Libertia mooreae
Common name
Moore’s iris, Moore’s mikoikoi
Synonyms
None (first described in 2002)
Family
Iridaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
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.
LIBMOO
Chromosome number
2n = 114
Current conservation status
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 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Distribution
Endemic.
Habitat
Coastal to montane. Usually in open, lowland forest remnants, forest margins, on steep slopes, ridge lines, bluffs, cliffs, stream banks, and river terraces.
Features
Plants consisting of leafy fans, closely bunched on short, much branched rhizomes. Leaves 100–400 × 1–4 mm, green to glaucous, slightly falcate, the two sides similar, although in some accessions they are all concave on the same face; leaf bases red-purple; veins numerous; margins finely scabrid; leaf in transverse section a flattened convex lens shape, two rows of vascular bundles present centrally, marginal vascular bundle present, sclerenchyma present on inside of leaf sheath. Inflorescences long (140–560 mm), carrying flowers above leaves; peduncles two-fifths the length of the inflorescence. Panicle broad, usually openly branched; lower bracts long (20–60 mm), green and lanceolate, upper bracts short and brown, occurring singly; 1–7 flowers per branch. Pedicels slender and delicate, glabrous, 10–35 mm long. Perianth bud often pigmented externally, often 2× as long as ovary at anthesis. Flowers 10–20 mm diameter; tepals all white internally, inner tepals orbicular, sometimes overlapping outer tepals; outer tepals > ½ length of inner tepals but < one-third the area, elliptical, beige or pink, boat-shaped. Staminal filaments very shortly connate; anthers 2–3 mm long, yellow. Ovary dark green, ½ the length of perianth bud; style branches not winged, usually pointing upwards. Capsule small, rarely reaching 5–8 mm long, 3–5 mm diameter, barrel-shaped with ribs, ripening from green to brown or black, partially or occasionally fully dehiscing by short loculicidal openings. Seeds 1.0 × 1.0–1.5 mm, globose to angular, with reticulate-foveolate surface patterning, yellow to yellow-orange.
Similar taxa
Libertia mooreae differs from L. grandiflora, L. ixioides, and L. peregrinans by plant size and leaf structure. It is generally smaller than the other species, and its leaves have equally spaced veins, unlike the other species,which have veins coalescing centrally to form a thickened midrib. L. mooreae often also has bluish, concave leaves. It differs from L. grandiflora by its semi-dehiscent, barrel-shaped capsules, purple-red leaf bases, and yellowish seeds; from L. ixioides by its tall inflorescence, orbicular petals, small sepals, and green leaves in summer; and from L. peregrinans and hybrids by its lack of elongate rhizomes. Libertia mooreae differs from L. micrantha in flower shape and rhizome and leaf anatomy.
Flowering
August – November
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Fruiting
December – February
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and by the division of established plants. This species is tolerant of a wide range of situations - except permanently water logged soils. However, it does best in semi-shade. Libertia mooreae is an attractive plant that deserves to be more widely cultivated that it is.
Etymology
libertia: Named after Marie-Anne Libert, (1782-1865) born & died in Malmedy, province of Liège, Belgium; botanist and mycologist
mooreae: Honours Lucy B. Moore (1906-87), former botanist at DSIR Botany Division, who prepared most of the last comprehensive treatment of Hebe (in Allan 1961).
Attribution
Description modified from Blanchon et al. (2002)
References and further reading
Blanchon, D.J.; Murray, B.G.; Braggins, J.E. 2002: A taxonomic revision of Libertia (Iridaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 40: 437–456.