The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Festuca ultramafica

Etymology

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

Common Name(s)

Serpentinite 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 - RR, Sp
2009 - OL

Authority

Festuca ultramafica Connor

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Grasses

Synonyms

None (first described in 1998)

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Nelson (Dun Mt, near Mt Duppa, Motueka River)).

Habitat

Montane to alpine. Confined to soils derived from ultramafic parent material. Mostly in open grassland or sparsely vegetated rubble, boulder fields and scree

Features

Tufted shortly rhizomatous ultramafic endemic grass with stiff, pungent, thick leaf-blades which are notably much shorter than the tall smooth culmed inflorescence of ± violet suffused spikelets. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath 30-40 mm, striate, glabrous or minutely antrorsely prickle-toothed, becoming red-brown and fibrous; apical auricle 0.5-1 mm, rounded, ciliate. Ligule 0.5-1.0 mm, erose, ciliate. Leaf-blade 60.0-120 cm x 0.6-1.2 mm diameter, conduplicate, somewhat compressed, pungent, stiff, strict or slightly curved, ribbed, glabrous, adaxially and on margins abundant short white hairs. Culm 200-500 mm, >> leaves, nodes visible, internodes glabrous, sometimes violet suffused below. Panicle narrow, 60-140 mm with 4-10 nodes, 12-25 spikelets; basal branch ascending, 30-80 mm, solitary or binate, with 3-5 spikelets, naked below, nodes 2-5 with branches of 2-4 spikelets, uppermost 3-5 spikelets solitary, imbricate on short pedicels; rachis glabrous or glabrous below becoming prickle-toothed, branches and pedicels prickle-toothed or glabrous, often tortuous below. Spikelets 8-14 x 3-4 mm, sometimes violet tinged, of 3-5 florets. Glumes unequal, margins long ciliate below shorter above, keeled, glabrous except for a few prickle-teeth on keel, usually violet suffused centrally or throughout; lower 2.5-4.5 mm, 1-nerved, long-triangular acute, awn 0.4-0.8 mm or absent, upper 3.5-5.3 mm, 3-nerved, oblong acute, awn 0.5-3 mm abrupt or tapering or absent. Lemma 5-7 mm, lobes 0 or minute, 5-nerved, glaucous, glabrous except below awn, scarcely keeled, margin long ciliate below shorter above; awn 1.5-4.2 mm. Palea 5.5-6.0 mm, greater than or equal to lemma, acute, deeply bifid, keels toothed above, interkeel hairs to base denser at apex, flank margins ciliate. Callus 0.2-0.5 mm, sparsely bearded except near rachilla, articulation ± flat to oblique. Rachilla 1.0-1.6 mm, densely short stiff hairy. Lodicules 0.7-1.2 mm, lobed, hair-tipped or glabrous. Anthers 2-3 mm, yellow or golden. Ovary 0.6 mm, hispid hairs at apex or absent; stigma-styles 2 mm. Seed 3.5 mm

Flowering

Unknown - insufficiently studied and collected

Flower Colours

Yellow

Fruiting

Unknown - insufficiently studied and collected

Propagation Technique

Easy from fresh seed and division of whole plants. Grows best in well drained, magnesium enriched soil. Can be very slow growing. Will not flower at low altitudes in warm areas and dislikes humidity

Threats

A local endemic, abundant within its preferred habitat and geographic range

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