The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium

Etymology

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

Common Name(s)

common grass tree, 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 rosmarinifolium (G.Forst.) R.Br.

Family

Ericaceae

Brief Description

Grassy reddish or green often sprawling shrub with many erect twigs bearing clusters of narrow pointed leaves that point away from the stem and that sheath the stem at their base. Leaves 8.5-40mm long by 0.5 to 1.5mm wide. Flowers solitary, at tip of short side branches.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

DRAROS

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Epacris rosmarinifolia Forst.f.; Dracophyllum uniflorum Hook.f.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: North (Tararua Ranges) and South Islands (throughout the South Island)

Habitat

Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium is a shrub inhabiting montane woodland and shrubland to subalpine or alpine grassland, herbfield, fellfield or bog land within mountain gullies, mountain slopes and ridges, bluffs, plateaus and also valley floors.

Features

Multi–stemmed shrub 0.3–1.0 m tall. Branches erect to spreading and much–branched. Bark on old branches grey to dark grey, finely to deeply fissured, young stems reddish brown. Leaves erect to spreading, light to olive green; lamina sheath 2.0–8.5 × 2.5–4.0 mm; shoulders rounded to truncate and margins membranous, ciliate; lamina 8.0–55.0 × 0.59–1.5 mm linear to linear–subulate; adaxial surface glabrous, occasionally rugose, with a tuft of short scabrid hairs at base; margins serrulate with 70–80 teeth per 10 mm; apex obtuse to acute and triquetrous. Inflorescence a terminal solitary erect flower; shorter than leaves; inflorescence bract shorter to equaling flower, 5.0–13.0 × 1.0–2.0 mm, narrowly ovate–lanceolate at base, adaxial surface scabrid at base; margins serrulate. Flowers sessile. Sepals 4.5–12.0 × 1.2–2.5 mm, lanceolate to ovate–lanceolate, equaling to longer than corolla tube, top half rarely shortly pubescent; margins ciliate. Corolla white turning pale yellow with age, occasionally light pink; corolla tube 4.0–7.0 × 1.5–2.0 mm, cylindrical; corolla lobes reflexed, 2.0–2.5 × 1.2–2.0 mm, triangular, shorter than corolla tube, apex inflexed, subacute to acute; apical ridge present, adaxial surface papillate. Stamens inserted on corolla tube in the upper third, filaments 0.3–0.5 mm long; anthers included, 0.7–1.0 mm long, oblong, initially pink turning light yellow. Ovary 1.7–2.0 × 1.0–2.0 mm, obovate, apex round; nectary scales 0.7–1.5 × 0.4–0.7 mm rectangular, apices retuse to irregularly toothed; style included, 1.5–2.5 mm long, glabrous, not lengthening in fruit; stigma capitate. Fruit 3.7–4.0 × 3.8–4.0 mm, obovoid, light brown, apex round, glabrous. Seeds 0.8 – 1.0 mm long yellowish brown, ovoid, with the testa slightly reticulate.

Similar Taxa

Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium is recognised by the non-pendulous erect to much-branched spreading growth habit, linear spreading leaves, solitary flowers that terminate short branchlets, sepals equaling or longer than the corolla tube, prominent apical ridge on the corolla lobes, inflexed corolla lobe apex and an obovoid ovary. Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium is most similar to D. uniflorum var. frondosum from which but differs in having erect to spreading not arching, to decumbent or pendulous branches; inflorescence bracts that equal the flower length but do not exceed them; sepals which are longer than the corolla tube (never equal to them) and by the corolla tube which is is shorter (5–7 mm compared to 7–10 mm in D. uniflorum var. frondosum).

Flowering

October – May

Fruiting

December - August

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 30 Jul 2014