Brachyscome pinnata
Common names
Lees Valley daisy
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 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: DPR, DPT, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Rosette forming, stoloniferous herb of open sites within short tussock grassland, producing small, diffuse, circular patches. Leaves succulent fleshy, coriaceous, 15–80 × 5–8 mm, dark green, red-green or bronze-green, narrowly linear-oblong to lanceolate, increasing in width toward apex, pinnatifid or deeply lobed, lobes 8–10 (or more), orbicular, close-set (not or scarcely overlapping) entire. Flowers on solitary stalks 1–4 (or more) per rosette; 50–180 mm long, slender, wiry, dark brown to brown-black, somewhat glandular pubescent toward capitula. Capitula 15–25 mm diameter. Phyllaries narrow-oblong to lanceolate, 4–8 mm long, usually glabrous, sometimes minutely glandular pubescent; margins finely ciliolate to erose. Ray-florets white, 8–12 mm long. Disc-florets yellow. Achenes not seen.
Similar taxa
Allied to, and generally included by most recent treatments of New Zealand Brachyscome within B. sinclairii Hook.f. From that species, B. pinnata is best distinguished by its consistently pinnate (deeply lobed) leaves. There is some evidence (B.G.Murray pers. comm.) to suggest that there are chromosome (karyotype) differences as well.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, Canterbury only. Allan (1961) (as. B. sinclairii var. pinnata (Hook.f.) Allan) considered this plant to be widespread throughout the eastern South Island and Stewart Island. However, herbarium evidence suggests it has always been a Canterbury endemic.
Habitat
Exact habitat preferences are uncertain. This species has been recently gathered from only one location. Here it grows amongst short grasses (mainly Rytidosperma spp.), small, annual weeds and mosses or at the base of kānuka (Kunzea robusta de Lange et Toelken) shrubs on stony alluvium shrubland. Old herbarium specimens provide few if any useful habitat details.
Threats
Seriously at risk from extinction and only known from a single site with 4 patches, possibly representing separate clones. Viable seed has not been produced by any of these plants. The plants might be so closely related that they will be unable to self or cross with each other. The species’ habitat is vulnerable to seasonal drought, fire (the only known habitat was completely burned over several years ago), and weed invasion. The release of rabbit calcivirus near the wild B. pinnata population and subsequent loss of rabbits has led to a change in vegetation from the open, stunted grassland the species seems to need to one dominated by tall grasses. Now seriously threatened by grass competition such that the plants need to be regularly weeded.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Brachyscome sinclairii var. pinnata (Hook.f.) Allan
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October - May
Fruiting
Unknown - the only known wild population does not appear to set viable seed
Propagation technique
Easily grown from division of whole plants. An excellent pot plant or species for a rock garden. It will not tolerate much shade and does best in a sunny aspect planted within a free draining, fertile soil.
Other information
Etymology
brachyscome: From Greek brachys ‘short’ and comus ‘hair’, refers to the lack of papys on the fruit
pinnata: From the Latin pinna ‘feather’, in botany pinnatus ‘pinnate’ refers an arrangement of leaves, veins or branches in rows along a central axis, similar to the structure of a feather.
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.
BRAPIN
Chromosome number
2n = 18
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 Critical | Qualifiers: RR
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, RR
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Norton, D.A.; Rolfe, J.R.; Sawyer, J.W.D. 2010: Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Christchurch, Canterbury University Press. 471 p.
Johnson, A. T., Smith, H. A. (1972). Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd: Buckenhill, UK.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 October 2003. Description from de Lange et al. (2010).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Brachyscome pinnata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/brachyscome-pinnata/ (Date website was queried)