Lobelia linnaeoides
Common names
mountain lobelia
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Blue, White
Detailed description
Glabrous or glabrate creeping herb. Sap clear. Stems up to 15 mm long (rarely more), simple or sparingly branched, slender, rooting at nodes, usually decumbent. Leaves subsessile, rather thick and fleshy, 4-8 × 4-8 mm, ± orbicular, rather coarsely sinuate-dentate in upper ½, dark green or grey-green, often purplish below. Flowers 8-12 mm long, on very slender (almost wiry), filiform peduncles 50-100 mm long. Calyx c.4 mm long, deeply divided to c.½ way, 4 mm long; lobes c.2 mm long, very narrow-triangular, acuminate. Corolla 8-10 mm long, white, pale blue, mauve or pale pink, deeper coloured in bud; lower lobes obovate or obovate-oblong, ± apiculate, upper lobes linear-oblong, acute. Capsule 5-9 × 3-4 mm; narrow-obovoid to turbinate
Similar taxa
Distinguished from the other New Zealand lobelia by the montane to alpine grassland habitat preference; prostrate, creeping growth habit, clear sap, dark green to grey-green, thick (almost succulent), glabrous or glabrate, coarsely sinuate-dentate, subsessile, orbicular leaves; usually pale blue or pale pink flowers with linear-oblong corolla lobes; and by the loculicidally dehiscent narrow-obovoid to turbinate capsule, with the apical part of the capsule splitting at the apex by two valves).
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (from Marlborough to Southland)
Habitat
Higher montane to alpine grassland and shrubland, often on patches of bare ground
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
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Campanulaceae
Synonyms
Pratia linnaeoides Hook. f
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December – February
Fruiting
January - April
Propagation technique
Easily grown from rooted pieces and fresh seed. Prefers a cool root run. Dislikes humidity. Best in a free draining site within a rock garden or grown within a pot in an alpine house.
Other information
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.
LOBLIN
Chromosome number
2n = 14
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. DSIR Botany Division, Christchurch.
Attribution
Description modified from Webb et al. (1998).