The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Puccinellia antipoda

Etymology

Puccinellia: After the italian botanist Benedetto Puccinelli (1808 - 1850).
antipoda: Named after the Antipodes i.e. Australia or New Zealand which are on the opposite side of the world from Europe

Common Name(s)

Antipodes Saltgrass

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 - IE, OL
2009 - OL, IE

Authority

Puccinellia antipoda (Petrie) Allan et Jansen

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

PUCANT

Structural Class

Grasses

Synonyms

Atropa antipoda Petrie Puccinellia walkeri subsp. antipoda (Petrie) Edgar

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Antipodes Islands

Habitat

Mostly coastal on boulders, in peaty turf at the back of beaches, on cliff faces and rarely inland near sea bird nests and seal wallows.

Features

Erect, bluish green or light green to pale brownish green, stiff, dense, very leafy tufts, 65-250 mm, with uppermost leaves usually overtopping culms; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheaths straw-coloured to light grey-brown or greenish brown, smooth, firmly membranous, finely nerved; ligule 0.6-3.0 mm, obtuse or truncate, or sometimes tapered at centre and acute, smooth, entire; leaf-blades 50-250 mm long, folded and then 5-10 mm wide, or sometimes almost flat, underside smooth, upperside shallowly ridged and sparsely scabrous on ridges, margins scabrous, tip smooth, ± firmly acute, sometimes subobtuse and ± apiculate. Culms smooth, usually enclosed by sheaths. Panicle 25-80 × 4-15 mm, ± overtopped by leaves, linear-lanceolate, erect, contracted, dense; branches stiff, erect, sometimes ± spreading at maturity, smooth to sparsely scabrous, sharply acute-angled. Spikelets 3-9 mm, 2-5-flowered, bluish green or sometimes purplish. Glumes ± unequal, narrow-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, subacute; lower glume 1.5-4.2 mm, 1-3-nerved; upper glume 2.4-5.0 mm, 3-5-nerved. Lemma 3-5 mm, 5-7-nerved, elliptic-oblong, midnerve slightly excurrent, apex subobtuse, ciliate scabrous, usually with a few hairs at base and on nerves near base, sometimes with hairs on nerves to c. ½ way. Palea < or occasionally = lemma, keels scabrous in upper ½, excurrent. Rachilla 0.8-1.8 mm. Anthers 0.6-l.5 mm. Seed 1.5-2.6 × 0.4-0.8 mm.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from both P. chathamica (Cheeseman) Allan et Jansen and P. walkeri Allan by the usually smaller growth habit, smaller panicles with sparsely scabrous, sharply acute-angled branches which remain mostly hidden among the leaves, and by the pale keels which are shortly excurrent..

Flowering

Unknown

Fruiting

Unknown

Propagation Technique

Unknown.

Threats

Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which appears to be abundant on the islands. There are no known threats. The Antipodes are administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a Nature Reserve, and are listed as a World Heritage site. All landings on these islands are strictly controlled.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 14 Jan 2014