Species

Disphyma australe subsp. australe

Etymology

Disphyma: Two-nodule
australe: southern, from the Latin australis

Common Name(s)

horokaka, native ice plant, New Zealand ice plant

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

Disphyma australe (Aiton) N.E.Br. subsp. australe

Family

Aizoaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Mesembryanthemum australe W.T.Aiton

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Three Kings, North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands

Habitat

Coastal (rarely inland). Mostly on cliff faces, rock stacks, and boulder/cobble beaches, more rarely in saltmarsh and estuaries. Often in petrel scrub on offshore islands, and extending into coastal forest around petrel burrows. Occasionally on limestone or sandstone cliffs in lowland forest (Western Waikato).

Features

Trailing, succulent herb. Stem terete, glabrous. Short shoots prostrate, rooting freely at nodes. Leaves 3-angled, linear-lanceolate to oblong, acute, often mucronate, tapering to connate base, 6-40 × 4-9 mm; margins entire, smooth, very rarely with a few papillae towards the distal end of the keel. Flowers 20-40 mm diameter. Sepal keel entire, smooth. Petals uniformly white to deep pink, in 3-5 rows, 10-30 mm long. Stamens 4-6 mm long; inner filaments hairy at base. Stigmas (5)-6-8-(10). Capsule valves 5-10, with parallel or ± divergent expanding keels; placental tubercle rounded or 0. Seeds brown, obovoid, rugose, c. 1 mm long.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from the other New Zealand species by the leaf margin and sepal keel smooth (very rarely papillate near the apex), 3-angled, linear-lanceolate to oblong, acute and often mucronate leaves, and petals in 3-5 rows. The Kermadec endemic subsp. stricticaule differs by the short shoots mostly ascending, rarely rooting at nodes, papillate leaves and sepal keels, and 5 rarely 6 capsule valves.

Flowering

Present throughout the year

Flower Colours

Red / Pink,Violet / Purple

Fruiting

Present throughout the year

Propagation Technique

Easy from rooted pieces and fresh seed. Does well in free draining soil within a sunny site. Not fussy about soil fertility or moisture regime. Some cultivar selection might be necessary as there is a diverse range of foliage colours, and flower colour ranges from white to fully pink.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 36

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Fleshy capsules are dispersed by frugivory and possibly wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Attribution

Description modified from: Webb, C. J.; Sykes, W. R.; Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. 4. Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R. Forms natural intergeneric hybrids with both Carpobrotus chilensis and C. edulis.

References and further reading

Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309

This page last updated on 14 Aug 2014