The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Dracophyllum palustre

Etymology

Dracophyllum: dragon leaf, from its likeness to the dragon tree of the Canary Islands
palustre: From the Latin palus 'swamp', meaning growing in swamps

Common Name(s)

swamp neinei

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 palustre Cockayne ex W.R.B.Oliv.

Family

Ericaceae

Brief Description

Low-growing, erect grassy shrub with sparse long narrow leaves at tips of narrow twigs inhabiting wetlands mostly in the northern South Island. Leaves 14-27mm long by 0.5-1mm wide, leaf tip nearly blunt, base enclosing stem and with fine hairs on margin (lens needed). Flower solitary, below leaves.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

DRAPAL

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Dracophyllum virgatum (Cheeseman) Cockayne; Dracophyllum uniflorum var. virgatum Cheeseman

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (most commonly seen in the northern half but extending south to western Southland)

Habitat

Sea level to alpine. Dracophyllum palustre is a species of mostly openly vegetated poorly draining, boggy, swampy or permanently moist habitats.

Features

Multi–stemmed scrambler or sub–shrub, 0.2–1.0 m tall. Branches spreading to decumbent. Bark on old branches dark grey, smooth, young stems reddish brown to purplish brown. Leaves erect to spreading, olive green; lamina sheath 2.5–6.0 × 2.2–4.0 mm, tapering to truncate and margin membranous, ciliate; lamina 14.0–27.0 × 0.5–1.0 mm, linear, adaxial surface flat, occasionally minutely scabrous with a tuft of scabrid hairs at the base; margins serrulate with 70–110 teeth per 10 mm; apex keeled, triquetrous. Inflorescence a solitary terminal, sessile flower on shortened lateral branchlets (these shorter than leaves); inflorescence bract equaling flower, 4.0–4.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, light to dark green, ovate–lanceolate, adaxial surface pubescent at apex; margin ciliate; apex obtuse to acute; flower bracts over-topping flowers, 5.0–5.5 × 2.0–2.5 mm, ovate–lanceolate to ovate, surfaces glabrous with a tuft of scabrid hairs at base of adaxial surface; margins prominently white and ciliate; apices acute to slightly obtuse. Sepals 4.0–5.5 × 1–2 mm, ovate to triangular, equaling corolla tube, glabrous with the top half of the abaxial surface pubescent; margins ciliate; apices acute. Corolla white to light pink; corolla tube 3.5–5.0 × 2.0–2.2 mm, cylindrical; corolla lobes reflexed, 1.6–3.0 × 1.3–2.2 mm, ovate–triangular, shorter than corolla tube, apices inflexed, acute; adaxial surface papillate. Stamens inserted on corolla tube in the upper third, filaments 0.5–0.7 mm long; anthers included, 0.7–0.9 mm long, oblong, light yellow. Ovary 0.7–1.2 × 0.6–1.0 mm, obovate, apex truncate; nectary scales rectangular, 0.8–1.5 × 0.6–0.7 mm, apices retuse; style included, 1.0–1.2 mm long, glabrous; stigma five–lobed. Fruit 3.5–4.0 × 2.8–3.0 mm, light brown, obovoid, apex round to slightly truncate, glabrous. Seeds 0.95–1.0 mm long, yellowish brown, ovoid, testa slightly reticulate.

Similar Taxa

Dracophyllum palustre is recognised by the long, slender, sparingly leafy stems; leaves which are 14–27 × 0.5–1.0 mm, and whose apices are bluntly pointed while the shoulders of the lamina sheaths are rounded and ciliate; by the solitary flowers borne on the lateral branches; broad flower bracts with very wide pale margins and corolla tubes ranging from 3.5–5.0 mm long with acute lobes. Dracophyllum palustre is most similar to D. rosmarinifolium in that both species have solitary flowers and narrow short leaves, but it differs in the slender, strict, sparingly leafy habit, and small leaves while the small flowers are arranged on short peduncles. It is even more similar to the North Island endemic D. subulatum from which it differs in the absence of juvenile leaves, flowers which are solitary not arranged in spikes with the inflorescence bract equaling the flower and having a ciliate not serrulate margin. The sepal is longer (4.0–5.5 cf. 2.6–3.2 mm) with the top half of the abaxial surface pubescent. The corolla tube is also much larger (3.5–5.0 × 2.0–2.2 cf. 1.8–2.0 × 1.0–1.2 mm) with larger nectary scales (0.8–1.5 × 0.6–0.7 cf. 0.4–0.5 × 0.3–0.5 mm) and fruit (3.5–4.0 × 2.8–3.0 cf. 2.9–3.0 × 1.7–1.8 mm).

Flowering

October – July

Fruiting

December - September

Propagation Technique

Difficult - should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 26

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