The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Poa ramosissima

Etymology

Poa: meadow grass

Common Name(s)

None Known

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

Poa ramosissima Hook.f.

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

POARAM

Structural Class

Grasses

Synonyms

Poa ramosissima var. beta Hook.f.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Auckland and Campbell Islands

Habitat

Coastal cliffs, usually associated with bird colonies

Features

Perennial forming soft, turfy bright green, patches, arising from long, bare prostrate culms with erect apices erect. Plants leafy and much-branched; branching intravaginal; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath greenish brown to purplish, glabrous, hyaline, ribs prominent. Ligule 1.5-4.0 mm, deeply and sharply lacerate, glabrous throughout. Leaf-blade 40-150 × 1-2 mm, thin, weak, flat, ribs many, strong, minutely papillose-scabrid, adaxially furrowed, evenly narrowed to very finely obtuse or subobtuse tip; margins glabrous. Culm 10-400 mm, internodes glabrous. Panicle 20-100 mm, ± oblong, contracted, usually overtopped by leaves; rachis glabrous, branches erect, short, scarcely spreading, finely papillose-scabrid, bearing few spikelets. Spikelets 4.5-7.5 mm, 3-5-flowered, greenish brown, very minutely papillose-scabrid. Glumes subequal or the lower obviously shorter, both narrow-lanceolate, acute or acuminate; lower 2.5-4 mm, 1-3-nerved, upper 3.0-4.5 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 3.8-5.0 mm, 5-7-nerved, elliptic, drawn out to acute or acuminate tip, mid- and lateral nerves with a few short hairs near base. Palea 2.5-4.5 mm, very narrow, keels with a few short hair-like prickle-teeth. Callus with small tufts of long, twisted hairs below midnerve of lemma and occasionally below lateral nerves. Rachilla 0.5-1.0 mm, glabrous. Lodicules 0.3-1.0 mm, occasionally hair-tipped. Gynomonoecious: each spikelet with 1-2 lower flowers perfect, anthers 1.5-2.5 mm, gynoecium c. 1.5 mm; upper flowers female with minute colourless anthers 0.1-0.7 mm, gynoecium c.1.5 mm. Seeds c.1.0 × 0.5 mm

Similar Taxa

Poa ramosissima is closely related to Poa cookii (Hook.f.) Hook.f. which in the New Zealand Botanical Region is only known from Macquarie Island, but also occurs on Heard and Kerguelen Islands). Both species have deeply lacerate ligules, papillose upper leaf surfaces and panicle branches, and gynomonoecious flowers. From P. cookii, P. ramosissima is distinguished by its more slender than large, tufted growth habit, and by the leaf surfaces and the spikelet which are scabrid-papillose. In P. cookii the undersides of the leaves are glabrous and the spikelets are glabrous.

Flowering

November - December

Fruiting

December - March

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Can be grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. Will not flourish in warmor dry climates and dislikes humid conditions. Best in a cool spot within permanntly damp - but not saturated, fertile soil.

Threats

Not Threatened. Listed because this species naturally occupies a small geographic area within which it is very common

Chromosome No.

2n = 28

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 7 Jan 2014