The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Haastia pulvinaris var. pulvinaris

Etymology

Haastia: after Haast
pulvinaris: From the Latin pulvinar 'a cushion' and -aris 'resembling', meaning resembling a cushio i.e. convex or or rather flattened

Common Name(s)

Vegetable sheep

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

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 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Haastia pulvinaris Hook.f. var. pulvinaris

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites

Synonyms

Haastia pulvinaris Hook.f.

Distribution

Endemic. South Island: Marlborough to Canterbury (east of the main divide)

Habitat

Subalpine and alpine fellfield and rocks among screes

Features

Stout perennial forming rounded very compact masses up to 2 x 1 m diameter; branchlets with leaves c.20 mm diameter, densely compacted. Leaves c.8-10 × 6-10 mm; apices thickened and crenulate and concealed by dense brush of long tangled slightly fulvous hairs, both surfaces or underside only clad in long hairs; veins 3-15, anastomosing above. Receptacle flat or slightly convex, c.5 mm diameter. Involucral bracts linear, obtuse to acute, glabrous except at apices. Achenes compressed, linear, c.2 mm long. Pappus-hairs flattened at base, up to 9 mm long

Similar Taxa

Haastia pulvinaris is easily recognised by its growth habit. This is the famous vegetable sheep of the eastern South Island. Plants producing extremely compact, rounded masses up to 2 x 1 m diameter. From the other two species of Haastia it is easily distinguished by this growth habit, the other two species (H. recurva and H. sinclairii) having a more widely spreading, openly branched, distinctly leafy growth habit. Haastia pulvinaris var. minor is distinguished from var. pulvinaris by its much smaller size (only rarely forming hummocks up to 1 x 1 m), branchlets < 15 mm diameter, and by the distinctly whitish tomentum. Both varieties are occasionally sympatric and may perhaps be better treated as species. Haastia pulvinaris could be confused with species of Raoulia, especially R. bryoides, R. eximia and R. mammillaris with which it sometimes grows.From Raoulia, Haastia is distinguished by the anther-cells which are not tailed, and by the leaves which are > 10 mm long. Recent molecular data suggests that Haastia is very closely allied to Brachyglottis.

Flowering

November - January

Fruiting

December – February

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 60

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

Yes

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Pappate cypselae are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 30 Sep 2014