Species
Pimelea poppelwellii
Etymology
Pimelea: from the Greek pimele, referring to the seeds
poppelwellii: after Poppelwell
Common Name(s)
Poppelwells Pimelea
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 - RR
2009 - DP
Authority
Pimelea poppelwellii Petrie
Family
Thymelaeaceae
Brief Description
Shrub to 80cm tall with reddish twigs bearing pairs of fleshy bright green pointed leaves with a ridge on the underside and hairy white flowers inhabiting the vicinity of the Garvie Ranges, Eyre Mountains and Hump Ridge. Leaves 6-10mm long by 4-6mm wide. Flowers to 9mm long. Fruit dry.
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
PIMPOP
The
National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs
Synonyms
None
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, Central Otago and northern Southland. Mainly recorded from the Garvie Range.
Habitat
Subalpine to alpine, often extending to lower altitudes in distributed habitats. A species of Snow tussock (Chionochloa spp.) grassland with herbs, and also of low shrubland and rocky sites.
Features
Erect much-branched shrub up to 1 m or more tall. All parts except leaf-axils glabrous; branches stout, bark dark red-brown. Leaves close-set, subimbricate, on stout, fleshy petioles up to 1 mm long; lamina erect to subpatent, 6-10 x 4-6 mm, dark green, paler below and more or less keeled, broad-ovate to ovate-oblong, apex obtuse to subacute, abruptly narrowed at base; firmly fleshy, thick and coriaceous; margins distinctly though slightly thickened. Subfloral leaves distinctly membranous and broader than other leaves. Inflorescence in 5-16-flowered heads. Perianth white or pale rose, densely silky-hairy; tube 6-9 mm long, lobes 2-3 mm long, ovate-oblong to oblong. Fruit 2 mm long, ovoid, dark brown to black, hairy at apex.
Similar Taxa
Morphologically perhaps closest to P. traversii which it closely resembles except that it has red-brown rather than dark-brown to almost black bark, and the leaves are petiolate and close-set to subimbricate rather than quadrifariously imbricating and sessile.
Flowering
November – March
Flower Colours
Red / Pink,White
Fruiting
January – May
Propagation Technique
Not known in cultivation. Probably easy from cuttings but difficult to maintain like so many New Zealand Pimelea.
Threats
Rather poorly known so its exact distribution is unclear and further field work is needed
Endemic Taxon
Yes
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Dry achenes are dispersed by wind and possibly ants (Thorsen et al., 2009).
This page last updated on 6 Jan 2019