Species

Dracophyllum politum

Etymology

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

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 politum (Cheeseman) Cockayne

Family

Ericaceae

Brief Description

Low-growing tight-packed hard cushion or sprawling small shrub with very small narrow glossy leaves covering the twigs inhabiting some mountain areas of the South Island. Leaves to 12mm long, pressed close to twig. Flowers small white, solitary at tip of hidden branches, but can cover surface of cushion.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

DRAPOL

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium var. politum Cheeseman

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South (North-west Nelson (Mount Goul), North Westland (Denniston area) Fiordland National Park, Otago (Mount Maungatua)) and Stewart Islands

Habitat

Montane to alpine in fully exposed sites on gentle mountain slopes, especially on mountain summits and plateaus. A sparse to locally common component of subalpine to alpine shrubland, herbfield, fell field, grassland or bog.

Features

Cushion–forming, up to 0.5 m tall and 1 m in diameter, or a scrambler 0.02–0.5 m tall. Branches spreading to prostrate, much–branched. Bark on old stems grey to brown, broadly fissured, young stems reddish brown. Leaves imbricate, appressed to stem, erect, olive to dark green, dry old leaves present. Leaf sheath 2.5–4.0 × 3.0–4.0 mm, shoulders tapering to round and margin membranous, ciliate. Lamina rigid and hard, 3.5–17.2 × 0.7–1.5 mm, linear, adaxial surface flat; surfaces glossy, margins serrulate with 90–100 teeth per 10 mm; apex obtuse or occasionally subacute. Inflorescence a sessile, solitary terminal flower; shorter than leaves, erect. Flower bract shorter than flower, foliose, 2.0–3.0 × 0.7–0.8 mm, broadly ovate to triangular, margins serrulate, apices obtuse. Sepals 4.8–5.0 × 1.8–2.0 mm, ovate–lanceolate, longer than corolla tube, adaxial surface with top half pubescent; abaxial surface glabrous; margins ciliate. Corolla white; corolla tube 3.5–4.5 × 1.4–1.5 mm cylindrical, widened at mouth; corolla lobes spreading horizontally to reflexed, 1.5–2.2 × 1.0–1.8 mm, ovate–triangular, shorter than corolla tube, apical ridge present, inflexed at apex, obtuse; adaxial surface papillate. Stamens inserted on corolla tube in upper third, filaments 0.5–1.0 mm long; anthers included, 0.9–1.0 mm long, oblong, light yellow. Ovary 1.2–1.8 × 1.2–1.3 mm, ovate, apex round; nectary scales 0.8–1.2 × 0.5–0.7 mm, rectangular, apices irregularly toothed; style included, 1.0–1.1 mm long, glabrous, not lengthening in fruit; stigma five–lobed. Fruit 2.5–3.0 × 1.5–2.5 mm, dark brown, oblong and ridged at the ribs; apex round, glabrous. Seeds 0.68–0.7 mm long, dark brown, ovoid, testa prominently reticulate.

Similar Taxa

Dracophyllum politum is a distinctive, dense cushion-forming plant or a prostrate shrublet with densely imbricated leaves appressed to the branch. The leaves are very glossy, convex, slightly curved inwards and with obtuse apices. The Flowers are solitary and the flower bracts have blunt apices. The corolla lobes are distinctively inflexed and have a prominent apical ridges.

Flowering

December - March

Fruiting

February - May

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).

Where To Buy

Not commercially available.

    

Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (16 April 2012). Description adapted from Venter (2009)

References and further reading

Venter, S. 2009: A taxonomic revision of the genus Dracophyllum Labill. (Ericaceae). Unpublished Phd Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington.

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 30 Jul 2014