Lobelia glaberrima
Biostatus
Native
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.
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
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
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
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Data Deficient
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)