The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Pimelea hirta

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 hirta C.J.Burrows

Family

Thymelaeaceae

Brief Description

Shrub with sprawling hairy dark twigs to 40cm long bearing pairs of small pointed leaves that are inconspicuously hairy underneath and hairy white flowers and red fruit inhabiting upland areas of the East Cape and Kaweka to Ruahine Ranges. Leaves 6-9mm long by 2.5-5mm wide.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

None (first described in 2011)

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (Raukumara, Maungaharuru, Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges)

Habitat

Alpine. Usually on limestone outcrops but a component of tall tussock grassland and subalpine scrub

Features

A robust, much-branched procumbent to decumbent shrub with stems up to 400 mm long. Branching sympodial and lateral. Young stems brown, with a moderately dense cover of long, dull-white hairs; internodes 1-3 mm long. Older stems glabrous, dark brown to black. Node buttresses lunate, 0.2 mm long, smooth, brown, masked by hairs on young stems, not very prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending and loosely imbricate to patent, on short, dark red petioles (0.3 mm). Lamina 6.0-9.0 × 2.5-5.0 mm, medium green, elliptic to broad-elliptic, or broad-ovate or oblong slightly adaxially concave to keeled, mid-vein evident, sunken adaxially; tip acute; base cuneate; abaxial surface moderately sparsely covered by dull white, relatively long, straight (rarely curled) hairs; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, loose, 4-7-flowered. Involucral bracts 4, similar in size to ordinary leaves or larger (6-3 mm). Receptacle moderately densely hairy. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white on short (0.8 mm) pedicels, very hairy outside, inside hairless. Female tube 5 mm long, ovary portion wrinkled, 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.9 × 1.1 mm; hermaphrodite tube 6 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 2.8 × 2.0 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary with a few short hairs at summit. Fruits red, ovoid, fleshy 4.0 × 2.7 mm. Seeds ovoid, 3.5 × 2.0 mm, crest thin.

Similar Taxa

Potentially confused in the field with Pimelea oreophila subsp. ephaistica from which it differs by its larger overall stature and leaves, and by the obviously longer, denser abaxial leaf hairs.

Flowering

December - February

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

Unknown

Propagation Technique

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

Threats

Pimelea hirta is newly described that has not been recognised by an informal tag name previously. Therefore this species has not been formally listed by the New Zealand Threat Listing Panel (see de Lange et al. 2009). However Burrows (2011) did not use the New Zealand Threat Listing Classification System (see Townsend et al. 2008) in his conservation assessment, and his comments, unquantified as they are suggest that the best course of action is to list this species as "Data Deficient" until such time as better data is obtained, and the species can be assessed by an appropriate threat listing panel.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 16 Nov 2014