The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Can someone please let me know what the threats to this species is? Is it vulnerable to too much shading? Browsing?

Thanks

In Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012 it was ranked as Nationally Vulnerable with the qualifier of B(3/1) Total area of occupancy =?100 ha (1 km2), stable population.So perhaps just because the total area occupied is quite small?

It copes very well with dry shade; one of the few plants that tolerates these conditions.
It seems to be very sensitive to stock browsing and is never found in areas that stock have access to. It occurs sporadically in dry forest in East Otago. Apart from that I do not how wide its distribution is.

Thanks I guess it could be out-competed by other species but am not really sure what other species it grows with. If shady exotic grass shouldn't be too much of a problem. I would be interested to know if anyone has done germination trials under different light levels as being a grass they usually like high light levels for germination but maybe this species doesn't given it lives in shade..

Hi Robyn, I don't think anyone knows why this species is so rare in natural situations. In Dunedin and elsewhere it frequently establishes in a range of places from planted plants. It is intolerant of root disturbance and is apparently palatable to stock but not much eats it in a garden situation. Status in the North Island needs checking as often mistaken for Piptatherum.

It is doing quite well in parts of the Aorangis but it is localised. Piptatherum is mainly an urban weed in the Wairarapa so not much change of confusion.I have seen it in eastern Wairarapa but very local as stock were in the area. It has seeded quite well into areas along part of the track around Lake Pounui probably sourced from the plants on the ridge above where it has been used extensively in landscaping.

Hi Robyn - apparently I have it in one population in central Southland (I didn't even even know we had it in this region). I will make sure I take a careful look at what it is doing for you when I am next at that site.

Anemanthele is a classic example of a biologically sparse species, rarely common anywhere, and when it is, it is often locally dominant. As Mike says no one seems to have studied it (beyond its taxonomy - which will be published on one day soon I hope) but I believe it has very exacting climatic needs as it is mostly absent from places with high rainfall and humidity. What is interesting is that it will happily naturalise outside that natural climate zone - for example its becoming weedy in Auckland City. Beyond that goats and deer eat it, and that it gets out-competed by weeds in some places I don't know whether its actually threatened - currently we treat it as 'Naturally Uncommon'

LOL - been doing too many threat listings! Astrid has it aright - it was shifted from Naturally Uncommon (where I personally would still put it) to Nationally Vulnerable. This as Astrid suggests reflects area of occupancy as much as anything else. I believe its wrongly assessed though - and will argue that case in August.