The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Pimelea dura

Etymology

Pimelea: from the Greek pimele, referring to the seeds

Common Name(s)

Pimelea

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Data Deficient

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 - Data Deficient

Authority

Pimelea dura C.J.Burrows

Family

Thymelaeaceae

Brief Description

Very low growing shrub with hairy twigs bearing pairs of very small leaves that are hairy underneath, hairy white flowers and pink or pale orange fruit inhabiting short tussock grasslands in the Ashburton, Rangitata and Rakaia Catchments in Canterbury. Leaves 3-4mm long by 1mm wide.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

None (first described in 2011)

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (inland Canterbury, in the middle catchments of the Rakaia, South Ashburton and Rangitata Rivers)

Habitat

Montane to alpine. A species of sparsely vegetated well-drained silty, sandy, or gravelly soils on old moraines and outwash surfaces. Mostly associated with short tussock (Festuca novae-zelandiae and Poa colensoi) grassland, often growing admixed with small shrubs and herbs or within moss and lichen cushions.

Features

A small, much-branched, appressed shrub up to 50 mm high and 100-200 mm across. Short branches radiate from a stout main stem with short sympodial and lateral branchlets, forming small, discrete, open cushions. Young stems brown, sparsely to moderately densely covered in short, grey-white hairs; internodes 0.3-1.0 mm long. Older stems grey-brown, sometimes buried in wind-blown silt or sand. Node buttresses smooth, brown, lunate to elongate, sometimes prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending, loosely imbricate, sessile or on very short (0.1 mm) red petioles. Lamina 3.0-4.0 × 0.8-1.2 mm, pale glaucous-green, elliptic to ovate, or oblong, slightly keeled and adaxially concave; tip obtuse; base cuneate; adaxial surface glabrous (rarely with a few hairs), abaxial surface moderately densely covered with short hairs; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal on branchlets, 2-6-flowered; involucral bracts 4, similar in size to adjacent leaves or larger (4.0 × 1.6 mm) partly hiding the flowers. Receptacles sparsely to moderately hairy. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white or sometimes faintly pink-tinted, on very short (0.1 mm) pedicels, with a sparse cover of short hair outside, inside hairless. Female tube 1.5-2mm long, ovary portion 1.5 mm, calyx lobes 0.9 × 0.9 mm; hermaphrodite tube 3-4 mm long, ovary portion 1.3 mm, calyx lobes 1.1 × 1.1 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary apex bearing a cluster of short hairs at summit. Fruits ovoid, opaque, pinkish white, pink or pale orange 4.5 × 3.1 mm. Seeds 2.2 × 1.2mm.

Similar Taxa

Allied to Pimelea sericeovillosa from which it differs by its more open-branched habit, more numerous flowers and adaxially glabrous leaves. It may also be confused with P. mesoa (subsp. mesoa only) from which it differs by its smaller leaves and flowers and pinkish white, pink or pale orange fruits.

Flowering

September - November

Fruiting

unknown

Propagation Technique

Unknown. Probably easily grown from semi-hard and hardwood cuttings.

Threats

Burrows (2011) notes that this species is common in the Lake Heron and Lake Clearwater basins and in some reserved areas but that it is otherwise vulnerable to land development especially land being modified by topdressing, over-sowing or that which is heavily stocked with cattle or subject to the spread of wildling pines. He further observes that the ecology of the species is little known. Despite these comments the species was not assessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification Manual (Townsend et al. 2008) and so has no valid threat assessment. At this stage it seems that based on the evidence presented by Burrows (2011) an interim threat assessment of "Data Deficient" is probably the most appropriate.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 27 Oct 2019