The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Dracophyllum pearsonii

Etymology

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

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

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 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Not Threatened

Qualifiers

2012 - Sp

Authority

Dracophyllum pearsonii Kirk

Family

Ericaceae

Brief Description

Low-growing brownish spreading grassy shrub with short erect branches bearing very dense tufts of both alive and dead narrow pointed leaves mainly inhabiting upland Stewart Island (rare in Fiordland). Leaves hard, 19-32mm long by 0.8-1.5mm wide. Flowers mixed in with leaves, white, tubular.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

DRAPEA

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South (Fiordland National Park - scarce) and Stewart Islands. On Stewart Island restricted to the tops of Mt Anglem and Rakeahua

Habitat

Montane to alpine. Usually colonising open sites on mountain slopes, ridges and plateau within subalpine shrubland, herbfield or grassland

Features

Multi–stemmed shrub 0.3–0.5 m tall. Branches: bark on old branches dark grey, deeply fissured, young stems reddish brown. Leaves spirally arranged along branches, imbricate, appressed to stem, dry old leaves present; lamina sheath olive green to light brown, 4–7 × 3–5 mm, coriaceous, striate, shoulders rounded to truncate with margins membranous, ciliate or with only the top half ciliate; lamina rigid and hard, 19.0–32.0 × 0.8–1.5 mm, mid to olive green, linear to linear–subulate, adaxial surface flat, abaxial surface keeled, margins serrulate with 90–100 teeth per 10 mm, apex triquetrous. Inflorescence a few flowered spike near apices of branches; shorter than leaves, erect, lax, 12–20 mm long, oblong. Inflorescence bract over-topping flowers, foliose, coriaceous, 6.0–6.5 × 4–5 mm, linear, ovate–lanceolate at base, surfaces glabrous with a tuft of scabrid hairs at base of adaxial surface, margins ciliate. Flowers 3–6, sessile; flower bracts over-topping flowers, leaf like, linear, 6.0–6.5 × 4–5 mm, with a tuft of scabrid hairs at base of adaxial surface, margins ciliate. Sepals 4.2–4.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, lanceolate to ovate–lanceolate, shorter to equaling corolla tube; margins ciliate. Corolla white; corolla tube 4.2–4.5 × 1.8–2.0 mm, cylindrical; corolla lobes reflexed, 1.9–2.0 × 1.4–1.5 mm, ovate–triangular to broadly triangular, shorter than corolla tube, apical ridge present, apices inflexed at tip, subacute; adaxial surface papillate. Stamens inserted on corolla tube near the top, filaments 0.2–0.5 mm long; anthers included, 0.8 mm long, oblong, light yellow. Ovary 1.9–2.0 × 1.8–2.0 mm, globose, apex round; nectary scales oblong, 1.0–1.2 × 0.8–1.0 mm, apices obtuse; style included, 0.8–1.0 mm long, glabrous; stigma five–lobed. Fruit light brown, 1.0–1.5 × 1.0–1.2 mm, obovoid, apex truncate, glabrous. Seeds 0.55–0.6 mm long, yellowish brown, ovoid, testa slightly reticulate.

Similar Taxa

Dracophyllum pearsonii is easily recognised by the closely imbricate strongly keeled leaves with triquetrous apices. Characteristically the leaves densely cover the branches and when dead they are long persistent. In this species the flowers are arranged in few–flowered (3-6-flowered) racemes near the ends of branches, also each petal is furnished with a prominent apical ridge on the upper surface.

Flowering

December - February

Fruiting

February - April

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.

Threats

Dracophyllum pearsonii is listed because it is a narrow range endemic virtually confined to Stewart island (it is scarce in its only known stations in Fiordland National Park). Despite its small area of occupancy it is otherwise believed secure and under no active threat.

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 30 Jul 2014