Geum pusillum
Common names
geum
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Diminutive, purple-brown to bronze-green, herb forming diffuse, prostrate patches. Plants at flowering 10-100 mm tall. Root stock slender, ± ascending, apex densely covered in long persistent, fibrous leaf remnants. Basal leaves up to 25(-45) mm long, pinnate; lateral leaflets small, in up to 5-(7) pairs; terminal leaflet 3-7(-10) mm long; lamina suborbicular, crenate-dentate, occasionally obscurely 3-5-lobed, hairs strigose, white, sparse; lateral leaflets 3-5 pairs, similar to basal leaves but smaller. Scapes 10-100 mm tall at flowering, bracts (0-)1(-3), pubescent. Flowers solitary, minute; calyx-lobes ovate. Petals 5-6, white, (0.9-)1.2-1.5 mm long, ± oblong to somewhat oblong-truncate. Receptacle elongate, villous. Achenes minute, glabrous, obliquely obovoid-oblong, style remnant minute, recurved.
Similar taxa
Geum pusillum is superficially similar to reduced forms of G. leiospermum Petrie which may bear only solitary flowers. From such plants G. pusillum differs by the pubescent peduncle which lacks the intermixed long hairs usually found in G. leiospermum, and also by the lateral leaflets which are usually not as reduced in relation to the terminal leaflet
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Central Otago (Old Man and Garvie Ranges)
Habitat
Alpine. Inhabiting snow banks and flushes. Usually found within Ranunculus L. or Kelleria Endl. mats, or amongst Coprosma niphophila Orchard.
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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- 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: Sp, DPS, RR
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Rosaceae
Synonyms
Oncostylus pusillus (Petrie) F.Bolle
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November – February
Fruiting
December- March
Life cycle and dispersal
Achenes are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Can be grown in pots in an alpine house. Best from fresh seed.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not Commercially Available.
Etymology
geum: Possibly from the Greek geuo ‘to give a pleasant flavour’, the roots of some species being aromatic.
pusillum: Insignificant, weak
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.
GEUPUS
Chromosome number
2n = 70
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Government Printer, Wellington
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
Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. 4. Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R.
Attribution
Description based on herbarium specimens and both Allan (1961) and Webb et al. (1988)
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.