Leptinella potentillina
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Detailed description
Stout, rather robust, fleshy, diffusely creeping to densely compact turf forming, monoecious, perennial herb. Rhizomes on soil surface, rather thick, fleshy, pale yellow, cream or white, sparsely pilose hairy; branches usually single at flowering nodes, leaves in two rows, single at apex, 50-40 mm apart. Short shoots alternate on both sides of rhizome, with clustered leaves, sometimes converted into rhizomes with distant leaves. Roots slender and weak up to 0.5 mm diameter. Leaves 1-pinnatifid, 20-120 x 4-30 mm; blade 10-80 mm, obovate, fleshy, yellow-green, without brown pigmentation, glabrous or glabrescent, midrib slightly raised on proximal part of ventral surface; pinnae 6-15 pairs, not overlapping, cut to rhachis or distal most sinuses, not quite reaching rhachis in larger leaves, elliptic; teeth on most pinnae, up to 12 per pinna, almost equally on distal and proximal margins, cut 1/4 across pinnae, triangular, obtuse or acute, occasionally themselves bearing 1-2 teeth. Peduncles usually on rhizomes, stout, > leaves 20-70 mm, ebracteate or with 1 bract, sparsely pilose hairy. Capitula 5-8 mm diameter, hemispherical to steeply convex; involucre flat or spreading; involucral bracts 15-30, 2- or more subequally seriate, elliptic to oblong, yellow-green, glabrescent, with a narrow transparent, scarious margin, not elongating after anthesis; pistillate florets 60-200, in 4-6 rows, 2 mm long, curved, yellow-green, yellow to lemon yellow, corolla slightly longer than wide, unequally toothed; staminate florets more numerous. Cypsela up to 1.5 x 0.8 mm, brown when maturity, slightly compressed, initially chartaceous maturing with a smooth surface.
Similar taxa
The extremely robust, usually yellow-green leaves and flowering scapes with yellow-green, yellow to lemon-yellow capitula immediately mark this species out from other New Zealand Leptinella species. It is perhaps most similar to L. tenella , a North and northern South Island species, from which it is allopatric. L. potentillina differs from L. tenella by its much larger, robust habit, and evenly yellow-green rather than bright green coloured leaves which are 20-150 cf 10-40 mm long.
Distribution
Endemic. Auckland and Chatham Islands
Habitat
Coastal, usually in or near seepages subject to a tidal influence, also a component of damp turfs, estuarine vegetation, sand dunes and damp sandy hollows. On the Chatham Islands is often conspicuous on the sand beaches of the lagoon.
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: RR
Threats
Not threatened, being very common on the Chatham Islands, though much less so on the Auckland Islands, where it mainly known Adams Island. However, it is listed because it is an island endemic, occupying a small (by global standards) geographic area
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Cotula potentillina (F.Muell.) Druce, Cotula muelleri Kirk
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
August - February
Fruiting
September - July
Life cycle
Papery cypselae are dispersed by wind and possibly attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from rooted pieces. An attractive plant for a rockery or lawn. Does best in damp sunny situations. The spectacular, large, yellow-green, ferny leaves and robust yellow-green, yellow to lemon-yellow capitula make this an especially attractive species worthy of wider cultivation.
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
Cultivation
Occasionally sold by specialist native plant nurseries. On the West Coast of the South Island, an extremely robust Leptinella, usually sold in the nursery trade as L. dioica Hook.f., or L. cv. Seal Island occurs, and this plant is superficially similar to L. potentillina, differing mainly by its dioecious flowerign habit, erect, dark green leaves and by the pinnae which are markedly less toothed.
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for July 2011 for the full story.
Etymology
leptinella: From the Greek word leptos (meaning slender, thin or delicate), referring to the ovary
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.
LEPPOT
Chromosome number
2n = 52
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: IE
2004 | Range Restricted
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.
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
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 31 August 2006. Description from Lloyd (1972) - as Cotula potentillina.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Leptinella potentillina Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/leptinella-potentillina/ (Date website was queried)