The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Ranunculus subscaposus

Etymology

Ranunculus: From the Latin 'rana' frog, meaning little frog and probably refers to the plants typical marshy habit where frogs abound

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
2009 - OL, IE

Authority

Ranunculus subscaposus Hook. f.

Family

Ranunculaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

RANSUB

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Ranunculus aucklandicus A.Gray, R. subantarcticus F.Fisher et J.Hair

Distribution

Endemic. Auckland and Campbell Islands

Habitat

Coastal to alpine (0-500 m a.s.l.) in damp turf, on forest margins, in scrub, along streamsides and swamps and in windswept turf and Herbfield.

Features

Perennial tufted, non rhizomatous herb. All parts finely covered with long, stiff, yellow-brown, appressed hairs, Basal leaves long-petiolate (70-200 mm long), sheaths pilose hairy, lamina 30 × 40 mm, dark green, subreniform, ovate, deltoid-ovate, to deltoid-cuneate, ternate or ternatifid, leaflets and lobes usually 3-lobed again and deeply toothed. Cauline leaves similar but smaller, less divided, opposite. Stems elongating to 450 mm tall at fruiting. Stems 1-3-flowered. Flowers 15-20 mm diameter, initially sessile or shortly pedicellate, peduncle and pedicels elongating at fruiting. Sepals 5, 5-8 mm, spreading, Petals 5, 5-8 mm long, yellow or brownish-yellow, narrowly obovate, obovate-oblong to oblong, undersides with sparse appressed hairs; nectary single, c.2 mm from petal base, covered by a small rounded scale. Fruiting heads ovoid to globose, 8-10 mm diameter. Receptacle cylindrical, papillose-hairy. Achenes numerous, flattened, ovoid, to obliquely ovoid, usually sparsely covered with appressed hairs on the angles; body 2-2.5 mm long, beak straight, tapering, flattened, c.1 mm long.

Similar Taxa

The distinctive long, stiff, appressed yellow-brown (fulvous) hairs, long petioles and small brownish-yellow flowers all readily distinguish R. subscaposus from the glabrescent R. acaulis DC and R. pinguis Hook.f. which are the only other indigenous Ranunculus known to inhabit Auckland and Campbell Islands. From the introduced, R. repens L. which is also on these islands, it is easily distinguished by its smaller size, non-stoloniferous habit, and by its smaller (up to 10 cf. 14 mm long), obovate, obovate-oblong to oblong, rather than broadly obovate, brownish yellow rather than golden-yellow petals

Flowering

December-January

Flower Colours

Brown,Yellow

Fruiting

January-March

Propagation Technique

Probably difficult except in an alpine house.

Threats

Not Threatened. Listed because it is a narrow range island endemic

Chromosome No.

2n = 48

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 15 Jan 2014