The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Epilobium chlorifolium

Etymology

Epilobium: From the Greek epi- 'upon' and lobos 'a pod', the flowers appearing to be growing on the seed pod.
chlorifolium: green leaved

Common Name(s)

mountain willowherb

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

Epilobium chlorifolium Hausskn.

Family

Onagraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

EPICHL

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Epilobium chloraefolium

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: North and South Islands from Mt Hikurangi, the main axial ranges, Mt Taranaki and the Central Volcanic Plateau south.

Habitat

Subalpine to Alpine. Mostly in tussock grassland and herbfield but extending into the bushline along stream sides. Epilobium chlorifolium has also been collected once, as a weed of gravel ballast in the railway shunting yard.

Features

Clumped perennial herb, branched from the base and sometimes also above, the stems 70-450 mm tall; stems with strigulose lines running down from the margins of the petioles, evenly pubescent with an increasing proportion of glandular hairs in the inflorescence. Leaves opposite, alternate in the inflorescence, dill, the lateral veins prominent, 3-4 on each side of the midrib; petioles 0-2 mm long; lamina 10-30 × 12-20 mm, narrowly ovate to broadly ovate, apex acute, base rounded to obtuse, margins serrulate with 3-9 teeth on each side. Flowers erect. Ovaries 10-18 mm long, densely glandular-pubescent, some with with a few strigulose hairs; on a pedicel 1-3 mm long. Floral tube 0.9-1.4 × 1.2-2.4 mm. Sepals 3.0-5.6 × 1.2-1.5 mm, keeled, sparsely glandular-pubescent, often abaxially strigulose. Petals 7-11 × 5-8 mm, notch 1.2-1.6 mm deep, white. Stamen filaments white of two types: long (2.2-4.5 mm long) and short (1.4-2.5 mm long), Anthers 1.0-1.7 × 0.4-1.0 mm, yellow. Style 3.3-5.2 mm long, white; stigma 1.2-2.2 x 0.5-0.8 mm, white, clavate, surrounded by the anthers at anthesis or held well above them. Capsule 39-52 mm long, glandular-pubescent, sometimes with a few strigulose hairs, on a pedicel 15-25 mm long. Seeds 1.3-1.7 mm long, brown, obovate, sometimes with a narrow truncated beak, base subacute, finely reticulate-mammillate; coma 5-11 mm long, white, caducous.

Similar Taxa

Allied to basicolous Epilobium wilsonii with which it shares amolnst other characters pubescent ovaries whose indumentum is comprised solely of erect, glandular hairs. However, it differs from this narrow-range Kaikoura Coastline - South Marlborough endemic, by the much wider and less ecologically confined distribution; by the sepals which are 2.0-5.6 mm rather than 5.0-10.5 mm long in E. wilsonii; by the smaller petals (7-11 mm long cf. 10-18 mm long in E. wilsonii), and mostly smaller seeds 1.3-1.7 mm cf. 1.4-2.2 mm long) and distinctly longer coma (5-11 mm cf. 5-8 mm long in E. wilsonii).

Flowering

October - April

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

October - July

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. Does best in a rockery. Dislikes warm, humid climates where it is prone to getting powdery mildew

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 36

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

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

This page last updated on 14 Sep 2014