Species

Festuca actae

Etymology

Festuca: From the Latin festuca 'stem' or 'blade of grass'

Common Name(s)

Banks Peninsula Fescue

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 - Range Restricted

Qualifiers

2012 - OL

Authority

Festuca actae Connor

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

FESACT

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

Grasses

Synonyms

Festuca ovina subsp. matthewsii var. grandiflora Howarth; Festuca novae-zelandicae var. grandiflora (Howarth) St.-Yves; Festuca ovina subsp. novae-zelandiae var grandiflora Howarth; Festuca ovina subsp. matthewsii var. eu-matthewsii Howarth; Festuca petriei forma tenuifolia Howarth

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Banks Peninsula).

Habitat

Coastal to montane. On rocks, rock outcrops, bluffs, talus and stabilised, sparsely vegetated slopes

Features

Slender tussock with intravaginal branches, with fine and long glaucous leaf-blades. Leaf-sheath 50-100 mm, stramineous occasionally reddened, glabrous, striate, margins becoming membranous; apical auricles 0.4-0.7 mm, truncate or rounded, ciliate. Ligule as for auricles. Collar 0.6-1.7 mm, manifestly thickened, usually becoming brown coloured, adaxially with many small white hairs. Leaf-blade 200.0-600.0 × 0.4-0.7 mm, terete or hexagonal and ribbed, glaucous, glabrous except for prickle-teeth at pointed apex, disarticulating at collar, adaxially and on margin a multitude of small (0.10-0.15 mm) white hairs. Culm 250-600 mm, erect or geniculate at base, nodes 2-3 evident, internodes glabrous. Panicle 50-250, with 7-9 nodes of 10-30 spikelets; basal branches 40-50 mm, binate, lax, of 2-6 spikelets and naked below, soon becoming single ascending branches, uppermost 3-5 spikelets solitary on pedicels; rachis glabrous or sparsely prickle-toothed below becoming more so, branches and pedicels prickle-toothed. Spikelets 10-17 × 6 mm, of 4-12 florets. Glumes unequal, keeled, prickle-teeth on keel and at apex, variously elsewhere, usually green centrally lighter at margins, sometimes purpled, margin ciliate; lower 3.0-4.5 mm, 1-nerved, long triangular acute, upper 4.5-7.5 mm, 3-nerved occasionally 5-nerved, narrowly ovate, acute to obtuse. Lemma 6-9 mm, rounded, lobes small (0.1-0.2 mm), glaucous, prickle-teeth from outer nerve to ciliate margin, scattered elsewhere, denser near awn; awn 0.1-2.5 mm. Palea 6-8 mm, sometimes > lemma, deeply bifid, keels toothed to base or nearly so, flanks and interkeel hairy above. Callus 0.2-0.5 mm, margin very short stiff hairy; articulation flat. Rachilla 1.0-1.5 mm, very shortly antrorsely stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.7-1.5 mm, lobed or entire, hair-tipped. Anthers 3.5-4.4 mm, yellow. Ovary 0.5-1.0 mm, hispid hairs at apex (in 2 lateral groups or occasionally surrounding apex); stigma-styles 1.4-2.8 mm. Seed 3-4.8 mm

Flowering

October - December

Flower Colours

Yellow

Fruiting

November - April

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. An attractive grass tolerant of most conditions but dislikes humidity.

Threats

Range Restricted - a Banks Peninsula endemic that is widespread and not threatened.

Chromosome No.

2n = 42

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Florets are dispersed by wind, water and attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Cultural Use/Importance

Commonly sold as Festuca cv. Banks Peninsula.
       


Attribution

Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000)

References and further reading

Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Christchurch, Manaaki Whenua Press. 650 pp.

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 25 Sep 2014