The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Thyridia repens

Etymology

repens: from Latin repere meaning to creep, means creeping

Common Name(s)

Native musk, Maori musk, Native monkey flower

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 - Sparse

Qualifiers

2012 - EF, RR, SO, Sp
2009 - DP, SO

Authority

Thyridia repens (R.Br.) W.R.Barker et Beardsley

Family

Phrymaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

MIMREP

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Mimulus repens R.Br.; Mimulus colensoi Kirk

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand: North and South Islands. Also Australia

Habitat

Strictly coastal. Usually at the back of salt marshes and estuaries, in permanently damp or soggy, saline mud or silt soils in locations that are periodically flooded during high, spring or King tides. Sometimes in dune swales. Intolerant of much competition from taller plants or faster growing mat-forming species.

Features

Mat-forming, succulent, perennial herb. All parts glabrous. Stems dark green to red-green, prostrate, sometimes ascending at apices, rooting at nodes. Leaves sessile, amplexicaul, c. 2-8 x 1-6 mm, dark green, brown-green to reddish-green, broadly ovate-oblong, entire, punctuate, somewhat succulent. Flowers on short, ascending branches, solitary in leaf axils; pedicels 2-8 mm long, dark green to pinkish-green. Calyx 2-7 mm long, < corolla tube, broadly funneliform; apex truncate, minutely toothed. Corolla 10-15 mm long, distinctly 2-lipped. light purple, mauve, lilac or white, red-spotted with yellow open throat; lower lip bearded; lobes shallow, broader than long. Capsule 6.5 mm long, broadly cylindric.

Similar Taxa

None - the combination of habitat preference, mat-forming growth form, succulent, glabrous, dark green to red-green stems and foliage, and light purple, mauve, lilac or white flowers mark this species out from the three other introduced and yellow-flowered Erythranthe species present in New Zealand.

Flowering

September - February

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

November - May

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from rooted pieces, stem cuttings and fresh seed. Very beautiful but tends to be short lived. Needs frequent re-potting to maintain itself and should be grown in full sun in a pot kept partially submerged in water.

Threats

A widespread, naturally uncommon, biologically sparse species. It is most uncommon in the northern North Island becoming progressively more abundant south of the Waikato, although it is still often absent over large parts of the country. In some parts of its range, particularly metropolitan Auckland, populations have been lost through road realignments (where they cross salt marshes e.g., the upper Waitemata Harbour) or through land reclamation. The spread of the aggressive salt grasses (Spartina spp.) and Carex divisa. is also a risk in some parts of its range. Nevertheless, these range contractions are insufficient nationally to justify an upgrade to one of the three threat categories.

Chromosome No.

2n = 20

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 29 Jan 2015