Lindbergia maritima
Common names
moss
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Current conservation status
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2025 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: OL
Category
Non-vascular
Structural class
Mosses
Detailed description
Diminutive, coastal. saxicolous, gracile moss, forming loose dull dark green or brownish, rigid mats. Stems 10-15 mm tall, irregularly branched, without a central strand; paraphyllia and pseudoparaphyllia lacking. Leaves appressed when dry, spreading when moist, somewhat concave; lamina 0.2-0.3 x 0.4-0.6 mm, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acute to rounded; leaf margin plane, entire, more or less dentate near the apex, nerve fairly strong, ending below leaf apex in cross-section with uniform cells; cells rounded quadrate or hexagonal, 4.8-9.1 microns, strongly papillose on both surfaces with one unbranched papilla on each side of the cells; basal cells rounded and partly covering each other in many longitudinal rows. Vegetative propagation by brood-branchlets in axillary clusters from the stem apices; leaves bluntly papillose with distinctly toothed margins. Sex organs and sporophytes unknown.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island, Waitakere Coast
Substrate details
Saxicolous on andesitic breccia just above high tide mark
Threats
At imminent risk of extinction. Only one population is known and this has declined markedly since it was discovered in 1974. The exact reason for the decline is not clear but it may in part be due to associated vegetation changes allowing the moss habitat to become more exposed to wave action and wind.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None (first described in 1977)
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Fruiting
Fruits not known
Other information
Etymology
maritima: From the Latin mare ‘sea’, meaning growing on the sea shore
Previous conservation statuses
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2014 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: OL
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: OL
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Lewinsky, J. 1977. Lindbergia maritima, a new moss species from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 15(2): 193-195. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.1977.10432542
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange 5 November 2007. Description from Lewinsky (1977).