Species
Stellaria multiflora subsp. multiflora
Etymology
Stellaria: star flower
multiflora: From late Latin, feminine of multiflorus meaning 'bearing many flowers'
Current Conservation Status
2012 - Extinct
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 - Extinct
2004 - Extinct
Authority
Stellaria multiflora Hook.f. subsp. multiflora
Family
Caryophyllaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites
Synonyms
Stellaria elatinoides Hook.f.
Distribution
Indigenous. Australia (extant), New Zealand, North and South Islands. In the North Island known only from collections made from the southern Hawkes Bay (Lake Rotoatara, Colenso, September 1845 (this lake was drained in 1888)), and in the South Island from the Canterbury Plains (Ashburton), the Waitaki Valley (Kurow) and from Central Otago. It was also reported from Cape Kidnappers
Habitat
Lowland to montane, along lake sides, in river beds, and other seasonally damp habitats. Sparse herbarium annotations suggest it grew in short grass near lake margins. One collection from the Ashburton River has Raoulia monroi and Stellaria gracilenta mixed within it.
Features
Tufted, glabrous, dark green to glaucescent, annual herb 15-40 mm tall. Stems decumbent to weakly suberect, usually several arising from base. Leaves dark green or glaucous. Petiole short 1-2 mm. Lamina 3-5 mm long, narrow-oblong or oblanceolate, apex subacute to acute, base cuneate. Flowers solitary; peduncles slender 3-10 mm, erect. Bracts leaf like. Sepals 2-3 mm, lanceolate, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, to linear-lanceolate, weakly 1-veined; margins finely but irregularly toothed. Petals absent. Stamens 5-10. Capsule ovoid or globose, < or = sepals. Seeds red-brown, 0.6-0.7 mm, surface with large, rounded tubercles.
Similar Taxa
Not closely allied with any of the other nine indigenous and exotic species present in New Zealand. The glaucescent to dark green leaves, diminutive tufted annual habit, and apetalous flowers readily distinguish it from the other Stellaria species in New Zealand.
Flowering
October - November
Fruiting
October - November
Propagation Technique
Unknown.
Threats
In New Zealand this species seems to have declined and gone extinct because of habitat modification and possibly the spread of weeds into its marginal turf and ephemeral wetland habitats. It was last collected in New Zealand in 1921 (Heenan 2019).
Endemic Taxon
No
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
Fact Sheet Citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of Access): Stellaria multiflora subsp. multifloraFact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=781 (Date website was queried)
Attribution
Fact Sheet by P.J. de Lange (15 August 2008). Description adapted from de Lange et al. (2010).
References and further reading
de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Norton, D.A.; Rolfe, J.R.; Sawyer, J.W.D. 2010: Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Christchurch, Canterbury University Press. 471pp.
Heenan, P.B. 2019: Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: the status of the extinct herb Stellaria elatinoides (Caryophyllaceae) and recognition of Stellaria multiflora subsp. multiflora from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 57: https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2019.1645705
This page last updated on 31 Jul 2019