Olearia lineata
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Bushy small tree bearing masses of erect square in cross-section twigs that have clusters of small very thin leaves that are white underneath inhabiting damper sites in the southern ⅔ of the South Island. Leaves 15–40 mm long by 1–2mm wide, surface not wrinkled. Flowers small, in clusters.
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Small tree up to 8 m tall with narrow to broad canopy crowns. Trunk stout, erect, solitary, sometimes several arising from the ground, up to 0.6 m d.b.h. Bark grey or charcoal-grey, firm, deeply furrowed, shedding in tough, corky shards. Branches sparse to numerous, at first ascending then widely spreading; branchlets grey to charcoal grey, more or less square and angled in cross-section, deeply and longitudinally grooved, slender, at first erect then spreading, ultimately pendulous. Brachyblasts 10–30 mm long distantly spaced. Leaves 2–10-fascicled; 20–60 × 0.4–0.8 mm, linear to very narrow-linear, upper surface dark green more or less covered with finely appressed greyish-white indument, glabrate to glabrous with age, undersides clad in soft, white to greyish-white appressed tomentum, margin often strongly revolute. Capitula discoid, 1–8-fascicled, 2–4–(6) mm diameter, pedicellate, pedicels up to 40 mm long; florets 6–10, off-white to white (rarely creamy yellow), involucral bracts 2–4-seriate, narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, undersides finely grey-white villous. Cypsela 1–2 mm long, compressed, finely pubescent, puberulent to glabrescent, pappus hairs 2–3 mm long, off white to buff.
Similar taxa
None - the greyish coloured branches, mature trees with typically spreading canopy crowns, numerous pendulous branchlets, finely linear, greyish-green leaves, and distinctively long pedicellate flowers are unique to this species. Olearia lineata cv. ‘Dartonii’ is a popular cultivar grown widely and often erroneously as this species; it has similar but wider green to grey-green leaves with very white undersides and a less pendulous, more narrowly erect growth habit. It seems to be a hybrid involving Olearia lineata and O. traversiorum (F.Muell.) Hook.f.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, easterly from north Canterbury south to Southland and Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Habitat
Lowland to montane (10–300 m a.s.l.) grey scrub, tussock grassland and forest margins. Often on river terraces in or near seepages and ephemeral wetlands, on occasion even growing in shallow water. Also found on the margins of steep river gorges, and in and amongst rock outcrops, boulder field and at the toe of alluvial fans.
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 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: RF
Threats
Widespread and at times locally abundant (especially in some parts of Central Otago) Olearia lineata is otherwise often known from only widely scattered sites with few individuals. Although widespread, the majority of the known populations are not officially protected and recruitment is often lacking. Olearia lineata, together with the majority of eastern South Island endemic Olearia Sect. Divaricaster Heads, is the subject of a major Department of Conservation initiated Recovery Plan. As part of that work this species has been subject to intensive survey.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Olearia virgata var. lineata Kirk
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–January
Fruiting
January–April
Propagation technique
Easily grown from semi-hardwood cuttings and fresh seed. A beautiful specimen tree which is very drought tolerant once established but can also tolerate waterlogged soils, and is of course extremely cold tolerant. The fine, linear, grey-green leaves and somewhat spreading pendulous branches and stout tree habit are particularly noteworthy. It deserves to be more widely cultivated than it currently is.
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]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
olearia: Named after Johann Gottfried Olearius, a 17th-century German scholar, writer of hymns and author of Specimen Florae Hallensis
lineata: Linear, striped with a parallel line (plumb line)
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.
OLELIN
Chromosome number
2n = 108
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 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: RF
2012 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: PD, RF
2009 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: RF, PD
2004 | Sparse
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 Declining | Qualifiers: NStr, PD, PF, RF, Sp
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange for NZPCN (1 June 2013).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Olearia lineata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/olearia-lineata/ (Date website was queried)