Species

Colobanthus hookeri

Etymology

Colobanthus: mutilated flower wth no petals
hookeri: Named after Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (born 1817) - a world famous botanist who travelled on the Antarctic expedition of 1839 under the command of Sir James Ross and wrote "Handbook of New Zealand Flora" published in 1864-67 describing many specimens sent to Kew by collectors. He died in 1911 and has a memorial stone at Westminster Abbey London.

Common Name(s)

Hookers Colobanthus

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

Colobanthus hookeri Cheeseman

Family

Caryophyllaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

COLHOO

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

Colobanthus benthamianus Cheeseman; hadalso been confused with Colobanthus subulatus Hook. f.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Auckland and Campbell Islands.

Habitat

Montane to subalpine, usually on bare or sparsely vegetated rock.

Features

Plant forming compact cushion 20-50 mm diameter, branches many and close, 20-30 mm long, leafy throughout. Leaves closely imbricated, incurved towards stem, rigid and shining; sheaths mostly hidden; blades 4-5 mm long, subulate, tapering from base to short acicular tip; border and midrib distinguishable in very young leaves when dry. Peduncles about = leaves. Flowers 3.0-3•5 mm long; sepals usually 5, broader than leaves, ovate-subulate, pouched at base, tapering to very short acicular tip, midrib forming flattish keel; capsule lobes about = sepals

Flowering

December

Fruiting

January

Propagation Technique

Unknown in cultivation.

Threats

A Naturally Uncommon, Range-restricted species. There are no known threats. Both Auckland and Campbell Island are Nature Reserves and part of a World Heritage Park. All access is strictly controlled by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Winged seeds are dispersed by water and possibly also wind and ballistic projection (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Where To Buy

Not Commericially Available

Attribution

Description modified from: Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington

References and further reading

Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington

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 13 Jun 2014