Gentianella astonii subsp. astonii
Common names
Aston’s gentian
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Tufted perennial up to 150 mm tall when flowering. Flowering stems, 5-18 per plant, green or purple-black. Rosette leaves absent. Leaves linear, 16-32 x 1.4-2.8 mm, green to purple-green, flat, margins smooth; apex acute. Pedicels 1.5-22 mm long. Flowers 16-63 per plant, 13.5-24 mm long. Calyx 7-10 mm; lobes, green tinted purple-black, 5.2-6.2 x 1.3-2.3 mm, plane, margins smooth or minutely toothed. Corolla 10.4-17 mm, white, tube 2.7-4.0 mm; lobes 7.5-11 x 4.0-5.7 mm, margins minutely denticulate. Nectaries 1.9-2.9 mm from corolla base, widely V-shaped with a flap with an uneven margin. Filaments 6.0-7.2 mm from corolla base. Anthers 1.7-2.5 mm, anther wall yellow or blue-black. Ovules 27-30 per ovary. Capsule 8.4-15 mm.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from G. astonii subsp. arduana by the larger and narrower leaves (16-32 x 1.4-2.8 cf. 8.6-25 x 1.1-3.9 mm in subsp. arduana), larger anthers (1.7-2.5 cf. 1.1-2 mm in subsp. arduana), and 27-30 ovules per ovary cf. 13-28 ovules per ovary in subsp. arduana. From G. calcis Glenny et Molloy, G. astonii differs by the shorter leaves (9-32 cf. 30-83 in G. calcis), which are plane and without a recurved apex.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, Marlborough from the upper Waima (Ure) River south to Mt Alexander
Habitat
Montane to subalpine on limestone bluffs, gorges, scree and talus. often amongst low shrubs or in silver tussock grassland
Threats
Abundant within the Waima River catchment, otherwise rather localised. There is some evidence to suggest that some of the smaller populations may be at risk from the spread of weeds
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Gentiana astonii Petrie, Chionogentias astonii (Petrie) L.G.Adams
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
March-April (-May)
Fruiting
April-August
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds dispersed by ballistic projection, wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009)
Propagation technique
Can be grown but with some difficulty. Seems to do best in a lime-enriched, free draining potting mix within pot kept in semi-shaded.
Other information
Where To Buy
Occasionally sold by specialist native plant nurseries
Etymology
gentianella: Little Gentiana (named after Gentius, 6th century king of Illyria, who found the roots of the yellow gentian to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops)
astonii: After Aston
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: ST
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Glenny, D. 2004: A revision of the genus Gentianella in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 361-530.
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 (October 2004). Description modified from Glenny (2004)