The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. olivina

Etymology

Wahlenbergia: Named in honour of Wahlenberg, a Swedish botanist and author of A Botany of Lapland.
albomarginata: white-margined

Common Name(s)

Red Hills Harebell, Mt Dun Harebell

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, Sp

Authority

Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. olivina J.A.Petterson

Family

Campanulaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

None (first described in 1997)

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (serpentine areas from Dun Mountain to the Red Hills, Richmond Range)

Habitat

Montane. Confined to serpentinite open rock, scree, bare soils and within open shrubland.

Features

Perennial herb with radical, rosulate tufts of leaves, sometimes alternate on elongated stems (shade form). Leaves dark olive green to red-green above, usually purple beneath, more or less petiolate, entire inconspicuously dentate, lamina 10 × 2 to 40 × 10 mm, linear to elliptic or ovate to obovate, gradually narrowed to petiole as long as the lamina or longer, margins cartilaginous, upper surface bearing sparse to numerous white, stiff bristly hairs. Flowers insect-pollinated, narrowly campanulate-rotate, corolla pale flax blue to pale blue-violet, often with white zoning and deeper coloured veins, or all white, 10-30 mm diameter, 10-20 mm long, corolla tube 4 × 3 to 10 × 6 mm, lobes 6 × 3 to 12 × 5 mm; style equal in length to corolla tube, lobes 2 or 3. Calyx lobes less than ¼ corolla length; capsule domed cylindric, 6-8 × 4 mm. Seeds 0.5 mm long, ellipsoid, smooth, glossy brown when mature.

Similar Taxa

Similar to subsp. albomarginata, but differing by its restriction of ultramafic habitats, dark olive green to red-green leaves bearing on the upper surface numerous to sparse white, stiff bristly hairs; often purple leaf undersides; and by the prominent cartilaginous margins.

Flowering

November – April

Flower Colours

Blue,Violet / Purple

Fruiting

December - April

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from tip cuttings and the division of whole plants. Fresh seed germinates readily. Being insect-pollinated and having an indigenous pollinator, cultivated plants rarely set seed.

Threats

A naturally uncommon. range restricted species abundant throughout its known habitats. There are no obvious threats.

Chromosome No.

2n = 36

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 17 Apr 2014