Celmisia rutlandii
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Woody-based herb with branchlets arising from a sparsely multicipital stock, usually close to the soil surface; living leaves in rosettes at the tips of branchlets, the whole plant forming a clump of 1-8 rosettes; leaf sheaths densely imbricate and compacted, forming a pseudo-stem. Leaf lamina 50-130 x 15-35 mm, coriaceous and rigid, all but the oldest leaves erect, lanceolate-ovate; upper surface sulcate, finely wrinkled when dry, concolorous, yellowish green, usually glabrous; lower surface densely covered in glistening appressed tomentum, usually silvery when fresh but buff in dried specimens, midrib prominent and purple; tip acute; margins entire, recurved; base usually cordate; petiole up to 6 cm long, purple. S heath up to 70 x 25 mm, purple, clad in floccose, white hairs. Scape purple, clad in floccose, white hairs, up to 250 mm long; bracts several in upper part, erect, linear; monocephalous. Ray florets c. 40, ligulate, the limb linear, white. Disc florets c. 60, 5 mm long, funneliform, yellow, tube with eglandular biseriate hairs. Achene fusiform-cylindric, obscurely grooved, 3-5 mm long, hairs scattered to dense in upper half; hairs short, appressed, bifid. Pappus unequal, 5-6 mm long, of 25-30 barbellate bristles.
Similar taxa
This species is readily distinguished from the other Celmisia of the C. coriacea complex by the combination of purple sheaths and stiff, cordate leaf laminas lacking a pellicle. From those species Given (1980) aligned it with the north Westland endemic C. morganii from which he distinguished it by the shorter leaves (up to 130 cf. 150 mm long in C. morganii); by the leaf lamina rigid and erect rather than flaccid; by the upper lamina surface coloured yellowish green rather than dark green; and by the finely wrinkled rather than sulcate lamina surface when dry.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island: Mount Stokes; Richmond Range and Wairau mountains (Mount Patriarch, Mount Richmond, Mount Fishtail, Royal Knob, Mount Sunday, Mount Riley.
Habitat
Alpine. Fellfield and crevices in rock outcrops surrounded by tussock grassland.
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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- 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: Sp, DPS, DPT
Threats
A naturally uncommon species that does not appear to be actively threatened.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November - February
Fruiting
December - April
Life cycle
Pappate cypselae are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed. Celmisia rutlandii is one of the few Celmisia species that are easily grown in most climates, though it dislikes high humidity. Best grown in a moist, free draining soil, within some afternoon shade.
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
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.
CELRUT
Chromosome number
2n = 108
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
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.
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 from Given (1980)