The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Cardamine subcarnosa

Etymology

Cardamine: From the Greek name kárdamon, referring to an Indian spice

Common Name(s)

Campbell Island bitter cress

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 - IE, OL
2009 - RR, OL

Authority

Cardamine subcarnosa (Hook.f.) Allan

Family

Brassicaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CARSBC

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Cardamine hirsuta var. subcarnosa Hook.f.; Cardamine glacialis var. subcarnosa (Hook.f.) Schulz

Distribution

Endemic. Campbell Island

Habitat

Inhabiting damp places on scree, peat, grassland, and rock crevices. Said to be most common in herbfields, tall Marsippospermum rushlands, and fellfields of the summit tundra zone

Features

Perennial herb, caespitose, forming an open rosette. Leaves pinnate, up to 100(–140) mm long, green, subcoriaceous, lamina and petiole margins sparsely ciliate, glabrate, or occasionally glabrous; petiole 20–60 mm long, 1.5–6.0 mm wide, winged and sheathing at base. Leaflets 5–7, usually in pairs although proximal leaflets occ. alternate, usually not overlapping except occasionally the uppermost pair and the terminal, hydathodes inconspicuous to prominent, margin entire, apex obtuse to rounded, base cuneate, obtuse or ± truncate; terminal leaflet lamina 5–25 × 5–20 mm, orbicular to broadly elliptic, with inconspicuous lateral lobes or shallowly toothed; lateral leaflet lamina 3–22 × 2.5–12 mm, broadly elliptic, elliptic to obovate, shallowly toothed or entire; petiolules up to 10 mm long, although sometimes ± absent. Cauline leaves subtending pedicels, although sometimes absent on upper pedicels; lower leaves similar to rosette leaves, but with fewer and narrower leaflets, becoming smaller in all parts; upper leaves 1.7–6.5 × 0.3–0.9 mm, increasingly linear, simple. Inflorescence 50–150(–300) mm long, 1.2–1.6 mm diam. at base, glabrous, usually elongating after flowering, upright to ascending, racemose, flowers distant in upper half. Pedicels 2.0–12 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm diam, erecto-patent to spreading. Sepals 1.3–2.4 × 0.5–1.2 mm, oblong to elliptic, glabrous, green or purple, margin white and membranous, apex obtuse to rounded, base truncate. Petals 2.2–4.7 × 0.6–1.3 mm, white, pink or purple, usually purple veined, limb obovate; apex obtuse to rounded; base cuneate to attenuate, tapering to a ± indistinct claw, claw up to 0.5 mm long. Filaments 6, 1.5–2.5 mm long; anthers 0.3–0.4 mm long. Ovary 3.2–3.5 mm long, 0.5–0.7 mm diam., terete, glabrous; stigma 0.3–0.5 mm diam. Siliques 9–20 × 0.9–1.3 mm, not crowded, erecto-patent to spreading, beak 1.0–1.4 mm long; replum 0.3–0.4 mm wide; septum with a weak central vein or vein absent. Seeds 0.8–1.4 mm long, 0.5–0.9 mm wide, 0.3–0.5 mm thick, rounded or oblong, red-brown.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from the Auckland Islands endemic Cardamine latior by longer leaves with fewer leaflets that do not overlap, less prominent leaf margin and axil hydathodes, longer inflorescences, sub-erect to spreading. narrower rather than erect and broader siliques, and by the septum which lacks a well defined central vein.

Flowering

November – December

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

December - February

Propagation Technique

Not known from cultivation. Probably easy but likely to suffer in high temperatures and humidity.

Threats

Rated as Naturally Uncommon because this species is naturally confined to a restricted geographic area of <1000 km²

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Seeds are dispersed by ballistic projection, water and attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 25 May 2014