Celmisia polyvena
Common names
Tin Range mountain daisy
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Silvery-white to white solitary, clumped or extensive patch forming herb. Branches slender, variable, clad in persistent leaf-remnants; branchlets densely clad in imbricate, ascending, spreading to recurved leaves. Lamina variable 10-60 × 5-15 mm, narrow-linear, linear to lanceolate, subcoriaceous, upper and lower surfaces silvery-white, upper surface ribbed, pellicle persistent, underside with inrolled margin and raised purplish midrib. Scapes 100–150 mm long, purplish, slender, clothed with fine woolly tomentum; bracts numerous, linear-lanceolate, silvery tomentose, with broad, purplish sheathing bases. Heads 25 mm diameter; involucral bracts brownish, pubescent, spreading at the tips; ray florets white, obcuneate, rounded at the tip. Achenes 3 mm long, linear, pointed at the base, slightly widening towards the tip, silky.
Similar taxa
On Stewart Island (where this species is endemic) it is mostly likely to be confused with plants attributed to C. graminifolia and C. alpina. From plants of the C. graminifolia aggregate it differs by the silvery-white mostly narrowly linear to linear, inrolled leaves (rather than mostly flat (or inrolled) leaves which are brownish to brown-green and often patterned above; and by the purplish rather than pale green or white scapes. From C. alpine, C. polyvena differs by the larger size, and broader, less inrolled, silvery-white rather than very narrow, tightly inrolled, brown or grey-green leaves, purple rather than pale scape, and much larger capitula. Celmisia polyvena is part of the C. gracilenta - C. graminifolia complex.
Distribution
Endemic. Stewart Island: south of, and including Mt Rakeahua - mostly in the Tin Range
Habitat
Lowland to subalpine in poorly draining grassland, tussockland, shrubland, mires and similar boggy ground and in seepages within rock crevices
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 – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, RR
Threats
A naturally uncommon species that does not appear to be actively threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November - December
Fruiting
February - April
Life cycle and dispersal
Pappate cypselae are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Unknown. Probably easy from fresh seed, and plants are likely to require a shaded site, planted within a permanently moist soil.
Other information
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
polyvena: Many-veined (leaves)
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.
CELPOL
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: IE, RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
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: 285-309
Attribution
Description based on limited herbarium material.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Celmisia polyvena Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/celmisia-polyvena/ (Date website was queried)