Brachyglottis myrianthos
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS, DPT, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Rare small sparse shrub inhabiting shaded streams of the northern North Island. Leaves thin, longer than wide, base of leaf indented, margin with large sharp teeth and a sharp tip, underneath purpleish-white and veins are obvious. Flowers small, white, in inconspicuous sprays.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Sparingly branched shrub up to 4 m. tall with black bark. Branches slender, thinly tomentose when young. Leaves membranous, becoming glabrous above, clad below in thin appressed silvery tomentum; lamina 7–18 cm long, oblong- to elliptic-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, obliquely subcordate at base, sharply and coarsely doubly dentate; petiole 2–5 cm. long. Capitula approximately 1 cm diameter, numerous, in large terminal panicles, on slender pedicels densely clad in dark glandular hairs. Phyllaries approximately 8, linear-oblong, obtuse, scarious, glabrous; ray-florets 4–6, ligules approximately 3–4 mm long, broad, white. Achenes approximately 1.5 mm long, compressed, grooved, hispido-papillose; pappus-hairs up to 5 mm long, stiff, barbellate.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island, Coromandel, Hunua Ranges, eastern Northland.
Habitat
Ravines and stream-sides.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Senecio myrianthos Cheeseman, Senecio cheesemanii Hook.f.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–January
Fruiting
December–March
Life cycle and dispersal
Pappate achenes are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Other information
Etymology
brachyglottis: Name comes from the Greek words brachus meaning “short” and glottis meaning “the vocal apparatus of the larynx”
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.
BRAMYR
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 | At Risk – Relict | Qualifiers: DP, RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Extirpated
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
Allan HH. 1961. Flora of New Zealand, Volume I. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 1085 p.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
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.