Lepidothamnus intermedius
Common names
yellow silver pine
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Gymnosperms
Flower colours
No flowers
Detailed description
Dioecious, tree up to 15m high, occasionally a dwarfed form. Trunk often muti-trunked 0.3–0.6 m, bark grey-brown, mature specimens distinctly patterned with red-brown hammer mark when bark flakes off. Wood yellow. Foliage dimorphic, usually bright yellow-green, occasionally chocolate brown; juveniles 9–15 mm. long, spreading, narrow-linear-subulate, acute, recurved, subterete; semi-juveniles (seen to produce fertile parts in this stage) 3–6 mm long, closer set, subpatent, broadly subulate, trigonous, acute to subacute; adults 1.5–3 mm long, overlapping, appressed, rhomboid, obtuse, keeled, coriaceous, only seen when forming part of canopy. Male strobili solitary, terminal, 5–6 mm long, approximately 2 mm wide; apiculus broadly triangular, obtuse. Female cones on separate plant from male strobili, solitary, terminal, final 3-4 scales leaflike thin. Ovule erect; epimatium not more than ¼ length of seed. Receptacle fleshy or slightly swollen, pink. Seed is 3-5 mm long, black, narrow to broad-oblong, nutlike, apiculus curved.
Similar taxa
Juvenile Dacrydium cupressinum, which is more drooping and usually darker green. Adult scale leaves of D. cupressinum can be easily distinguished as they are pointed and less distinctly keeled.
Manoao colensoi, usually has single erect trunk with hammer marked bark, slender adult branchlets with tightly smooth appressed scale leaves which do not curve over or down.
Lepidothamnus laxifolius is a low sprawling shrub, with very obvious red arils. Occasionally seen as a hybrid between L. laxifolius and L. intermedius which can make identification very difficult until one is very familiar with all the parent species (illustrated in Wilson & Galloway, 1993).
Halocarpus bidwillii differs by the lax juvenile foliage abrupt change to adult scale-like foliage and has white arils.
Halocarpus biformis differs by the lax juvenile foliage abrupt change to adult scale-like foliage and has orange arils.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island, (Coromandel Range, Raukumara Range, Te Uruwera through the Central Volcanic Plateau and Kaingaroa Plain south in a patchy distribution to Ruahine Range), South Island (mostly west of main divide from Kahurangi Range south to Fiordland), and Stewart Island.
Habitat
Lowland, montane and subalpine forest and scrub.
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 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Podocarpaceae
Synonyms
Dacrydium intermedium Kirk
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Male cone: October- early December
Fruiting
February-April
Life cycle and dispersal
Arrilate seeds are dispersed by frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
lepidothamnus: From the Greek lepido ‘scale’ & thamnos ‘crowded or close set’
intermedius: From the Latin inter & medius ‘in the middle’
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.
LEPINT
Chromosome number
2n = 30
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 1. Wellington: Government Printer. Page 111.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
Wilson, H.D. and Galloway, T., 1993. Small-leaved shrubs of New Zealand. Christchurch: Manuka Press. Pages 254-256.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by M.D. Ward (10 April 2024). Description from Allan (1961), Wilson & Galloway (1993).
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.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: Ward, M.D. (Year at time of access): Lepidothamnus intermedius Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/lepidothamnus-intermedius/ (Date website was queried)