Carmichaelia curta
Common names
Waitaki broom, whip broom
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Slender yellow-green shrub with erect leafless twigs. Twigs oval in cross section, 2-2.5mm wide, grooved, young growth purplish. Leaves rare, sometimes in shaded parts, with 1-7 leaflets. Flowers small, pea-like, white with dark purple stripes. Fruit a small dry flattened pod containing 1-2 hard seeds, only partly opens.
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Detailed description
Spreading, sprawling, sparsely branched shrub 0.5-1 x 1-2(-2.5) m. Branches slender, whip-like, spreading to erect. Cladodes 150-450 x 2-2.5 mm, linear, striate, slender, olive green to brown-green, glabrescent. Leaves not persistent, 1-7-foliolate, upper surface mottled grey-green or brown-green. Single or terminal leaflet broad-elliptic to ovate 5-12 x 3-7 mm, lateral leaflets broad elliptic, ovate to obovate 3-4 x 1.8-2.5 mm. Inflorescence racemose, 1(-2) per node, each with 9-11 flowers. Calyx tubular, 2.5-3 x 2 mm, glabrous, green flushed red, lobes triangular. Standard obovate, spreading above wings, 3-4 x 3-4 mm, distal and central areas with purple blotch, otherwise pale green sometimes veined purple. Pods 4-6 x 2-2.5 mm, short-obovate or broad-elliptic. Seeds oblong-reniform, 1-2 per pod.
Similar taxa
Allied to Carmichaelia compacta Petrie and C. juncea Hook.f. and distinguished from both by the spreading and sprawling habit, sparsely placed and slender cladodes, short-obovate or broad-elliptic pods, intermediate seed size, and by the stamen filaments being almost fused with alternate anthers almost sessile.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island. Confined to the Waitaki, Clutha and Taieri Catchments. Long been known from near Falls Dam in the Manuherikia Valley (Clutha) and was recently found (Feb 2005) on the toeslopes of the northern Rock and Pillar Range (Taieri).
Habitat
A component of grey scrub usually growing on colluvial aprons and alluvium, particularly on river terraces and also on rock outcrops.
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 Critical | Qualifiers: DPS, RF
Threats
As an endemic of the highly modified Waitaki Valley and surrounding catchments, most populations of C. curta occur within habitats accessible to browsing animals, and so are severely damaged, and of those which are reproductive, recrutiment is often limiting due to suppression of seedling germination by weeds. The most secure populations are those which occur on rock outcrops and bluffs, but even then these are vulnerable to scrub fires. very few populations occur on protected land, and many occur on the median strip of roadsides where they are vulnerable to weed spraying and road works.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Huttonella curta (Petrie) Kirk, Carmichaelia curta var. glabra G.Simpson, Carmichaelia diffusa Petrie
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October - February (- July)
Fruiting
January - August
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are possibly dispersed by wind and granivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown from hardwood cuttings and seed. This species does best in dry climates with little or no humidity. For best results it should be planted in a fertile, free draining soil, in full sun.
Other information
Cultivation
Not commercially available but plants are held by several Botanic Gardens and specialist growers.
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.
CARCUR
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: DP, RF
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: De, RF
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: De, RF
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered
Regional conservation statuses
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.
Otago: 2024 | Threatened – Regionally Critical | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, NR, PF
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Heenan, P. B. 1995: A taxonomic revision of Carmichaelia (Fabaceae - Galegeae) in New Zealand (Part I). New Zealand Journal of Botany 33: 455–75.
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 30 November 2005. Description modified from Heenan (1995).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Carmichaelia curta Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/carmichaelia-curta/ (Date website was queried)