Aciphylla hectorii
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Detailed description
Small tufted plant up to approximately 25 cm tall including inflorescence. Leaf-sheaths 30-50 x 8-10 mm, thin; stipules leaflike, rather rigid, 50-60 x 5 mm, oblong, abruptly narrowed to acicular apex; petioles stiff, flat, coriaceous, up to 10 mm long. Pinnae 1 pair, approximate to terminal leaflet 35-65 x 3-4 mm, rigid, margins finely crenulate-serrulate, abruptly narrowed to pungent apex. Flowering stems of male plants 20-30 cm long including dense to open inflorescence approximately 80-150 mm long. Bract-sheaths up to approximately 15 mm long; stipules very narrow, spreading, pungent, approximately 10 mm long; lamina up to 20 mm long. Umbels about 10 mm diameter, on very slender rays; umbellules very small, on filiform rays. Flowering stems of female plants grooved, up to 30 cm long including dense inflorescence up to 15 cm long. Bract-sheaths approximately 10 x 5 mm, submembranous; stipules up to 20 mm long; lamina approximately 30 mm long. Umbels roughly enclosed in sheaths, on short rays; umbellules small, close-set, on very short rays. Fruit approximately 4 mm long; mericarps 3-5 winged.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, central and western Otago, and south Westland.
Habitat
Higher montane to sub-alpine (1000-1800 m.a.s.l.) herbfield to snow tussock-herbfield and fellfield, favouring rock crevices.
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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- 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 | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Apiaceae
Taxonomic notes
Dawson & LeComte suggest this species is part of the group with milky juice. They also suggest two other earlier described species A. poppelwellii and A. verticillata, both of which were described from one wild specimen, may have been this species which had been growing in varied environments.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - January
Fruiting
January - March
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.
hectorii: Named after Sir James Hector, 19th century New Zealand geologist and botanist who was originally from Scotland
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.
ACIHEC
Chromosome number
2n = 22
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DP
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 1. Wellington: Government Printer. pg. 472.
Dawson, J.W. LeComte, J.R. 1978. Research on Aciphylla - a progress report. Tuatara 23: pg. 49-67.
Mark, A. F. 2012. Above the Treeline: A Nature Guide to Alpine New Zealand. Craig Potton Publishing, Nelson. pg. 144.
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
Attribution
Description adapted by M. Ward from Allan (1961).
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.