Olearia angulata
Synonyms
Olearia albida var. angulata (Kirk) Allan
Family
Asteraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Chromosome number
2n = c.432
Current conservation status
The threat classification status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley. Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – a suggested threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, Sp
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Data Deficient
Brief description
Small rounded tree bearing wavy leathery pale green oblong leaves inhabiting coastal sites in northern North Island. Twigs ridged and square in cross-section. Leaves very blunt at base, 4-7cm long by 2cm wide, edge very wavy, veins sunken into upper surface. Flowers white, in clusters. Seeds fluffy.
Distribution
Endemic. Known with certainty from Te Paki, and in scattered sites along the western North Island coastline to near Mokau. At times it can be locally common - such as along the southern Kawhia Harbour. But it is more usually uncommon, often represented at any one site by only a handful of trees. Outside Te Paki there seem to be no genuine eastern North Island occurrences.
Habitat
A coastal tree of rocky headlands, cliff faces, ultramafic shrublands and dune forests. Usually found in the most exposed situations.
Features
Shrub or small tree up to 5 m tall. Branchlets 4-angled, grooved, clad in tightly appressed to loose somewhat resinous white hairs. Leaves 4-7 cm, hairless, resinous yellow-green to dark green above, clad in firmly appressed, white to silvery-white hairs beneath, very leathery, oblong (rarely ovate-oblong), margins very strongly undulate. Inflorescences on stout stalks 3-5 cm long, capitula (flower heads) numerous, compact, each 4-5 mm long, with 2-5 florets (flowers) only. Cypsela (seed) surmounted by yellowish, very coarse, pappus (whorl of hairs making up the “parachute” above the seed).
Similar taxa
A distinct, though somewhat cryptic species, often confused with O. albida but distinguished by its much smaller stature, typical oblong leaves whose margins always strongly undulate (in shade or sun), usually resinous yellow-green foliage (though dark green colour variants occur throughout the species range), smaller, compact inflorescences, with shorter, fewer-flowered capitula, by the coarser pappus hairs, and by the chromosome number (2n = c. 432 in O. angulata, 2n = c. 324 in O. albida).
Flowering
January to May
Flower colours
White
Fruiting
March to July
Propagation technique
Easily grown from semi-hardwood cuttings, and from fresh seed.
Threats
Olearia angulata is probably not threatened. However, it is not well known, easily confused with the more widespread O. albida, and so there are few recent accurate herbarium and site records.
Etymology
olearia: Named after Johann Gottfried Olearius, a 17th-century German scholar, writer of hymns and author of Specimen Florae Hallensis
angulata: From the Latin angulatus ‘cornered or angular’
Where To Buy
Commonly sold by most retail nurseries, often as Olearia albida var. angulata
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 August 2003. Description modified from Allan (1961)
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Government Printer, Wellington.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Olearia angulata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/olearia-angulata/ (Date website was queried)