Carmichaelia crassicaulis subsp. crassicaulis
Past favourite plant finalist
Common names
coral broom
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Rare robust shrub with erect leafless thick blunt-tipped grooved branches. Branches to 1cm in diameter, tip oval in cross section, grooves filled with white fuzz. Flowers small, pea-like, pale pink, streaked with purple. Fruit a small dry hairy pod with a long curved tip and containing 1-3 hard yellow seeds.
Flower colours
Cream, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Rigid shrub up to 2m tall. Branches stout, erect, yellowish-green, deeply grooved with numerous parallel hair-lined grooves. Branchlets similar but somewhat flattened, up to 1cm or more diameter, new growth densely covered in white hairs. Juvenile leaves almost round, adult leaves oblong. Plants nearly leafless when mature. Flowers creamy coloured, 6mm long, up to 20 in a tight cluster. Flower stalks and sepals covered in thick, soft, white hair. Seed pods 6-7mm long, rounded, usually one-seeded.
Similar taxa
Other Carmichaelia species. C. crassicaule has stout, erect, grooved branches, compressed one-seeded pods and tight bundles of flowers with woolly sepals.
Distribution
South Island: east of the main divide.
Habitat
Upland and subalpine grassland, scrub and rock.
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: RF
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Corallospartium crassicaule (Hook.f.) J.B.Armstr.; Corallospartium crassicaule var. crassicaule (Hook.f.) J.B.Armstr.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - January
Fruiting
March - May
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are possibly dispersed by wind and granivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed. Can be grown with some difficulty from semi hardwood cuttings. Dislikes humidity and once established should not be moved.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Etymology
carmichaelia: After Carmichael, a botanist
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.
CARCSC
Chromosome number
2n = 32
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 – Declining | Qualifiers: RF
2012 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: RF
2009 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: RF
2004 | Gradual Decline
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2024 | At Risk – Regionally Declining | Qualifiers: NR, NStr, PF, RF, TL
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Wellington, Government Printer.
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
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange 28 October 2009. Description based on 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.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Carmichaelia crassicaulis subsp. crassicaulis Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carmichaelia-crassicaulis-subsp-crassicaulis/ (Date website was queried)