Euphrasia laingii
Common name
eyebright
Family
Orobanchaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
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.
EUPLAI
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.
2012 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, mountains of Marlborough and Canterbury.
Habitat
Montane to subalpine open places on drier mountains.
Features
Perennial herb much branched from woody stock; stems woody at base, often prostrate and rooting in lower parts, branches erect, 80-150 (-200) mm tall, bifariously pubescent. Leaves sessile, usually rather distant, more or less ascending, 6-12 (-15) x 3-6 (-8) mm, narrow-cuneate to cuneate-obovate or -oblong, 3-lobed at tip with narrow lateral lobes and broad, obtuse to subacute central lobe, sometimes incisions very shallow, glabrous, usually reddish when fresh, margins thickened and recurved. Flowers, up to 6 pairs in short or elongated raceme; pedicels up to 10 mm long, sometimes longer than leaves. Calyx 6-12 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent at very base, generally unevenly divided ¼ -⅓ way; lobes acute to obtuse, margins and midribs thickened and sometimes reddish. Corolla white, 15-20 mm long, 10-15 mm diameter; tube longer than calyx; lobes of lower lip approximately 4-6 mm wide, emarginate. Anthers red-brown, marginal hairs numerous, awns usually unequal. Capsule shorter than calyx, approximately 6-9 x 3-4 mm, oblong to narrow-oblong or -obovate, glabrous or sparsely setose: seeds numerous, 1.5-2 mm long.
Similar taxa
Similar to and closely related to Euphrasia monroi with which it sympatric, and from which it differs by it leaves being less cartilaginous compared to extremely cartilaginous when dry, leaves are narrow-cuneate to cuneate-oblong or -obovate rather than cuneate to broad-obovate in outline giving the plant a more slender appearance. The pedicels of E. laingii are longer (up to 10 mm long) and more obvious compared to the usually congested and hidden (up to 4 mm long), pedicels of E. monroi.
Flowering
December – February (-March).
Flower colours
White
Fruiting
January – March (April).
Life cycle
Seeds is dispersed by wind and possibly water and ballistic projection (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Etymology
euphrasia: Eye-medicine
laingii: Named after Robert Malcolm Laing (1865-1941), a botanist and phycologist from Canterbury, who focused on Banks Peninsula, the Canterbury foothills, Campbell Island, the Spencer Mountains and Norfolk Island.
TAXONOMIC NOTES
Rather variable in the northern part of its range and sometimes not clearly distinct from E. monroi. Specimens from Amuri with 5-toothed leaves have been labelled by Petrie “E. laingii var.” Specimens from Mt. Owen, Nelson, with broadly 3-5-lobed leaves may be correctly placed here also, but the stouter perennial species of western Nelson are very poorly known. Some forms found in Marlborough have small, almost entire leaves, and slender plants collected in the Tararua Range, North Island by Druce are very similar.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by M.D. Ward (5 November 2020) Description adapted from Allan (1961).
References and further reading
Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand. Volume 1. Wellington: Government Printer. Page 853.
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
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: Ward, M.D. (Year at time of access): Euphrasia laingii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/euphrasia-laingii/ (Date website was queried)