Gentianella astonii subsp. astonii
Common name
Aston’s gentian
Synonyms
Gentiana astonii Petrie, Chionogentias astonii (Petrie) L.G.Adams
Family
Gentianaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: ST
2004 | Range Restricted
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
Features
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.
Flowering
March-April (-May)
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Fruiting
April-August
Life cycle
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.
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
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
Where To Buy
Occasionally sold by specialist native plant nurseries
Attribution
Description modified from Glenny (2004)
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