The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Celmisia verbascifolia subsp. membranacea

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

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 verbascifolia subsp. membranacea (Kirk) Given

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CELVSM

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites

Synonyms

Celmisia petiolata var. membranacea Kirk

Distribution

Endemic. South Island: Brunner Range; Victoria Range; Spenser Mountains; along main divide south to about Amuri Pass.

Habitat

Alpine. In rocky herbfield and shaded bluffs.

Features

Woody-based herb with short branchlets arising from a multicipital stock, usually just below the soil surface; living leaves in few to numerous rosettes at the tips of branchlets; the whole plant either solitary or forming a loose mat of a few rosettes. Leaf sheaths densely imbricate and compacted into a pseudostem. Leaf lamina up to 100 × 12-70 mm, submembranous though often flaccidly so, leaves usually at first erect, becoming decumbent with age, elliptic, oblong, or occasionally obovate; upper surface sometimes obscurely sulcate, concolorous, pale to mid-green glabrate above when mature except on margin; lower surface dull, thinly covered in cream-coloured tomentum, veins obscure; tip acute; margins entire, flat, with a very narrow rim of hairs slightly darker than those of lower surface; base rounded to truncate; petiole up to and occasionally exceeding lamina length, green to purple, clad in floccose, whitish hairs. Scape purple, clad in whitish tomentum, up to 400 mm long; bracts numerous, erect, linear sometimes leaf-like; monocephalous. Capitula up to 40 mm diameter. Involucral bracts cream, glabrate, in several series, linear-subulate, erect, glabrate to silky tomentose. Ray florets 70-80, ligulate, the limb linear-lanceolate, white. Disc florets c. 130-170, funneliform, yellow; tube with eglandular, biseriate hairs. Achene fusiform-cylindric, ribbed, 4-5 mm long, glabrous or with scattered bifid hairs. Pappus unequal, c.6 mm long, of c. 20-30 bristles.

Similar Taxa

Celmisia verbascifolia subsp. membranacea differs from subsp. verbascifolia by the submembranous, rather than coriaceous leaves with rounded to truncate bases, and by the glabrate involucral bracts.

Flowering

November - January

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

December - March

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed but difficult to maintain. Dislikes high humidity. Best in a shaded site planted in a moist free draining soil.

Threats

Not Threatened

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 26 Sep 2013