Lobelia fugax
Synonyms
None (described in 2008)
Family
Campanulaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Chromosome number
2n = 14
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, EF, RR, Sp
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, EF, RR, Sp
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: EF, RR
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand; South Island (north west Nelson)
Habitat
Montane. A species of the ephemeral and shallow margins of cirque lakes, in areas subjected to frequent cycles of inundation and wave-wash where it grows on cobble pavement within a matrix of accumulated fine silts, peat and mosses
Detailed description
Diminutive, creeping, prostrate, glabrous herb; rooting at leaf nodes. Leaves alternate, upright to spreading; lamina 3.0–6.0 × 3.0–4.0 mm, obovate, oblong, broadly elliptic, green, sometimes blotched purple-brown near base and on main veins, midvein faint, lateral veins faint to obscure, margin with 5–7 prominent teeth or serrations; petiole 0.5–2.0 × 0.6–0.9 mm. Flowers hermaphrodite, resupinate, axillary, solitary; peduncle 0.5–5.7 mm long. Calyx with short tube adnate to ovary; lobes 5, 0.6–1.3 × 0.3–0.4 mm, green, narrowly triangular to lanceolate; apex subacute and with conspicuous translucent tip. Corolla up to 3.5 mm long in late bud, 1.2–2.5 mm diameter when open, white; tube 1.5–2.2 × c.0.8 mm, fused; lobes 4–5, 0.9–1.3 × 0.5–0.7 mm, narrow lanceolate, recurved, apex subacute, front 2–3 lobes flushed green near sinus. Filaments 2.0–2.2 × 0.1–0.2 mm, fused below anthers, adnate to corolla tube on lower third, white in distal part, becoming translucent and flushed green toward proximal part. Anthers 0.4–0.5 mm long, united into a tube around style, yellow-brown to light brown. Nectary annular, c. 0.15 mm high, green; apex sparsely hairy, hairs < 0.1 mm long. Ovary 1.2–2.0 × 0.8–1.2 mm, green, apex obtuse. Style 2.0–2.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm wide, white, exserted beyond anthers. Stigma bilobed, lobes 0.2–0.4 × 0.2–0.4 mm, pink, subtended by whorl of hairs, hairs < 0.1 mm long. Capsule 2.3–2.9 × 1.6–2.2 mm, laterally compressed; thin-walled, seeds visible through wall, indehiscent and without apical valves, disintegrating with age; apex crowned with persistent style base; base obtuse to slightly cuneate. Seed buff-brown, obovate-oblong to broadly elliptic, 0.4–0.5 mm long.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from Lobelia fatiscens Heenan by its allopatric distribution, much smaller flowers and diploid (2n = 14) chromosome number
Flowering
November - February
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Fruiting
December - April
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.
Threats
Known from five sites that all receive legal protection within Kahurangi National Park, with an estimated total area of occupancy of c.280 square m and the estimated total cover for the species is less than 25 square m. At all sites it is threatened by introduced weeds and there is some suggestion of ongoing habitat deterioration. Previously recorded as Hypsela aff. rivalis (CHR 369981; Burgoo Stream) in de Lange et al., 2004, Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 45-76.
Etymology
lobelia: Named after Lobel, pioneer botanist
fugax: From the Latin fugax ‘fleeting, transitory, ephemeral’
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Attribution
Description modified from Heenan et al. (2008).
References and further reading
Heenan et al. 2008: Generic placement in Lobelia and revised taxonomy for New Zealand species previously in Hypsela and Isotoma (Lobeliaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 87–100