The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Festuca coxii

Etymology

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

Common Name(s)

Cox’s 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 - IE, RR
2009 - IE

Authority

Festuca coxii (Petrie) Hack.

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

FESCOX

Structural Class

Grasses

Synonyms

Agropyrum coxii Petrie

Distribution

Endemic. Chatham Islands only where it has been recorded from the islands, islets and rock stacks except the Pyramid and Western Reef

Habitat

Strictly coastal where it grow son rock ledges, cliff faces, rock stacks, peaty turf, amongst petrel burrows and on exposed, wind blasted ridge lines

Features

Glaucous to dark green tufted tussock. Branching intravaginal, sometimes with internodes elongating below and rooting at nodes; inflorescence short, compact, usually shorter than tall leaf-blades, nodding, with numerous long awned abundantly prickle-toothed florets borne on shortly pedicelled spikelets. Leaf-sheath 80-200 mm long, thin, pale much broader than leaf-blades, minutely retrorsely or antrorsely hairy between nerves becoming glabrous above, margins dark brown membranous below; apical auricles 0-0.5 mm, ciliate. Collar conspicuously thickened and curved. Ligule 0.3-0.5 mm, ciliate. Leaf-blade 110-400 × 0.5-0.9 mm, glaucous to dark green, softly sharp-pointed, terete to somewhat compressed, glabrous, upper surface and margin bearing numerous short (0.15 mm) antrorse or erect prickle-teeth, these diminishing in size above. Culm 250-450 mm, almost always included by leaf-blades; nodes 2-3 dark, glabrous, sometimes ± geniculate; internodes glabrous or densely antrorsely short hairy sometimes becoming less so below. Panicle 60-150 mm, narrow, compact, nodding, with 8-11 nodes of 12-18 close set, usually overlapping, spikelets; branches short, erect-appressed, basal branch 10-20 mm of 3-5 spikelets, not naked below, uppermost 6-10 spikelets solitary on short pedicels; rachis branches and pedicels prickle-toothed on margins, and frequently also densely antrorsely short hairy becoming less so above, or ± glabrous. Spikelets 15-30 × 5-6 mm, of 5-7 florets. Glumes unequal, green centrally, broad, narrowing, becoming awned, prominently keeled, glabrous except for prickle-teeth on keel above and below awn, margin hyaline sometimes short hairy and finely ciliate; usually equating with lowermost lemma, twice as long as nearest proximate internodes or in upper panicle twice proximate internodes of solitary spikelets; lower 4-10 mm, 1-nerved, upper 6-12 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 6-10 mm, lobes 0 or minute, 5-nerved, slightly keeled, abundantly prickle-toothed throughout, longer teeth and/or hairs below, and on keel and at margins below; awn 6-13 mm, usually < lemma, apex deeply bifid, keels toothed to base, interkeel hairs above, margins of flanks shortly toothed; sometimes folded. Callus 0.3-0.6 mm, long hairy on upper margin, shorter centrally; articulation acute. Rachilla 1.0-1.6 mm, densely antrorsely long hairy. Anthers 3.7-4.2 mm. orange. Ovary 1.0-1.4 mm, triangular turbinate, apex with narrow rim enclosing base of styles and central tuft of hispid hairs (0.2 mm long); stigma-styles 2.5-3.0 mm. Seed 3.7-4.6 mm long. Flowers opening (not cleistogamous).

Similar Taxa

Similar to F. contracta Kirk from which it differs by its more widely spreading, rather than erect growth habit, elongate rather than flabellate intravaginal branching; awns 6-13 mm and >> than lemma, rather than 1.5-2.5 mm and << lemma; anthers 3.75-4.25 mm rather than 0.6-0.8 mm long, and chasmogamous (open) rather than cleistogamous flowering habit.

Flowering

November - February

Flower Colours

Orange

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

Easy from fresh seed and division of whole plants. Often short-lived and dislikes humidity

Threats

Widespread and common in sites inaccessible to stock. Not seriously threatened though in common with the majority of Chatham Islands endemics its range has contracted following human settlement.

Chromosome No.

2n = 56

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).

This page last updated on 25 Sep 2014