The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Gentianella angustifolia

Etymology

Gentianella: Little Gentiana (named after Gentius, 6th century king of Illyria, who found the roots of the yellow gentian to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops)
angustifolia: narrow-leaved

Common Name(s)

narrow-leaved Gentian

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 - RR

Authority

Gentianella angustifolia Glenny

Family

Gentianaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

None (described in 2004)

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, North West Nelson

Habitat

Alpine. In crevices and associated skeletal or rendzina soil pockets in karst marble outcrops, on marble talus, edges of sinkholes, also in similar situations on calcareous siltstones, and in shallow soils in surrounding Chionochloa pallens tussockland.

Features

Plants polycarpic, height in flower 110–360 mm. Caudex branched (6–8 times), 45–150 mm long, covered in a brown shaggy layer of dead leaf bases, stolons absent. Root 2.4–8.5 mm diameter at stem base. Flowering stems lateral only, 1–10 per plant, largest flowering stems 1.4–3.5 mm diameter at base, stems purple-black, decumbent, stem leaves 2–3 pairs per stem, lowest pedicels from halfway up to near apex of flowering stem. Rosette of leaves present and distinct from flowering stem leaves, leaves narrowly elliptic or elliptic, 23.0–161.0 × 6.4–30.0 mm, green, sometimes tinted purple-black on the margins, fl at; petiole absent or indistinct, leaf 3.6–7.6 mm wide at narrowest point, sometimes with a V-shaped petiole; apex acute or rounded. Pedicels one or two per leaf axil, 10–80 mm long, 1.0–1.8 mm diameter. Flowers 3–48 per plant, 18–25 mm long. Calyx 9–18 mm long, green, sometimes tinted purple-black on margins, hairs at calyx–corolla fusion line present, rarely absent; lobes 5.6–12.5 × 2.6–5.6 mm at base, plane, apices acute, margins smooth or minutely denticulate, sinus hairs sparse to abundant, with tips often purple. Corolla 14.2–27.0 mm long, white; tube 3.9–6.2 mm long; lobes 10.3–15.6 × 6.4–13 mm, hairs below sinus present or absent; nectary 0.6–2.9 mm from corolla base. Filaments 7.9–12.3 mm long from corolla base, 0.8–1.5 mm wide. Anthers 1.9–3.9 mm long, anther wall blue-black, mouth yellow, extrorse at anthesis; pollen yellow. Female flowers absent. Stigma colourless. Ovules 35–80 per ovary. Capsule 18–22 mm long.

Similar Taxa

Recognised by the sparsely branched, non-bushy growth habit, narrowly elliptic to orbicular leaves, with petioles 4.1-6.9 mm wide, sessile flowering stem leaves which are smaller than rosette leaves; large flowers (corolla 14–25 mm long); long anthers (1.7–3.9 mm long); and by having 25-60 ovules per plant. This species is confined to Nelson where it usually alpine and confined to calcareous rock outcrops and associated shallow soils

Flowering

February

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

March - May

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.

Threats

A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which is sparsely to locally abundant within its key habitats. There are no known threats, and all the known populations occur within Kahurangi National Park.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Seeds dispersed by ballistic projection, wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009)

This page last updated on 26 Sep 2014