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  4. Lobelia glaberrima

Lobelia glaberrima

Old Man Range, Otago.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Old Man Range, Otago.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Minaret Burn, March.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Lobelia glaberrima, Takitimu Mountains.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Date taken: 17/02/2020, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
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Biostatus

Native – Endemic taxon

Category

Vascular

Structural class

Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites

Flower colours

Violet/Purple, White

Detailed description

Creeping, prostrate, glabrous herb; rooting at leaf nodes. Leaves alternate, upright to spreading; lamina 2.5–7.0 × 2.5–8.5 mm, orbicular to broadly orbicular, glabrous or rarely sparsely hairy on margin, green, often flushed red on margin and abaxial surface; margin serrate, a prominent terminal tooth, 5–7 lateral teeth, teeth up to 1.2 mm long, triangular, apex subacute to obtuse, sinus broadly obtuse; petiole 0.5–2.0 × 0.6–0.8 mm, green, often flushed red. Flowers hermaphrodite, axillary, solitary; scent pungent. Peduncle 2.0–4.0 mm long. Calyx with short tube adnate to ovary; lobes 5, 1.4–3.9 × 0.6–1.2 mm, green, narrow triangular to lanceolate; apex subacute. Corolla up to 10.5 mm long in late bud, 6.0–12.0 mm diameter when open, white; tube 3.2–6.0 mm long, 1.9–2.4 mm wide, split to near base; lobes 5, ovate to lanceolate, apex acute to subacute, front three lobes 2.3–4.5 × 1.7–1.9 mm, back two lobes 3.2–4.2 × 1.2–2.7 mm. Nectary 0.5–0.7 mm high, green, glabrous to occasionally sparsely hairy. Ovary 1.8–2.9 × 2.4–2.6 mm, green. Style 5.0–6.9 × 0.5 mm, white, flushed pink. Stigma bilobed, pink, 0.4–0.6 mm diameter Filaments 2.3–4.2 × 0.2–0.4 mm, glabrous or rarely sparsely hairy in lower part, fused below anthers, attached to corolla tube in lower quarter, white, often flushed green. Anthers united into a tube around style, 1.3–2.2 mm long, purple black, curved over at top. Capsule 3.2–6.0 × 3.1–5.3 mm, globose, thin walled, seeds visible through wall, disintegrating with age; apex crowned with persistent style base; base obtuse. Seed elliptic-oblong to broadly elliptic, sometimes slightly compressed, 0.5–0.6 × 0.4–0.5 mm; apex and base obtuse or rounded; margins rounded; testa orange-brown to red-brown, semi-glossy, glabrous, finely reticulate, cells elongate.

Similar taxa

Allied to Lobelia macrodon from which it is distinguished by having narrower calyx lobes, a shorter corolla tube and smaller corolla lobes, shorter stamens with smaller anthers, a smaller ovary with a shorter style, a weakly pungent scent, and a tetraploid (2n = 28) rather than diploid (2n = 14) chromosome number.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (south west Canterbury, Otago, southern Westland and Southland)

Habitat

Alpine and montane habitats. Usually in a wide variety of habitats including snowbanks, tarn and bog margins, herbfield and grassland, rock bluffs, and rock and debris slopes

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.

  • 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

Jump to previous conservation statuses

Threats

Not Threatened. Previously listed as “Data Deficient” (as Pratia aff. macrodon (AK 255606; Old Man Range) by de Lange et al. (2004).

Detailed taxonomy

Family

Campanulaceae

Authority

Lobelia glaberrima Heenan

Synonyms

None (described in 2008)

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Ecology

Flowering

October - March

Fruiting

November - May

Propagation technique

Easily grown from rooted pieces and fresh seed. Best in a rock garden or kept in a pot.

Other information

Where To Buy

Not Commercially Available

Etymology

lobelia: Named after Lobel, pioneer botanist

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.

LOBGLA

Chromosome number

2n = 28

Previous conservation statuses

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.

  • 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.

2017 | Not Threatened

2012 | Not Threatened

2009 | Not Threatened

2004 | Data Deficient

Jump to current conservation status

Regional conservation statuses

Otago: 2024 | At Risk – Regionally Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, NS, NStr, Sp, TL

The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.

Referencing and citations

References and further reading

de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Heenan, P.B.; Courtney, S.P.; Molloy, B.P.J.; Ogle, C.C.; Rance, B.R.; Johnson, P.N.; Hitchmough, R. 2004, Threatened and uncommon plants on New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 45-76.

Knox, E.B.; Heenan, P.B.; Muasya, A.M.; Murray, B.G. 2008: Phylogenetic position and relationships of Lobelia glaberrima (Lobeliaceae), a new alpine species from southern South Island (New Zealand). New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 77–85

Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (16 August 2008). Description adapted from Knox et al. (2008)

NZPCN Fact Sheet citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Lobelia glaberrima Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/lobelia-glaberrima/ (Date website was queried)

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