Species

Gratiola pedunculata

Etymology

Gratiola: little beauty
pedunculata: flowers stalked

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Non Resident Native - Coloniser

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 - Non Resident Native - Coloniser
2004 - Non Resident Native - Coloniser

Qualifiers

2012 - SO
2009 - SO

Authority

Gratiola pedunculata R.Br.

Family

Plantaginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island Lakes Waiporohita and Rotokawau, (Karikari Peninsula), and Kai iwi lakes, Northland. Common in Australia

Habitat

In New Zealand G. pedunculata is only known from two northern North Island lakes where it is an uncommon emergent in shallow water, and a common species of those lakes marginal turf communities

Features

Erect, sparingly branched, perennial herb up to 450 mm tall; all parts except corolla densely covered in viscid indumentum of sessile, golden, globose glands and sparse glandular hairs. Stems lime-green or red-purple. Leaves sessile, 3-nerved, 8-18 x 3-10 mm, lime-green, ovate to lanceolate; margins widely toothed, leaf base amplexicaule. Flowers 1(-2) per leaf axis. Pedicels 10-12(-16) mm. Bracteoles 1-2(-3) mm, linear-falcate. Sepals 5, free, erect, narrowly lanceolate, 4-5 mm. Corolla white flushed yellow, with 12-14 longitudinal purple stripes; tube 6 mm, narrow, inner surface white, silky hairy; lobes 5, projecting forward, 1 mm long, upper lobe often shallowly 2-lobed. Anthers white, ovoid, 0.5 mm; filaments yellow, 2-3 mm, staminodes 2 or 0, filiform and minute. Style caducous 1.8-2.1 mm. Capsule 3-5 mm, broadly ovoid, exceeding calyx, septicidal to base.

Similar Taxa

A distinctive species whose sparingly branched, erect habit, extremely viscid indumentum, lime-green, unspotted leaves, and conspicuous pedicellate, sweetly scented flowers immediately distinguish it from the other three indigenous species.

Flowering

November – March

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

December – May

Propagation Technique

Easy from fresh seed and stem cuttings. Prone to slug and snail damage. Does best in sunny, permanently damp soil. The small inconspicuous flowers, while not overly attractive are very pleasantly scented.

Threats

Not threatened but still very uncommon in New Zealand. First discovered in New Zealand at Lake Waiporohita, Karikari Peninsula in November 1991 but it was not correctly identified until better material was collected in January 1996. Subsequently it has been discovered at Lake Rotokawau, also on the Karikari Peninsula and at the Kai iwi lakes. The seeds are probably dispersed by ducks and other dabbling water fowl.

Chromosome No.

2n = 32

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Mucilaginous seeds are dispersed by water and possibly wind and attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Where To Buy

Not commercially available.

 

Attribution

Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 23 May 2005. Description modified from de Lange (1997)

References and further reading

de Lange, P.J. 1997: Gratiola pedunculata (Scrophulariaceae): a new addition to the New Zealand flora. New Zealand Journal of Botany 35: 317-322

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 6 Dec 2014