Machaerina rubiginosa
Common names
baumea
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Sedges
Detailed description
Glaucous to bright-green, rhizomatous sedge. Rhizome 2–4 mm diameter, horizontal, shortly creeping, wiry, fibrous, covered with a loose coat of closely imbricating papery scales. Culms 0.3–1.2 m tall, 1.0–2.5 mm, terete, soft, light blue-green, darkly glaucous or bright-green. Leaves: lower leaves reduced to grey-brown, membranous, mucronate sheaths; upper leaves 1–3, terete like the culms, < or ± = culms, internally septate, tips subulate, acute. Inflorescence a panicle, 60–350 mm long, rounded at the tip, interrupted, with branchlets in distant fascicles, stoutest lateral branchlet arising from lowest spathaceous bract c. 1 mm diameter; bracts subtending upper fascicles acuminate, membranous, red-brown. Spikelets 4.5–6.0 mm long, clustered, red-brown, 2–4-flowered, 1 or occasionally 2 flowers fertile. Glumes 4–5, ovate, acuminate, membranous, streaked with red, margins ciliate, scabrid towards the tip and on the keel. Nut 3.0–4.0 × c. 1.5 mm, elliptic-oblong, pale- or orange-yellow, smooth, trigonous while immature; beak small, grey or black, acute, trigonous, puberulous.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island, South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura and Chatham Islands. Also New Guinea, New Caledonia and Australia.
Habitat
Coastal to montane (up to 900 m a.s.l.) in most freshwater wetlands; especially favouring low moor peat bogs, the margins of restiad bogs and their burn pools, more rarely on the margins of lakes, tarns and slow-flowing streams where it may grow with Machaerina arthrophylla.
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 | Qualifiers: SO
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Fuirena rubiginosa Spreng.; Cladium globeratum R.Br.; Cladium rubiginosum (Spreng.) Domin; Baumea rubiginosa (Spreng.) Boeck.
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–December
Fruiting
Throughout the year
Life cycle and dispersal
Nuts are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and by the division of whole plants, though plants may take some time to settle. Although it prefers an acidic, permanently damp soil, plants can be grown in free draining soils and once established will tolerate dry spells reasonably well.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
OBL: Obligate Wetland
Almost always is a hydrophyte, rarely in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
rubiginosa: Rust-coloured
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.
MACRUB
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 | Qualifiers: SO
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
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.
Otago: 2024 | At Risk – Regionally Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, NS, RR, Sp
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Moore LB, Edgar E. 1970. Flora of New Zealand, Volume II. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Monocotyledones except Gramineae. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 354 p.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (8 September 2006). Description adapted from Moore & Edgar (1970)
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Machaerina rubiginosa Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/machaerina-rubiginosa/ (Date website was queried)