Species

Chionochloa acicularis

Etymology

Chionochloa: snow grass
acicularis: Needle-like, needle-shaped, stiff or pointed

Common Name(s)

Needle Snow Tussock

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 - Range Restricted

Authority

Chionochloa acicularis Zotov

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CHIACI

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

None

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (South Westland and Fiordland).

Habitat

Lowland to upper montane. On peaty soils in grasslands, and scattered through scrub

Features

Tall, slender, erect, pedicelled tussock, with sharp-pointed, glabrous, deciduous leaves. Leaf-sheath to 120 mm, dark above, pale shining below, persistent, becoming chartaceous, keeled, clothed with long (3 mm) abundant deciduous hairs, apical tuft of hairs to 7 mm. Ligule to 0.5 mm. Leaf-blade to 500 × 1 mm diameter, acicular rush-like, thickened at midrib, disarticulating at ligule, abaxially glabrous, adaxially with dense very short stiff hairs below, papillae and occasionally some prickle-teeth above; margin smooth. Culm to 600 mm, long and short hairs below inflorescence otherwise glabrous. Inflorescence to 100 mm, spikelets few; rachis, branches and pedicels abundantly long hairy especially at branch axils. Spikelets of up to 7 golden florets. Glumes becoming acute or mucronate, glabrous, > adjacent lemma lobes; lower to 11 mm, 3-nerved, upper to 13 mm, 5-nerved. Lemma to 5 mm; dense hairs at margin and erect hairs aside central nerve or rarely between all nerves, ± reaching sinus; lateral lobes to 4 mm, triangular-acute; central awn to 14 mm from divergent flat column to 2 mm. Palea to 7 mm. Callus to 1 mm, hairs to 2.5 mm. Rachilla to 0.5 mm. Lodicules to 1 mm. Anthers to 4 mm. Ovary to 0.8 mm; stigma-styles to 2 mm. Seeds to 3 mm.

Flowering

October - December

Fruiting

November - February

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. Prefers a permanently damp, acidic soil and semi-shade. Plants must never be allowed to dry out.

Threats

A naturally uncommon, regional endemic.

Chromosome No.

2n = 42

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Florets are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Attribution

Description modified from Edgar and Connor (200)

References and further reading

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

Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309

This page last updated on 2 Jun 2014