Species

Puccinellia chathamica

Etymology

Puccinellia: After the italian botanist Benedetto Puccinelli (1808 - 1850).
chathamica: From the Chatham Islands

Common Name(s)

Chatham Islands salt grass

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
2009 - DP

Authority

Puccinellia chathamica (Cheeseman) Allan et Jansen

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

PUCCHA

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

Grasses

Synonyms

Atropis chathamica Cheeseman; Puccinellia walkeri subsp. chathamica (Cheeseman) Edgar

Distribution

Endemic. Confined to the Auckland, Campbell and Chatham Islands. On the Chatham Islands it occurs on Chatham, Pitt, South-East and Rabbit Island.

Habitat

Coastal cliffs, clay faces, rocky shores and islets.Usually it is found growing within the zone of heavy salt influence very near the shore, frequently in seepages and mostly out of stock reach.

Features

Erect, densely tufted, glaucous to dark green, pliant but rigidly firm grass 60-500 mm tall. Upper most leaves over topping culms; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath light greenish brown, dark brown or purple glabrous, firmly membranous, striate. Ligule 0.6-3 mm, obtuse or truncate, glabrous, entire. Leaf blase 50-300 x 5-10 mm, folded, rarely flat, abaxially glabrous, adaxially finely ribbed, ribs finely scabrid, apex acute, smooth, rarely subobtuse and apiculate. Culm usually hidden by sheaths, internodes glabrous. Panicle usually overtopped by leaves, 20-130 x 6-20 mm, linear-lanceolate, erect, very contracted, dense; branches stiff, smooth, subacute-angled. SPikelets 3-9 mm, 2-5-flowered, glaucous or brown-green. Glumes unequal, narrow lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, subacute; lower 1.5-4.5 mm, 1-3-nerved, elliptic-oblong, usuallu with a few hairs at base and on nerves near base to about midway. Lemma apex minutely ciliate-scabrid, obtuse with slightly excurrent midnerve, rarely entire; lemma usually 5-nerved (rarely 7-nerved). Palea less than or equal to lemma, keels scabrid in upper 1/3 rarely slightly ciliate below, reaching only to apex. Rhacilla 0.8-1.8 mm. Anthers 0.6-1.5 mm, purple. Seed 1.5-2.6 x 0.4-0.8 mm, brown or grey-brown.

Similar Taxa

Endemic to the Chatham and Auckland Islands where it the only Puccinella Parl. present. Herbarium specimens may be distinguished from P. walkeri Kirk and P. antipoda (Petrie) Allan et Jansen by the very narrow, condensed panicle and smooth panicle branches. P. walkeri tends to have a rather open, spreading almost pyramidal inflorescence when mature.

Flowering

Septeber - January

Fruiting

December - May

Propagation Technique

Can be grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. In humid climates such as Auckland it is difficult to maintain and does not flower.

Threats

Sheep, cattle and goats pose the greatest threats to those populations on the two main, and farmed islands of the Chatham Island group, Chatham and Pitt. However, this grass is secure on many of the outer offshore islands of that archipelago, including the remote Forty-fours. Some of the main Chatham Island populations are vulnerable to coastal erosion. On the Auckland Islands its exact status is unknown but recent visits suggest that it is locally common in suitable habitats.

Chromosome No.

2n = 42

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Taxonomic Notes

Edgar (1996) treated this species (and P. antipoda) as a subspecies of P. walkeri. Since then further research has elucidated that P. chathamica and P. walkeri have very different chromosome numbers and nrDNA ITS sequences. Subspecies rank therefore is rejected. On the Auckland Islands there is cytological support for the recognition of two taxa within P. chathamica - this needs further study. It is not clear whether Campbell Island plants are P. chathamica s.s. either, and this again needs further study.

Attribution

Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000).

References and further reading

Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Christchurch, Manaaki Whenua Press. 650 pp.

This page last updated on 3 Mar 2014