Celmisia dubia
Common names
mountain daisy
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Woody-based herb with branchlets arising from a simple or multicipital stock, usually hidden below ground; living leaves in rosettes at the tips of branchlets, the whole plant forming an irregular patch of one to several rosettes; leaf sheaths densely imbricate and compacted, forming a pseudo-stem. Leaf lamina (2.3)-8-(15) x (0.7)-1.6-(3) cm, subcoriaceous, erect when young but becoming patent (especially in small plants from exposed sites); upper surface usually sulcate, concolorous, sometimes slightly bronzed, covered by a thick lead-coloured dull pellicle; lower surface densely covered in glistening appressed tomentum, midrib prominent, often purple; tip acute; margins entire or with fine distinct teeth, often recurved; base narrowed to a distinct petiole up to 3 cm long. Sheath up to 6 x 1.5 cm, purple, glabrate. Scape purple, sparsely clad in floccose white hairs, often slender, up to 25 cm long; bracts several, erect, up to 4 cm long, margins revolute; monocephalous. Ray florets 20-60, ligulate, the limb narrow-linear, white. Disc florets 20-80, c. 6 mm long, funneliform, yellow, long eglandular biseriate hairs along most of tube. Achene fusiform to obovoid, strongly grooved, 2.5- 6 mm long, glabrous or with numerous bifid hairs. Pappus unequal, 4-7 mm long, of c. 30 barbellate bristles.
Similar taxa
Allied to Celmisia insignis, C. monroi, C. morganii and C. semicordata., from which species it differs by the combination of having erect or openly spreading but more or less flat leaves that are > 20 mm wide, up to 150 mm long, and with a dull leaden pellicle, and by possessing a distinct petiole and purple (rarely greenish) sheath.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island: North-West Nelson (Boulder Lake and Gouland Downs area, south to Mount Rochfort near Westport, Stockton and Denniston, and the southern Paparoa Range (Mount Watson, Mount Davy).
Habitat
Montane to alpine. A species of impoverished or infertile skeletal soils. Commonly found in rock crevices, fellfield, or on very thin, infertile soils, also in sparse grassland. Celmisia dubia is the dominant Celmisia associated with the impoverished, water saturated, thin soils developed on quartzites overlying coal measures.
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 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Celmisia coriacea var. lancifolia Cheeseman
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October - February
Fruiting
November - April
Propagation technique
Easily grown in a shaded site, planted within a permanently moist, free draining, acidic soil. Dislikes humidity and will not tolerate drying out. Best grown from fresh seed which should be sown immediately or stratified in a fridge or freezer for 1-3 months
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Etymology
celmisia: Apparently named after Kelmis, one of Idaean Dactyls, a group of skilled mythical beings associated with the Mother Goddess Rhea in Greek mythology. Kelmis, whose name means ‘casting’, was a blacksmith and childhood friend of Zeus, son of Rhea and later king of the gods. In Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’, Kelmis is described as offending Zeus who turned him into adamant so he was as hard as a tempered blade
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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.
CELDUB
Chromosome number
2n = 108
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 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DP
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Given, D.R. 1980: A taxonomic revision of Celmisia coriacea (Forst.f.) Hook.f. and its immediate allies (Astereae-Compositae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 18: 127-140.
Attribution
Description from Given (1980)