Celmisia gibbsii
Common names
Gibbs’s mountain daisy
Synonyms
None
Family
Asteraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
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.
CELGIB
Chromosome number
2n = 108
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Endemic. South Island: North-West Nelson (Kahurangi National Park - Mount Cobb, Waingaro Peak, Mount Lockett, Mount Zetland)
Habitat
Alpine in moist rocky places and fellfield:
Detailed description
Small shrublet with sparingly branched woody stems. Leaves numerous, closely imbricate along ascending branchlets. Lamina 10.0-20.0 × 2.0-3.5 mm, spreading from sheathing base, finally reflexed, linear-lanceolate, coriaceous, midrib impressed above, prominent below; upper surface glabrous, rather pale green; lower surface with rather sparse minute deciduous scurfy scales; apex thickened, obtuse to subacute; base hardly widened to membranous sheath bearing scurfy scales; margins thick, revolute almost to midrib. Scape ± 40-60 mm long, slender, sparsely clad in scurfy scales; bracts numerous, lamina linear-oblong, ± 4 mm long, sheath ± 3 mm long, appressed. Capitula 20-25 diameter; involucral bracts narrow-oblong, obtuse to subacute, ascending to patent, sometimes with tuft of hairs at tip, widened at base, up to c.7 mm long. Ray florets numerous, elliptic-oblong, 3-5-toothed, up to 15 mm long, bearing a few appressed hairs. Disk-florets tubular-funnelform, up to ± 6 mm long. Achenes c.2 mm long, narrow-cylindric, ribs with sparse stiff hairs. Pappus-hairs white, up to 5.5 mm long, very finely barbellate.
Similar taxa
Similar to Celmisia brevifolia from which it differs by its linear to lanceolate (rather than oblong to obovate-oblong) narrower leaves (up to 5 mm cf. 6-9 mm wide) with a narrowly obtuse, acute to acuminate leaf apex. The undersides of the leaves and the scapes of C. gibbsii are clad in scurfy scales.
Flowering
October - January
Fruiting
December - March
Life cycle
Pappate cypselae are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult. Best raised from fresh seed and grown in an alpine house.
Threats
A naturally uncommon species that does not appear to be actively threatened
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
gibbsii: Named in honor of Frederick G Gibbs (1866-1953)
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Attribution
Description adapted from 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.
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Government Printer, Wellington
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