Species

Geum albiflorum

Etymology

Geum: Possibly from the Greek geuo 'to give a pleasant flavour', the roots of some species being aromatic.
albiflorum: white flowers

Common Name(s)

Auckland Island Geum/Avens

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 - Data Deficient

Qualifiers

2012 - IE, RR
2009 - IE

Authority

Geum albiflorum (Hook.f.) Scheutz

Family

Rosaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Oncostylus albiflorus (Hook.f.) F.Bolle; Sieversia albiflora Hook.f., Geum aucklandicum Greene, G. sericeum Kirk, G. parviflorum var. albiflorum (Hook.f) Allan.

Distribution

Endemic to the Auckland Islands.

Habitat

On cliff faces and rock strewn ground, usually near high points.

Features

Leafy, silky-hairy, rossette forming herb. Leaves 2-3 cm long, orbicular-cordate (circular to heart-shaped) or reniform (shaped like a kidney), bright to dull green, minutely lobed or crenate-toothed, hairy and rough textured on undersides, silky hairy above. Lateral leaflets absent or if present minute. Inflorescence on a stout, downy, 6-12 cm tall stalk, bearing 1-3 toothed bracts. Flowers in racemes, or solitary and terminal, subtended by ovate bracteoles. Calyx tube open, silky, calyx-lobes narrow, ovate to subacute. Petals white, only just exceeding calyx, bilobed (retuse). Achenes (seeds) with a short stalk, ovate, compressed, copiously covered in silky hairs, style remnant shorter than achene, hooked.

Similar Taxa

Morphologically similar to G. cockaynei, a common species of the North and South Islands, which does not occur on the Auckland Islands. G. albiflorum differs from it by its smaller leaves, 3-5 flowered inflorescences, and by the styles which are shorter than the achenes.

Flowering

No information available

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

No information available

Propagation Technique

Probably difficult to grow without an alpine house. Fresh seed should germinate easily.

Threats

Geum albiflorum is probably not threatened. However, because it is an island endemic restricted to an remote island archipelago, and it has not always been accepted as a distinct taxon, its abundance in the wild remains unknown. It is for this reason it has been listed as Data Deficient.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Pappate achenes are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Attribution

Fact Sheet Prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 August 2004). Description based on Hooker (1844)

References and further reading

Hooker, J.D. 1844: The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843.1. Flora Antarctica Part I. Botany of Lord Auckland’s Group and Campbell’s Island ed. London., Reeve, Brothers. 208 p.

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 27 Sep 2014