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  4. Gentianella decumbens

Gentianella decumbens

Mt Peel, Kahurangi NP.<br>Photographer: Gillian M. Crowcroft, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Iron Hill, Cobb, January.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Gentianella decumbens.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
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Common name

gentian

Synonyms

None (described in 2004)

Family

Gentianaceae

Authority

Gentianella decumbens Glenny

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Structural class

Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites

Chromosome number

2n = 36

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

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

2004 | Range Restricted

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (north-west Nelson)

Habitat

Alpine. Usually on summit fellfields or along ridge lines on skeletal or stony soils.

Features

Plants polycarpic, height in flower 80–200 mm, plants 170–400 mm diameter. Caudex branched, 40–220 mm long, stolons absent. Root 3.1–6.2 mm diameter at stem base. Flowering stems 1–27 per plant, lateral only, decumbent, green or crimson, largest stems 1.4–2.5 mm diameter; stem leaves 4–9 pairs per stem with internodes often short, the last pair often at the calyx base, sometimes sheathing the stem; lowest pedicels from near apex of flowering stem. Leaf rosette of leaves absent to distinct from flowering stem leaves. Basal leaves elliptic, leaf apex acute to rounded, 16.0–48.0 × 5.3–10.4 mm wide, green without tinting, often turning yellow with age, V-shaped or channelled, recurved toward the leaf apex; petiole moderately distinct, 12–30 mm long, 2.2–3.6 mm wide at leaf base. Pedicels 1 per leaf axil, 0–19 mm long, 1.1–1.7 mm diameter. Flowers 3–72 per plant, 16–20 mm long, rarely female. Calyx 8.0–12.0 mm long, green, hairs at calyx–corolla fusion line present; lobes 5.2–8.4 mm long, 2.6–5.1 mm wide at base, apices acute, margins recurved, smooth to minutely denticulate, sinus hairs abundant. Corolla 14.0–19.8 mm long, white; tube 2.8–6.3 mm long; lobes 10.5–13.4 × 7.3–11.1 mm wide, hairs below sinus abundant; nectary 1.0–2.3 mm from corolla base. Filaments 9.0–12.5 mm long from corolla base, 0.9–1.1 mm wide. Anthers 2.3–2.7 mm long, anther wall blue-black, mouth yellow, extrorse at anthesis. Stigma colourless. Ovules 26–60 per ovary, ovary yellow in maturity. Capsules 18–29 mm long.

Similar taxa

Distinguished from other New Zealand Gentianella by the long prostrate branches, with plants circular in outline, with the flowers on the perimeter; by the numerous flowering stems (up to 27) per plant), leaves with are green and glossy without secondary pigments; and up to 48 mm long; calyx lobes which range from 2.3–5.1 mm wide; and by the nectary which is located 1.0–2.3 mm from the corolla base.

Flowering

January – March

Flower colours

White, Yellow

Fruiting

February - April

Life cycle

Seeds dispersed by ballistic projection, wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009)

Propagation technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild

Threats

A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which is sparsely to locally abundant within its key habitats. There are no known threats, and all the known populations occur within Kahurangi National Park.

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)

decumbens: From the Latin decumbere ‘to lie down, recline’, in botany refers to creeping plants with upright tips

Where To Buy

Not Commercially Available

Attribution

Fact Sheet for NZPCN prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 November 2004). 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

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