Gentianella gibbsii
Common names
Mt Anglem gentian, Gibbs’s gentian
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Plants monocarpic, biennial, height in flower 60–200 mm. Caudex unbranched, 10–25 mm long. Root c. 0.9 mm diameter at stem base. Flowering stems terminal only or terminal and lateral, 1–19 per plant, largest flowering stem 1.0–1.6 mm diameter at base, stem colour bronze, lateral flowering stems erect, flowering stem leaves 2–4 pairs per stem, lowest pedicels from ½ up flowering stem or near apex of flowering stem. Rosette of leaves present and distinct from flowering stem leaves, leaves elliptic, leaf apex acute, 13.0–22.0 × 3.6–7.0 mm wide, green, channelled, not recurved, petiole 7.3–14.5 mm long. Petiole 1.0–1.2 mm wide at leaf base. Flowering stem leaves narrowly elliptic. Pedicels 1 per leaf axil, 4.5–60.0 mm long, 0.8–1.1 mm diameter. Flowers 1–28 per plant, 12.5–14.9 mm long. Calyx 9.5–14.7 mm long, bronze-green, hairs at calyx–corolla fusion line present; lobes 8.5–11.8 mm long, 1.7–2.0 mm wide at base, plane, apices acute, margins smooth, sinus hairs sparse. Corolla 11.7–15.3 mm long, white; tube 3.0–3.5 mm long; lobes 8.8–12 mm long, 5.0–6.5 mm wide, apices acute and slightly serrated, hairs below sinus absent or present; nectary 1.7–2.0 mm from corolla base. Filaments 6.5–8.6 mm long from corolla base, 0.5–1.1 mm wide. Anthers 1.1–1.9 mm long, anther wall blue-black, mouth yellow, introrse at anthesis; pollen yellow. Stigma colourless. Ovules 36–49 per ovary. Capsule 15.3–27 mm long.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from other Gentianella by the very long, narrowly triangular calyx lobes 8.5-12 mm long, and by the persistent rosette leaves on flowering plants. On Stewart Island G. gibbsii is sympatric with G. lineata from which it is distinguished by being biennial rather than being a polycarpic perennial; by its taller stature (plants 60–200 mm cf. 70–100 mm high), its unbranched rather than branched caudex; and its bronze colour rather than dark green with purple tinting on the stems and leaves.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Stewart Island (Mt Anglem and Little Mt Anglem).
Habitat
Subalpine to alpine on poorly drained ground under low scrub or in open bogs and grasslands. Locally common.
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: OL
Threats
A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which is confined to a small area within the subalpine and alpine vegetation of the Mt Anglem Nature Reserve. There it is locally abundant, and there are no known threats.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Gentiana gibbsii Petrie, Chionogentias gibbsii (Petrie) L.G.Adams
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December – March
Fruiting
February – May
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds dispersed by ballistic projection, wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009)
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild
Other information
Where To Buy
Not Commercially Available
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)
gibbsii: Named in honor of Frederick G Gibbs (1866-1953)
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.
GENGIB
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: OL
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: OL
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: OL
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 for NZPCN prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 November 2004). Description modified from Glenny (2004).