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  4. Lachnagrostis leptostachys

Lachnagrostis leptostachys

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Common name

wind grass

Synonyms

Agrostis leptostachys Hook.f., Deyeuxia forsteri var micrathera Hack. comb. illeg., var. epithet legit.

Family

Poaceae

Authority

Lachnagrostis leptostachys (Hook.f.) Zotov

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Structural class

Grasses

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.

LACLEP

Chromosome number

2n = 84

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

The threat classification 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) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website 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. Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – a suggested threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.

Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp

Previous conservation statuses

2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp

2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon

2004 | Range Restricted

Distribution

Endemic. Confined to the Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes Islands

Habitat

Mainly coastal on rock strewn ground and in peaty turf. Sometimes found at higher altitudes within Chionochloa antarctica (Hook.f.) Zotov dominated grassland

Features

Pale green, erect tufted, perennial grass, 150-650 mm tall, with numerous, narrow, involute grey-green to dark green leaves overtopping the lax, delicately branched panicles. Branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath membranous with few, distinct ribs, smooth or scabrid above, pale green to very light brown. Ligule 2.0-4.5 mm, oblong, very slightly tapered above, truncate, denticulate, undersides ± scabrid, especially near base. Leaf-blade 35-160 x 1-2 mm, mostly involute, 0.5-1.0 mm diameter, undersides sparsely to closely scabrid, upper sides ribbed and closely ciliate-scabrid on ribs; margins finely scabrid, apex acute. Culm 30-180 mm, usually hidden within leaf-sheaths, internodes finely scabrid. Panicle 30-160 x 20-120 mm, purple-red, laxly rachis finely scabrid, branches capillary, finely scabrid, tipped by few spikelets. Spikelets 4.5-6.5 mm, light green to red-green. Glumes ± equal, lanceolate, acute to acuminate, green, red-green, purple, submembranous, sparsely scabrid above, midnerve with sparse prickle-teeth, except near base, margins hyaline, sparsely scabrid near apex. Lemma 2.5-3.0 mm, c. ½ length of glumes, 5-nerved, softly hairy throughout except at apex, elliptic, truncate, lateral nerves shortly excurrent; awn 4-6 mm, straight, or ± curved, ± mid-dorsal, or from upper 1/3 of lemma. Palea c. one-half to two-thirds length of lemma, elliptic, nerves not evident, margins with 1-2 minute hairs, apex shallowly notched. Callus hairs ± dense below lemma margins, fine, to c.1mm, ¼ - 1/3 length of lemma. Rachilla prolongation to 0.5 mm with fine hair tufts to 1 mm long, or glabrous. Lodicules c.1 mm, narrow-lanceolate, acute. Anthers 0.6-1.2 mm. Seed 1.5 × 0.5 mm.

Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key

Key to the grasses of New Zealand

Similar taxa

The straight or curved awns distingush it from the geniculate awned L. pilosa subsp. nubifera the only other Lachnagrostis on the Antipodes and Auckland Islands. Lachnagrostis leptostachys is the only species of the genus present on Campbell Island. From all the other species with straight to curved awns L. leptostachys can be distinguished by its intravaginal rather than extravaginal branching.

Flowering

November - January

Fruiting

December - March

Propagation technique

Easy from fresh seed and rooted pieces but dislikes humidity, and warm climates. Plants grown in Auckland did not flower.

Threats

Not Threatened. Listed because it is a narrow range endemic confined to the Antipodes, Campbell and Auckland Island groups

Etymology

lachnagrostis: From “lachne” (wool) referring to the distinctive callus hairs of this genus and “agrostis” by which Trinius (1820) actually meant “a grass” (not an Agrostis). So the generic name means “a hairy (woolly) grass” not “a hairy (woolly) Agrostis” as is often incorrectly stated (see Gardner 2014).

Where To Buy

Not commercially available.

Attribution

Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000)

References and further reading

Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Christchurch, Manaaki Whenua Press. 650 pp.

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