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  4. Ourisia vulcanica

Ourisia vulcanica

Mt Ruapehu.<br>Photographer: Melissa Hutchison, Date taken: 08/10/2022, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Ourisia.<br>Photographer: Heidi Meudt, Licence: All rights reserved.
An image of Ourisia flower.<br>Photographer: Heidi Meudt, Licence: All rights reserved.
Tongariro National park.<br>Photographer: John Sawyer, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Turoa, Tongariro N.P.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Turoa, Tongariro N.P.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Flower of Ourisia vulcanica, Tongariro National Park.<br>Photographer: Rob Cole, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Flower of Ourisia vulcanica, Tongariro National Park.<br>Photographer: Rob Cole, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Flowers of Ourisia vulcanica, Tongariro National Park.<br>Photographer: Rob Cole, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Flower of Ourisia vulcanica, Tongariro National Park.<br>Photographer: Rob Cole, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Mt Ruapehu.<br>Photographer: Melissa Hutchison, Date taken: 07/10/2022, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
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Common names

mountain foxglove

Biostatus

Native – Endemic taxon

Category

Vascular

Structural class

Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites

Flower colours

Red/Pink, White

Detailed description

Perennial herbs 60-170 mm tall, with erect inflorescences and flat to ascending leaves; stems 2.6-5.8 mm diameter; internodes 3.6-7.3 mm long, scarcely discernible because of tight clustering of leaves, glabrous. Leaves tightly tufted at terminus of stem or in subrosettes or opposite; petiole 3.0-22.0 x 0.7-5.2 mm, sparsely to densely eglandular villous on the margins only; lamina 6.9-26.8 x 4.7-20.1 mm, narrowly to broadly ovate, apex subacute, bases cuneate, margin regularly crenate, upper surface glabrescent, hairs sparse, eglandular, on proximal margins, undersides punctate. Inflorescence racemose, 66-177 mm long, bracteate, with 1-4 flowering nodes per inflorescence, 2-3 bracts and 1-3 flowers per node and c.1-8 flowers per raceme; peduncle 0.7-2.0 mm diameter, eglandular pilose. Floral bracts 9.4-19.4 x 3.4-9.4 mm, becoming smaller toward apex, sessile, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, rarely ovate, in proximal bracts margin with a few irregular, round teeth on the distal third to half of lamina, in distal bracts margin subentire to entire, glabrous or pilose on margins only, hairs eglandular, 0.4-0.8 mm long. Flowers 12.6-15.9 x 9.2-16.6 mm; pedicel 5.9-25.4 mm long, sparsely to densely pilose, hairs up to 1.1. mm long, eglandular, rarely mixed with short, glandular hairs near calyx base. Calyx 5.6-8.6 x 5.7-8.2 mm, irregular, externally glabrous or with isolated eglandular hairs to 0.7 mm long near base only, internally glabrous, margin ciliate, with isolated to densely distributed eglandular hairs to 0.7 mm long; anterior calyx lobes 5.1-7.6 x 1.6-2.9 mm, posterior calyx lobes 2.6-4.5 x 1.4-2.4 mm, 3 posterior calyx lobes divided 1/4-1/2 of length, 2 anterior lobes divided almost to base, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, elliptic, slightly tapering to a rounded or sometimes subtruncate apex bearing a hydathode, undersides 3-veined. Corolla 11.7-15.6 x 16.4-19.9 mm when flat, bilabiate, tubular-funnelform, white, sometimes flushed red, glabrous or externally bearing isolated, eglandular hairs near base of corolla lobes; tube 5.4-9.4 x 5.3-7.6 mm at apex, 2.3-2.7 mm wide at base, not constricted near base, yellow inside with 3 lines of hairs extending to the corolla lobes and forming a ring around the corolla tube mouth; anterior corolla lobes 5.1-8.2 x 3.8-6.1 mm at widest point, 2.4-3.6 mm wide at base, posterior lobes 4.0-6.2 x 3.6-5.7 mm wide at widest point, 3.1-3.8 mm wide at base, widely spreading, obovate-spathulate, obcordate, apex plane or slightly emarginate. Stamens 4, didynamous; comprising two long stamens 8.2-11.5 mm long, exserted, or rarely only reaching tube opening, and two short stamens 6.5-9.9 mm long, reaching tube opening or exserted; anthers 0.7-1.2 x 0.8-1.4, reniform to horseshoe-shaped; staminode c.0.5 mm long inserted 0.3 mm above base of corolla, or absent, Style 6.0-7.4 mm long, straight, exserted; stigma 0.4-0.9 mm diameter, emarginate; ovary 2.5-4.0 x 1.6-2.0 mm, c.4.2 mm diameter, glabrous. Capsule 5.6 x 4.2 mm, glabrous with loculicidal dehiscence; fruiting pedicels 22.5-29.8 mm long. Seeds 0.7-0.9 x 0.3-0.5 mm.

Similar taxa

Distinguished by the small, compact, creeping or subrosette growth habit, very short internodes (often obscured by leaves), sparsely, mostly eglandular, hairy leaves, bracts, peduncles and pedicels.

Distribution

Endemic. North Island, Central Volanic Plateau.

Habitat

Mostly alpine in shaded sites, on rocky ground, near streams, in herbfield or amongst tussock.

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 – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp

Jump to previous conservation statuses

Detailed taxonomy

Family

Plantaginaceae

Authority

Ourisia vulcanica L.B.Moore

Synonyms

None

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Ecology

Flowering

October - May

Fruiting

December - May

Propagation technique

Difficult - should not be removed from the wild

Other information

Where To Buy

Not commercially available.


Etymology

ourisia: After Ouris, governor of the Falkland Islands

vulcanica: Of volcanoes

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.

OURVUL

Chromosome number

2n = 48

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 – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp

2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp

2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon

2004 | Not Threatened

Jump to current conservation status

Referencing and citations

References and further reading

Meudt, H.M. 2006: Monograph of Ourisia (Plantaginaceae), Systematic Botany Monographs 77. 188 pp.

Attribution

Description based on Meudt (2006).

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