Cardamine corymbosa
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Simplified description
Forming small rosettes, sometimes with offsets resulting in patches a metre of more in diameter, leaves more or less appressed to the ground. Flowering stalks with one or few flowers.
Flower colours
White
Similar taxa
C, heleniae, but its leaves are conspicuously hairy.
Distribution
Throughout much of lowland to montane NZ, often on fertile soils e.g. river flats and limestone.
Habitat
Heenan (2017) stated “C. corymbosa occurs in a wide variety of habitats, including crevices, ledges and shaded overhangs on rock outcrops and bluffs, among rocky debris, on stream banks, open sites in forest and forest margins, among herbs and grasses in turf vegetation, in muddy hollows, among damp rocks, on seasonally dry or periodically inundated surfaces of tarn and lake margins, and open and dry areas under manuka and kanuka forest. It often occurs on disturbed surfaces associated with bird burrows, margins of scree, eroded cliff edges, slips and vehicle tracks.” It can be a weed in urban areas, in lawns, paths, bare soil and in garden pots and glasshouses.
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
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Brassicaceae
Synonyms
Cardamine uniflora (Hook.f.) Allan . Heenan(2017) suggests there may be more than one taxon in C. corymbosa, as he defined it.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are dispersed by ballistic projection, water and attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
cardamine: From the Greek name kárdamon, referring to an Indian spice
corymbosa: Bearing flowers in corymbs
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.
CARCOY
Chromosome number
2n = 48
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
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
HEENAN, P.B. (2017). A taxonomic revision of Cardamine L. (Brassicaceae) in New Zealand. (Phytotaxa 330)