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  4. Carmichaelia uniflora

Carmichaelia uniflora

Selwyn District, Canterbury.<br>Photographer: Jane Gosden, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Selwyn District, Canterbury.<br>Photographer: Jane Gosden, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Selwyn District, Canterbury.<br>Photographer: Jane Gosden, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Selwyn District, Canterbury.<br>Photographer: Jane Gosden, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Selwyn District, Canterbury.<br>Photographer: Jane Gosden, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Waimakariri river, January.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
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Common names

Dwarf broom

Biostatus

Native – Endemic taxon

Category

Vascular

Structural class

Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons

Simplified description

Very small (to 6cm tall) low-growing cushion with scattered erect small flattened twigs that barely poke above the surrounding vegetation. Twigs short, 1-2mm wide. Flowers usually solitary, pea-like, purple-striped. Fruit a small dry sharp-tipped pod which splits widely to release the 4-6 hard seeds.

Flower colours

Violet/Purple, White

Detailed description

Dwarf, rhizomatous shrub, up to 20-60 mm tall and 1 m wide, forming a dense mat or tufts of cladodes. Rhizomes becoming increasingly stout and woody with age, 50.0-200.0 × 1.0-2.5 mm. Cladodes filiform, linear, striate, compressed, erect to spreading, green to green-yellow, glabrous, 20.00-60.00 × 0.75-2.00 mm; apex subacute, yellow to yellow- green; leaf nodes 2-14. Leaves simple, broad-obovate to broad-elliptic, fleshy, entire, green, present on seedlings, absent on mature plants, 5.5-8.0 × 3.0-5.0 mm; both surfaces with scattered hairs; apex emarginate to retuse; base cuneate to narrow-obtuse; petiole sparsely hairy, 2.0-2.5 mm long. Leaves on cladodes reduced to a scale, triangular, glabrous, 0.6-1.5 × 0.8-1.4 mm; apex acute. Inflorescence a raceme, 1 per node, each with l-2 flowers. Peduncle glabrous, occasionally sparsely hairy, green, 4-15 mm long. Bracts, triangular, glabrous, pale green, 0.5-0.8 × 0.5-0.8 mm; apex acute; margin hairy. Pedicel glabrous, occasionally sparsely hairy, pale green, 3.0-7.5 mm long. Bracteoles at top of pedicel, triangular to narrow triangular, glabrous, green and occasionally flushed red, 0.2-0.3 × 0.1-0.2 mm; apex acute; margin hairy. Calyx campanulate, c.2.5 × c.2.5 mm; inner surface glabrous, green; outer surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, green. Calyx lobes triangular, flushed red, c.0.5 mm long; apex acute; margin hairy or glabrous. Bud green. Standard obovate, patent, 8-10 × 6-8 mm; upper surface white, central area purple, sometimes purple-green veined; lower surface green, margin cream-green, sometimes purple-green veined; apex retuse; claw pale green, c. 1.5 mm long. Wings oblong, shorter than keel, 5.0-6.5 × c.2.0 mm; distal area of adaxial surface purple, proximal area green; abaxial surface white, sometimes purple-veined; auricle triangular, pale green, apex obtuse, c.1.25 mm long; claw pale green. Keel 6.0-8.0 × 2.5-3.0 mm; distal area of adaxial surface purple, proximal area pale green; distal area of abaxial surface dark, proximal area pale green; auricle triangular, pale green, c. 0.75 mm long, with obtuse apex; claw pale green, 2.0-2.5 mm long. Stamens 7.5-9.0 mm long; lower filaments connate for c. 2A length and outside filaments free for 1.5-2.5 mm. Pistil exserted beyond stamens, c.10 mm long; style with a ring of hairs below stigma; ovules 9-11. Pod elliptic-oblong, laterally compressed, weakly falcate, black, brown, or grey, one valve dehiscent from base, 7.5-13.0 × 3.0-4.0 mm; beak on adaxial suture, slightly upturned, stout, pungent, 1.5-2 mm long. Seeds oblong-reniform, 2-9 per pod, black, brown, tan, or olive green, 1.2-2.0 × 1.0-1.5 mm.

Similar taxa

Distinguished from C. corrugata Colenso by its narrower, thread-like rhizome; strongly dehiscent pod; cladodes which are narrower, thread-like, much less robust, often shorter, and green in colour; and by the usually single-flowered inflorescence.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Nelson, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland).

Habitat

Inhabiting stable but unconsolidiated, sparsely vegetated river bed gravels, outwash fans, terraces, and stony ground.

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 – Declining | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, RF

Jump to previous conservation statuses

Threats

Probably threatened. However, there is insufficient data available to make an accurate assessment. It is known to be at risk from browsing animals and competition from weeds such as pasture grasses.

Detailed taxonomy

Family

Fabaceae

Authority

Carmichaelia uniflora Kirk

Synonyms

Carmichaelia uniflora var. suteri (Colenso) G.Simpson; Carmichaelia uniflora Buchanan; Carmichaelia suteri Colenso

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Ecology

Flowering

October - March

Fruiting

November - May

Propagation technique

Easily grown from seed and hardwood cuttings.

Other information

Etymology

carmichaelia: After Carmichael, a botanist

uniflora: Single-flowered

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.

CRMUNI

Chromosome number

2n = 96

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: DP

2012 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: DP

2009 | Data Deficient

2004 | Not Threatened

Jump to current conservation status

Regional conservation statuses

Otago: 2024 | Regionally Data Deficient

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

Heenan, P.B. 1995: A taxonomic revision of Carmichaelia (Fabaceae - Galegeae) in New Zealand (part I). New Zealand Journal of Botany 33: 455-475.

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 11(4): 285-309.

Attribution

Description adapted from Heenan (1995)

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