Aciphylla colensoi
Common names
giant speargrass, taramea
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Simplified description
Large thick spikey green-leaved clumps with an obvious yellow flower spike. Leaf midrib obvious and red or reddish-orange
Flower colours
Yellow
Detailed description
Small to large tufted herb to 1 m tall when in flower. Rosettes single or multiple. Leaves many, stout, 1-pinnate to occasionally 2-pinnate, to 30-50 cm long; sheath thin, to 6 cm long; stipules stiff, simple or occasionally with small accessory pinnules, to 70 cm long x 4 mm wide, tapering, pungent; petioles to 10 cm long, stout, winged; lower internodes (inter-pinna spacing) 3-4 cm long, decreasing up leaf; pinnae 2-4 pairs, slender, strongly serrulate, midrib broad, prominent, red to orange, lower laminae of pinna to c. 20-40(-45) cm long x c. 12 mm wide, narrowing to pungent apex. Flowering stem of male and female similar (female narrower and darker), narrow-oblong, 1 m or more long; lower bract sheaths to 30 x 12 mm tapering to long pungent tips; lower bract lamina ribbed, c. 10 cm long x 3-4 mm wide, with stout prominent red to yellow midrib, apex with pungent point to 3 mm long. Umbels crowded, distributed along from near base of flower spike peduncle; umbellules crowded, on slender rays to 1 cm long. Fruit of two mericarps; mericarps narrow to elliptic, (7.0-)8.0-12.0 mm, with 3-4(-5) even narrowly winged ribs, other ribs not evident, vittae evident as dark ribs between wings or largely obscured
Similar taxa
Similar in some aspects to Aciphylla scott-thomsonii, but this species is larger, glaucous and without the obvious reddish midveins.
Distribution
Endemic. North and South Islands. Mt Hikurangi south to mid-Canterbury
Habitat
Montane to low-alpine grassland and shrubland. 900-1500 m a.s.l.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Winged schizocarps are dispersed primarily by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Other information
Etymology
aciphylla: From the Latin acicula ‘needle’ and the Greek phyllum ‘leaf’, meaning needle-leaf.
colensoi: Named after William Colenso (7 November 1811 - 10 February 1899) who was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
ACICOL
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Alla, H. H. 1961.Flora of New Zealand, Volume 1: Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Wellington, New Zealand.
Mark, A.F; Adams, N.M. 1995. New Zealand alpine plants, 2nd Edition. Godwit Publishing, Auckland
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 2009 Vol. 11 No. 4 pp. 285-309
Webb, C.J. & Simpson, M.J.A. 2001. Seeds of NZ gymnosperms and dicotyledons. Manuka Press, Christchurch
Attribution
Description adapted from Allan (1961), Mark Adams (1995) and Webb, C.J. & Simpson (2001).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.