The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Dracophyllum muscoides

Etymology

Dracophyllum: dragon leaf, from its likeness to the dragon tree of the Canary Islands

Common Name(s)

cushion inaka

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

Dracophyllum muscoides Hook.f.

Family

Ericaceae

Brief Description

Tightly packed low growing cushion of many small leaves with only the tips usually visible inhabiting mountain areas of the southern South Island. Leaves very small, 1-3mm long by <1mm wide which overlap each other along the twig. Flowers solitary, small, white, tubular, poking above cushion.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

DRAMUS

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (from Mount Hercules southwards to the Princess Mountains

Habitat

Dracophyllum muscoides is a plant of subalpine cushion herbfield, grassland to alpine bog, fellfield and boulder field growing at altitudes of 914–2,600 m.

Features

Compact cushions, 15–50 mm tall. Branches erect stemmed and much–branched, closely packed together. Bark on old branches greyish brown, deeply fissured, young stems reddish brown. Leaves spiraling along branches, imbricate, appressed to stem, dry old leaves present; lamina sheath light green, 1.5–3.0 × 1.5–3.0 mm, tapering and margin membranous, ciliate. lamina coriaceous to rigid and hard, 1.0–3.0 × 0.3–0.8 mm, linear to linear–triangular, mid to olive green, margins serrulate with 5–10 teeth per 10 mm (only the front third of leaf with teeth); apex thickened, obtuse and keeled. Inflorescence a terminal, erect, sessile, solitary flower; shorter than the leaves. inflorescence bract shorter than flower, 3.3–3.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, ovate–lanceolate; margins serrulate; apex obtuse. Sepals 1.5–4.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, ovate–lanceolate, equaling corolla tube; margins ciliate; apices subacute to obtuse. Corolla white; corolla tube 2.0–2.5 × 1.5–3.5 mm, narrowly–campanulate, corolla lobes spreading horizontally, 1.0–1.5 × 1.0–1.5 mm, ovate–triangular, shorter than corolla tube, apices obtuse; apical ridge present; inflexed for the entire length; surfaces glabrous. Stamens inserted on corolla tube in the upper third, filaments 0.2–0.5 mm long; anthers included, 0.8–1.0 mm long, oblong, initially pink turning light yellow and. Ovary ovate, 1.4–1.5 × 1.3–1.4 mm, apex round; nectary scales 0.5–0.9 × 0.5–0.7 mm, rectangular, apices retuse to irregularly toothed; style included, 0.8–1.0 mm long, glabrous, not lengthening in fruit; stigma five–lobed. Fruit 1.0–1.1 × 0.8–1.0 mm, depressed–globose, light brown apex truncate, glabrous. Seeds 0.5–0.6 mm long, ovoid, yellowish brown, testa slightly reticulate.

Similar Taxa

Dracophyllum muscoides is recognised by the cushion growth habit; closely imbricating leaves (these 1.0–3.0 × 0.3-0.8 mm), which widen suddenly into a broad sheath 1.5–3.0 mm long and wide; by the solitary flowers situated at the apices of the stems, and whose sepals are 2.5–4.5 mm long and whose corolla tube is 2.0–2.5 mm long. Dracophyllum muscoides is most similar to Dracophyllum prostratum from which it differs by the many erect-stemmed branches, deeply fissured bark and fewer (5–10 compared to 10–40) teeth per 10 mm on lamina margin. The flowers are also shorter than the leaves, with the sepals equaling the corolla tube and the corolla tube shorter (2.0–2.5 mm compared to 3.0–4.5 mm in D. prostratum) and narrowly campanulate. The corolla lobes of D. muscoides are mostly horizontal and the ovary ovate and wider (1.3–1.4 mm compared to 1.0–1.5 mm in D. prostratum).

Flowering

December – May

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

February - August

Propagation Technique

Difficult - should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Minute seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 14 Aug 2014