Dracophyllum pearsonii
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low-growing brownish spreading grassy shrub with short erect branches bearing very dense tufts of both alive and dead narrow pointed leaves mainly inhabiting upland Stewart Island (rare in Fiordland). Leaves hard, 19-32mm long by 0.8-1.5mm wide. Flowers mixed in with leaves, white, tubular.
Detailed description
Multi–stemmed shrub 0.3–0.5 m tall. Branches: bark on old branches dark grey, deeply fissured, young stems reddish brown. Leaves spirally arranged along branches, imbricate, appressed to stem, dry old leaves present; lamina sheath olive green to light brown, 4–7 × 3–5 mm, coriaceous, striate, shoulders rounded to truncate with margins membranous, ciliate or with only the top half ciliate; lamina rigid and hard, 19.0–32.0 × 0.8–1.5 mm, mid to olive green, linear to linear–subulate, adaxial surface flat, abaxial surface keeled, margins serrulate with 90–100 teeth per 10 mm, apex triquetrous. Inflorescence a few flowered spike near apices of branches; shorter than leaves, erect, lax, 12–20 mm long, oblong. Inflorescence bract over-topping flowers, foliose, coriaceous, 6.0–6.5 × 4–5 mm, linear, ovate–lanceolate at base, surfaces glabrous with a tuft of scabrid hairs at base of adaxial surface, margins ciliate. Flowers 3–6, sessile; flower bracts over-topping flowers, leaf like, linear, 6.0–6.5 × 4–5 mm, with a tuft of scabrid hairs at base of adaxial surface, margins ciliate. Sepals 4.2–4.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, lanceolate to ovate–lanceolate, shorter to equaling corolla tube; margins ciliate. Corolla white; corolla tube 4.2–4.5 × 1.8–2.0 mm, cylindrical; corolla lobes reflexed, 1.9–2.0 × 1.4–1.5 mm, ovate–triangular to broadly triangular, shorter than corolla tube, apical ridge present, apices inflexed at tip, subacute; adaxial surface papillate. Stamens inserted on corolla tube near the top, filaments 0.2–0.5 mm long; anthers included, 0.8 mm long, oblong, light yellow. Ovary 1.9–2.0 × 1.8–2.0 mm, globose, apex round; nectary scales oblong, 1.0–1.2 × 0.8–1.0 mm, apices obtuse; style included, 0.8–1.0 mm long, glabrous; stigma five–lobed. Fruit light brown, 1.0–1.5 × 1.0–1.2 mm, obovoid, apex truncate, glabrous. Seeds 0.55–0.6 mm long, yellowish brown, ovoid, testa slightly reticulate.
Similar taxa
Dracophyllum pearsonii is easily recognised by the closely imbricate strongly keeled leaves with triquetrous apices. Characteristically the leaves densely cover the branches and when dead they are long persistent. In this species the flowers are arranged in few–flowered (3-6-flowered) racemes near the ends of branches, also each petal is furnished with a prominent apical ridge on the upper surface.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South (Fiordland National Park - scarce) and Stewart Islands. On Stewart Island restricted to the tops of Mt Anglem and Rakeahua
Habitat
Montane to alpine. Usually colonising open sites on mountain slopes, ridges and plateau within subalpine shrubland, herbfield or 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
Threats
Dracophyllum pearsonii is listed because it is a narrow range endemic virtually confined to Stewart island (it is scarce in its only known stations in Fiordland National Park). Despite its small area of occupancy it is otherwise believed secure and under no active threat.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ericaceae
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - February
Fruiting
February - April
Life cycle and dispersal
Minute seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Etymology
dracophyllum: Dragon leaf, from its likeness to the dragon tree of the Canary Islands
pearsonii: After Pearson
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.
DRAPEA
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Venter, S. 2009: A taxonomic revision of the genus Dracophyllum Labill. (Ericaceae). Unpublished Phd Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 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 11: 285-309
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (16 April 2012). Description adapted from Venter (2009)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Dracophyllum pearsonii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/dracophyllum-pearsonii/ (Date website was queried)