Leptinella pectinata subsp. willcoxii
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Yellow
Detailed description
Monoecious, creeping, glabrous, somewhat lax perennial herb forming diffuse irregular patches. Rhizomes at or near soil surface, stout, up to 2 mm diameter, somewhat wiry, dark, sparsely villous, glabrate to glabrescent; branches usually solitary at flowering nodes. Leaves usually scattered along rhizomes. Short shoots absent. Roots extensive, wiry, much branched, up to 1 mm diameter. Leaves 1-pinnatifid, occasionally simple, 7-10 x 2-10 mm; blade up to 10 mm, broadly elliptic, firmly coriaceous, dark or yellow green, glabrous, midrib not raised on ventral surface; pinnae 1-5 pairs, distant, cut to rhachis, flat oblong to obovate, teeth usually absent, occasionally with 1-2 per pinna, these mostly on proximal margin, cut 1/2 across pinna, triangular, obtuse. Peduncles very much > leaves, 10-100 mm, ebracteate or rarely with 1 simply bract, glabrous to sparsely villous. Capitula 4-8 mm diameter; involucre subcampanulate; involucral bracts 12-24, subequally 2- or more seriate, oblong, dark green to purple green, with 1-3 dark veins, with wide brown scarious margins, glabrous to sparsely villous; pistillate flowers 12-200, 2.75 mm long, straight, yellow to yellow-red, often with 1-2 dark stripes along corolla and ovary; corolla much > than wide, dentition equal; staminate florets more numerous than pistillate. Cypsela 2.3 x 1 mm, golden-brown, compressed, biconvex, slightly to deeply wrinkled.
Similar taxa
L. pectinata subsp. willcoxii differs from L. pectinata (Hook.f.) D.G.Lloyd et C.J.Webb subsp. pectinata by its glabrous rather than glabrate to sparsely hairy rhizomes and leaves, by its broader leaves, bearing usually 5 or less pinnae (cf 5 or more in subsp. pectinata), and by the pinna which are broadly oblong to obovate (cf. linear to narrowly obovate). From subsp. villosa (G.Simpson) D.G.Lloyd et C.J.Webb subsp. willcoxii is easily distinguished by its glabrous rather than usually densely grey-white hairy rhizomes and leaves, and by its broadly elliptic to obovate leaves bearing 5 or less (cf. 5 or more) broadly oblong to obovate rather than linear to narrowly obovate pinna.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, from Mt Cook south and west to northern Fiordland.
Habitat
Subalpine to alpine (900-2400 m a.s.l.) usually near streams in seepages, on damp rock faces, bare rock and moist slopes nearly devoid of other vegetation.
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
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Cotula willcoxii Cheeseman, Cotula pectinata subsp. willcoxii (Cheeseman) D.G.Lloyd, Cotula monticola G.Simpson
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November - February
Fruiting
December - May
Propagation technique
Probably easily grown.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Etymology
leptinella: From the Greek word leptos (meaning slender, thin or delicate), referring to the ovary
pectinata: Comb-bearing
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.
LEPWIL
Chromosome number
2n = 104
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
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.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 31 August 2006. Description from Lloyd (1972) - as Cotula pectinata subsp. willcoxii.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Leptinella pectinata subsp. willcoxii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/leptinella-pectinata-subsp-willcoxii/ (Date website was queried)