The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Wahlenbergia matthewsii

Etymology

Wahlenbergia: Named in honour of Wahlenberg, a Swedish botanist and author of A Botany of Lapland.
matthewsii: after Mathews

Common Name(s)

Rock harebell, Matthew's 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
2009 - DP

Authority

Wahlenbergia matthewsii Cockayne

Family

Campanulaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

WAHMAT

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, Marlborough , Kaikoura Coast from the Flaxbourne River to Clarence River mouth and inland on the Chalk Range. Also known from the Pikikiruna Range at Gorge Creek (north-west Nelson)

Habitat

Confined to calcareous rocks, especially fine grained limestone. Coastal to montane (0 - 800 m a.s.l.), and mainly restricted to gorges and steep cliffs. Less commonly found growing in boulder falls and on sparsely vegetated terraces.

Features

Perennial, erect or spreading subshrub up ot 300 mm tall. Tap root fleshy, white, soon developing rhizomes. Stems arising from base, initally brownish-white, 2-3 mm diameter, soon purple-red to purple, glabrous, branching at the top into 2 or more almost naked scapes. Leaves crowded on stems, 10 x 1 to 50 x 3 mm, dark green, linear, glabrous, margins entire or distantly, finely toothed, sometimes recurved. Scapes 100-150 mm long, simple or branched again, bearing a few, distant, narrow linear bracts 5-15 mm long. Inflorescence, terminal, pedunculate. Calyx glabrous, 4-5 x 1 mm, linear-triangular. Flowers pale blue to pale blue-lilac with white zoning and deeper blue or violet veins, or completely white; corolla 20-40 mm diameter, deeply campnaulate with tube 7 x 5 to 9 x 6 mm, lobes spreading, 10 x 6 - 20 x 8 mm, ovate-lanceolate. Anthers linear, 4 mm long, style equalling corolla tube, stigma usually 2-lobed. Capsule glabrous, 6 x 4 to 12 x 6 mm long, domed obconic. Seeds 0.5 mm long.

Similar Taxa

None. The distinctive erect subshrub habit, and branches bearing numerous, crowded, dark green linear leaves set this species well apart from any of the other New Zealand Wahlenbergia Roth.

Flowering

December - April

Flower Colours

Blue,Violet / Purple

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed. Does best in full sun, in a free draining, calcareous soil. Excellent in a rockery. A beautiful plant which deserves to be more widely cultivated than it is.

Threats

Abundant within its Marlborough range but rather uncommon in north-west Nelson. Browse dby animals where it is accessible but otherwise very common and not unduly threatened. This specie sis listed mainly because it is a narrow-range endemic.

Chromosome No.

2n = 36

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 17 Apr 2014