The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Chionochloa crassiuscula subsp. crassiuscula

Etymology

Chionochloa: snow grass

Common Name(s)

pungent snow tussock

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 - RR

Authority

Chionochloa crassiuscula (Kirk) Zotov subsp. crassiuscula

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CHISCR

Structural Class

Grasses

Synonyms

Danthonia pungens (Cheeseman) Zotov

Habitat

Upper montane, subalpine or alpine. Usually in herbfields where it may be the dominant species. Also boggy meadows, and scrub.

Features

Short, stout, robust tussocks with smooth, pungent, straight, deciduous leaves, which leave many imbricate old sheaths. Leaf-sheath to 80 mm, glabrous, pale or dark brown, shining above, darkened below, sometimes purpled or reddened, persistent, entire, compressed, sometimes apical tuft of hairs to 1 mm. Ligule to 1 mm long. Leaf-blade to 300 × 6 mm, coriaceous, curved and keeled, shortly tapering to very pungent apex, upper surface with abundant prickle-teeth at base, disarticulating at ligule, abaxially glabrous except for prickle-teeth towards apex, adaxially papillate but with some prickle-teeth especially near ligule; margin thickened, long hairs below or sometimes with prickle-teeth. Culm to 65 cm, often purpled, often hairy below inflorescence. Inflorescence to 15 cm, open, pulvinate; spikelets often paired on flexuous branches; rachis, branches and pedicels with mixed long and short hairs or rachis hairy on margins only. Spikelets of up to 7 golden florets. Glumes thin, purpled, acute or mucronate from between teeth or aristate to erose, greater than or equal to adjacent lemma lobes; lower to 12 mm, shortly 1-3-nerved, glabrous, upper to 16 mm, 5-7-nerved, margin often long hairy below otherwise glabrous. Lemma to 4.5 mm, shining; hairs dense on margin and aside central nerve, sparse or absent elsewhere < sinus; lateral lobes to 6.5 mm including awn to 3 mm, or triangular-acute or long acute; central awn to 12 mm slightly twisting and markedly reflexed from flat column to 2 mm. Palea to 7 mm. Callus to 1 mm, hairs to 2.5 mm. Rachilla to 1.5 mm. Lodicules to 2 mm. Anthers to 4 mm. Ovary to 0.75 mm; stigma-styles to 3.5 mm. Seed to 3 mm

Flowering

November - January

Fruiting

December - April

Propagation Technique

Often difficult. Can be grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces but tend to be very slow growing. Prefers a permanently damp, acidic soil and semi-shade. Plants must never be allowed to dry out.

Threats

Not Threatened. Listed because it is 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).

This page last updated on 2 Jun 2014