Centrolepis ciliata
Common names
centrolepis
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Yellow
Detailed description
Diminutive, moss like herbs forming very broad, dark red-green to red-brown, broad, raised cushions up to 300 mm wide and up to 80 mm tall. Roots rather thick, fleshy, white or grey, up to 0.5 mm diameter. Stems very closely packed. Leaves 5–25 mm long, distichous, closely imbricate, setaceous, lamina channelled or terete, tip minutely acicular; sheath with ciliate margins, often produced at the tip into a ligule. Flowering stems > leaves. Glume-like bracts 2, ± equal, minutely papillate, tips inrolled, apparently opposite but the lowermost encloses a short peduncle bearing the upper glume and its flowers. Pseudanthia 1–2 in the lower bract, 1 rarely 2 in the upper, each subtended by a hyaline scale. Male flower 1 or 0 in each pseudanthium. Female flower 2 (rarely 1) in each pseudanthium; stigmas bright red, not connate at the base. Seed slightly < 1 mm long, oblong-elliptical, pale yellow, apiculate at each end, one tip very dark.
Similar taxa
Recognised by the moss-like, compact, dark red-green to brown-green, broad, raised cushions, and leaves which have finely ciliate sheaths rather than ciliate sheaths and leaves.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island (from Central Volcanic Plateau and adjacent main axial ranges south), South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, Auckland Islands and Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku. Also Tasmania.
Habitat
In upper montane, subalpine to alpine bogs through main islands but descending to sea level in the pakihi of Westland, in Southland, Stewart Island/Rakiura and in the Subantarctic islands.
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
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Gaimardia ciliata Hook.f.; Alepyrum ciliatum (Hook.f.) Hieron.; Centrolepis viridis Kirk; Centrolepis viridis Kirk var. ligulata (Kirk) Cheeseman; Pseudalepyrum ciliatum (Hook.f.) Dandy; Pseudalepyrum ciliatum (Hook.f.) Dandy var. ligulatum (Kirk) Dandy
Taxonomic notes
Centrolepis was formerly in the family Centrolepidaceae, which was shown by Briggs et al. (2014) to be embedded within Restionaceae. Based on these findings, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group adopted an enlarged concept of Restionaceae that included Centrolepidaceae (APG IV 2016), which is followed by NZPCN.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–January
Fruiting
January–March
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
OBL: Obligate Wetland
Almost always is a hydrophyte, rarely in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
centrolepis: Pointed scale
ciliata: From the Latin cilia ‘eyelash’, meaning fringed with hairs
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.
CENCIL
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
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
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.
Otago: 2024 | Regionally Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. 2016. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 181: 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12385.
Briggs BG, Marchant AD, Perkins AJ. 2014. Phylogeny of the restiid clade (Poales) and implications for the classification of Anarthriaceae, Centrolepidaceae and Australian Restionaceae. Taxon 63: 24–46. https://doi.org/10.12705/631.1.
Moore LB, Edgar E. 1970. Flora of New Zealand, Volume II. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Monocotyledones except Gramineae. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 354 p.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange 14 August 2006. Description adapted from Moore & Edgar (1970)
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.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Centrolepis ciliata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/centrolepis-ciliata/ (Date website was queried)