The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Celmisia ramulosa var. ramulosa

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

Common Name(s)

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 ramulosa Hook.f. var. ramulosa

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites

Synonyms

None (first described in 1864)

Distribution

Endemic. South Island: Otago, Southland and Fiordland.

Habitat

Upper montane to subalpine rocky places and fellfield

Features

Small shrub or subshrub with rather stout procumbent to ascending branched woody stems up to c.20 mm long; branchlets stiff, rather close-set, more or less 50 mm long. Leaves densely imbricate, erect, finally reflexed. Lamina c.5.0-10.0 × 1.5-2.0 mm, linear-oblong to subulate, coriaceous; upper surface glabrous or nearly so, pale green; lower surface densely clad in soft white tomentum obscuring midrib; margins strongly revolute; apex obtuse, more or less trigonous-cucullate; base passing into broad pale membranous glabrous sheath more or less = lamina, with distinct midrib. Scape c.10-40 mm long, slender, densely glandular-pubescent; bracts few, more or less 5 mm long, linear. Capitula 20-25 mm diameter; involucral bracts c.5 mm long, linear-oblong, acute to subacute, densely glandular-pubescent. Ray-florets narrow, disk-florets narrow-tubular, c.5 mm long. Achenes c.3-4 mm long, narrow-cylindric, obscurely ribbed, with a few hairs. Pappus-hairs fine, white to sordid-white, up to c.4 mm long, very minutely barbellate

Similar Taxa

One of a small group of subshrub Celmisia which includes C. brevifolia, C. gibbsii, C. rupestris, C. lateralis and C. walkeri. From these species C. ramulosa is distinguished by the scape which is 100-400 mm long; by the lamina which is 5.0-10.0 x 1.5-2.0 mm, and by the leaf undersides which is clad in soft white tomentum. Celmisia ramulosa var. tuberculata differs from var. ramulosa by the leaf margin which is distinctly papillate-hairy rather than entire and glabrous

Flowering

November - February

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

January - May

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild

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