Leptinella filiformis
Common name
slender button daisy
Synonyms
Cotula filiformis Hook.f.
Family
Asteraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
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.
LEPFIL
Chromosome number
2n = 52
Current conservation status
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, EW
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, DP, RR
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, with records from the upper Awatere, Hanmer Plain, and adjacent Balmoral forest. Apparently extinct in the wild at all these locations
Habitat
A species of lowland to montane (300-600m a.s.l.) basins, plains and valley floors where it grows in grasslands, and open shrubland.
Features
Rhizomatous, monoecious, perennial herb forming a diffuse turf. Rhizomes at soil surface, slender,
Similar taxa
Closely allied to L. minor Hook.f., from which it mainly differs by its consistently smaller state. Leaf dentition is usually absent or infrequent, while L. minor always has toothed leaves, the rhizomes of L. filiformis are 1 mm rather than 2 mm (or more) diam., whilst the capitula are2-3 rather than 4-6 mm diam. nrDNA ITS sequences scarcely distinguish L. filiformis from L. minor.
Flowering
Mainly summer but sporadic throughout year
Flower colours
White
Fruiting
Mainly summer to autumn
Life cycle
Papery cypselae are dispersed by wind and possibly attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Once believed extinct this species was rediscovered in 1998 in a lawn at Hanmer Springs. All cultivated material now known stems from that discovery. Easy from rooted pieces and excellent in seasonally dry, poorly drained soils or shaded ground under trees. Dislikes permanantly wet ground and strong sun. An excellent lawn plant, whose small white flower heads are produced in profusion thus making it very attractive
Threats
Literature records suggest L. filiformis was once locally common. Certainly when rabbits were abundant it flourished in the open ground they created. By the 1980s it was believed extinct. Plants were rediscovered in 1998 in a lawn at Hanmer Springs, where by late 1999 they were extinct due to redevelopment of the hotel grounds. Luckily plants were sampled from there in February 1999 and these have been widely distributed to plant nurseries, private gardens and Universities throughout New Zealand. Stock from those gatherings has been used to reintroduce the species to protected sites but it still remains very uncommon and vulnerable to loss.
Etymology
leptinella: From the Greek word leptos (meaning slender, thin or delicate), referring to the ovary
filiformis: From the Latin filum ‘thread’ and forma ‘shape’, meaning thread-shaped
Cultural Use/Importance
The distinction between this species and L. minor Hook.f. is slight. Leptinella minor is usually regarded as a Banks Peninsula endemic (though herbarium specimens suggest it once grew on the Canterbury Plains).
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 31 August 2006. Description from Lloyd (1972).
References and further reading
Lloyd, D.G. 1972: A revision of the New Zealand, Subantarctic, and South American species of Cotula, section Leptinella. New Zealand Journal of Botany 10: 277-372
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
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Leptinella filiformis Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/leptinella-filiformis/ (Date website was queried)