverging, clad in leaf-remnants; branchlets densely clad in imbricate, ascending, finally recurved, leaves. Lamina very narrow-linear, c.8.0-20.0 × 1.0-1•5 mm, subcoriaceous; upper surface dark, dirty-silvery-grey, with a delicate deciduous pellicle, lower clad in a very thin white to grey-white appressed tomentum; apex produced into a delicate acicular point c.2 mm long, easily broken off; margin recurved nearly or quite to midrib; base slightly narrowed to pale scarious ± pilose sheath 8.0 × 1.0-1•5 mm. Scape 5-10 mm long, very slender to almost filiform, ± clad in loose floccose deciduous hairs; bracts few, narrow-subulate, minute, sts absent. Capitula 10-20 mm diameter; involucral bracts subulate to linear-lanceolate, erect, membranous, c.7 mm long. Ray-florets several, prominent, up to c. 12 mm long, limb gradually widening to apex; disk-florets funnelform to campanulate, hardly > 5 mm long. Achenes slender, compressed-cylindric, ± 3 mm long, clad in ascending stiff hairs; pappus-hairs white, up to 4•5 mm long, very minutely barbellate

Similar Taxa

Similar to C. similis. Celmisia similis differs from C. laricifolia by the darker distinctly red colour of the scapes, and by the stiffer and wider leaves which are silvery and pellicled on the upper surface (those of C. laricifolia being bronze-green and glabrous). Another distinction is that in fresh specimens the leaves of C. similis tend to be clustered towards the branchlet tips, whereas those of C. laricifolia are usually fairly evenly distributed along the branchlets

Flowering

September - May

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

October - August

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and by the division of established plants. One of the few Celmisia that does well in cultivation. As with most Celmisia dislikes humidity and will not long tolerate drying out.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 108

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

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

This page last updated on 15 Aug 2014