Species
Pachycladon cheesemanii
Etymology
cheesemanii: Named after Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (1846 - 15 October 1923) who was a New Zealand botanist and naturalist who, in 1906, produced The Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
Common Name(s)
Dryland cress
Current Conservation Status
2018 - Threatened - Nationally Endangered
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
2012 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable
2009 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable
2004 - Gradual Decline
Qualifiers
2012 - Sp
2009 - Sp
Authority
Pachycladon cheesemanii Heenan et A. Mitch.
Family
Brassicaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
PACCHE
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 Herbs other than Composites
Synonyms
Sisymbrium novae-zelandiae Hook.f., Ischnocarpus novae-zelandiae (Hook.f.) O.E.Schulz
Distribution
Endemic to the South Island where it occurs east of the main divide from Marlborough south to the northern portion of Southland
Habitat
Lowland to subalpine tussock grassland, grey scrub, boulderfalls, talus, stable scree, rock overhangs and cliff faces. Now virtually confined to inaccessible habitats such as cliff faces, rock overhangs and amongst dense grey scrub.
Features
Robust, green, perennial herb, up to 500 mm tall. Basal leaves 15–80 mm long, simple, initially sparsely covered with branched hairs, becoming glabrescent with age; early basal leaves elliptic, entire or with a few blunt serrations, later leaves pinnatifid to pinnatisect, lobed 2–4 times in opposite to subopposite pairs; lamina, 10–60 × 8–30 mm; petioles 5–20 mm long. Stem leaves 1–4, lower ones similar to basal leaves, upper up to 10 × 3 mm, linear, minutely serrated. Inflorescences 150–500 mm long, up to 2.75 mm diameter at base, racemose; peduncle, pedicels, and siliques without glaucous bloom. Pedicels 10–15 mm long, glabrous. Sepals 3.3–3.5 x 1.4–1.5 mm, green with pale margins, oblong to elliptic, apex subacute. Petals 5.0–6.7 x 1.5–2.2 mm, white, obovate to obovate–spathulate, apex obtuse. Filaments 4–6, 3.3–4.2 mm long; anthers yellow. Ovary dorsiventrally compressed, green, glabrous; style indistinct, virtually absent; ovules 90–165. Siliques up to 60 mm long, green, without glaucous bloom, compressed, usually curved, glabrous. Seeds 0.8–1.1 mm long, pale brown, short–oblong.
Similar Taxa
Most likely to be confused with the very similar P. exile (Heenan) Heenan et A.Mitch, which is a much smaller plant that P. cheesemanii with a circular ovary. P. exile is now only known from a single site in the Waitaki Valley (see fact sheet for that species for further information).
Flowering
September - February
Flower Colours
White
Fruiting
October - March
Propagation Technique
Difficult and should not be removed from the wild
Threats
Formerly widespread along the eastern side of the South Island from the Wairau River, Marlborough to northern Southland. Although it is still found within this range but populations usually small and widely scattered. The exact cause of its decline is not clear though it is palatable and browsing animals and introduced pests of brassiaceous crops may be partially responsible for its loss from some areas. Another probable factor in its decline has been the spread of naturalised plants into the open tussock grassland, stablised scree, talus and boulderfield habitats it once favoured. Many of the extant populations now occur in dark rock overhangs, where competition from the normally higher-light demanding weed species is less.
Chromosome No.
2n = 20
Endemic Taxon
Yes
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 July 2007. Description by P.B. Heenan and published in de Lange et al. (2010)
References and further reading
de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Norton, D.A.; Rolfe, J.R.; Sawyer, J.W.D. 2010: Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
This page last updated on 13 May 2014