Centrolepis strigosa
Common names
centrolepis
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Detailed description
Delicate tufted annual 15–70 mm tall. Roots fine, fibrous (whole plant easily detached from soil). Leaves 10–30 × 0.2 mm, filiform, grey-green to green, hispid the surfaces being covered in long white, rigid, multicellular hairs; apices acicular, otherwise leaves broadening toward a membranous sheath. Flowering stems 20–65 × 0.4 mm, much longer than leaves, hispid with very fine somewhat tangled, white hairs. Glume-like bracts 2–3, these 3 mm long, green or pinkish-green with a narrow membranous margin, ovate and spreading, covered with long, rigid, multicellular hairs; awns glabrous 1 mm long with an acicular apex. Pseudanthia 4–8 in each bract, these almost equal to bracts in length, each with 3 hyaline, unequal, fringed scales, one very much shorter the other two of similar length, sheathing the male and female flowers, Male flowers set with 1 per partial inflorescence. Female flowers 4–8 per partial inflorescence, connate and superposed in 2 rows, or occasionally appearing spirally arranged. Styles not connate. Seed 0.5 mm long, brown with a dark tip at each end, obovate-oblong, blunt at the apex, surface finely reticulated.
Similar taxa
None. A very distinctive and singular species which has little resemblance to the other endemic New Zealand Centrolepis species (see Fact Sheets).
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island and South Island. In the North Island known locally from the Kai Iwi Lakes, Glinks Gully and Bayly’s Beach (west of Dargaville) to Lake Ototoa (see de Lange 2011). In the South Island known only from near Bluff Hill and Invercargill. Also in Australia.
Habitat
Coastal to lowland. Growing in open clay, sand or silty places in damp places near lake or pond margins, or on open sand pans within gumland scrub (see de Lange 2011).
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 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: Sp, DPT, RR, SO
Threats
A naturally uncommon, biologically sparse, seasonal annual. Although it has not been reliably reported from Bluff and Invercargill for many years it is probably still present there. It is seasonally abundant at the Kai Iwi Lakes (de Lange 2011).
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Desvauxia strigosa R.Br.
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
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December–February
Fruiting
December–March–(April)
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]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
centrolepis: Pointed scale
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.
CENSTR
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 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: DP, EF, RR, SO, Sp
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: EF, RR, SO, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO, EF
2004 | Sparse
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.
de Lange PJ. 2011. Centrolepis strigosa – a rarely seen annual. Trilepidea 86: 7–9.
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (14 August 2006). Description based on 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 strigosa Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/centrolepis-strigosa/ (Date website was queried)