Brachyglottis kirkii var. kirkii
Common names
kohurangi, Kirk’s daisy, oro
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Fleshy small green usually epiphytic shrub bearing large white daisy-like flowers. Twigs reddish-purple, brittle, with old leaf scars. Leaves, shiny, fleshy, with a few large lobes on margin. Flowers with long white radiating petals around a yellow centre, clustered together.
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
A spring flowering, usually epiphytic shrub to 1.5 m tall with purple stems and grey bark developed on old wood. Leaves 40–100 × 20–40 mm, fleshy, variable in shape, usually toothed in upper ⅓, hairless, upper surface pale to dark green, often tinged maroon, undersides paler. Flowers 30 × 40 mm diameter, borne in dense inflorescences of 3–20 flowers, the individual daisy-like flowers have white petals (rays). Fruits dry, windborne, dandelion structures.
Similar taxa
A very distinctive species. However, because it is usually epiphytic and so often well out of reach, plants could be confused with the epiphytic Pittosporum kirkii and P. cornifolium. These pittosporums have leathery leaves, non-daisy like flowers and round fruits which split to reveal hard black seeds embedded within sticky gum.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (locally scattered throughout).
Habitat
An epiphyte of lowland to lower montane forest, sometimes terrestrial.
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 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: CD, DPT
Threats
This plant is intolerant of browse and targeted by possums, goats and deer.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Senecio kirkii var kirkii Hook.f ex Kirk; Urostemon kirkii var. kirkii (Kirk) B.Nord., Senecio neo-zeylandicus Druce, Senecio glastifolius Hook.f. nom. illegit.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
August–October
Fruiting
October–December
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and semi hardwood cuttings but, as a rule, difficult to maintain in cultivation.
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for October 2006 for the full story.
Etymology
brachyglottis: Name comes from the Greek words brachus meaning “short” and glottis meaning “the vocal apparatus of the larynx”
kirkii: After Thomas Kirk (18 January 1828 - 8 March 1898), a NZ botanist and lecturer in natural sciences and regarded as a leader of botanical enquiry in NZ for over three decades. One of his most significant publications was Forest flora of NZ (1889) but he also contributed over 130 papers to the Transactions and Proceedings of the NZ Institute and other journals.
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.
BRAKVK
Chromosome number
2n = 60
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 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DP
2012 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: DP
2009 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: DP
2004 | Serious Decline
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Threatened – Regionally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: CD, DPR, DPS, DPT, PF, RR
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Newhook FJ. 1943. Variation in Senecio kirkii Hook.f. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 72: 341–346. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TPRSNZ1942-72.2.7.27.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange for NZPCN (1 June 2013)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Brachyglottis kirkii var. kirkii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/brachyglottis-kirkii-var-kirkii/ (Date website was queried)