Pimelea dura
Common names
pimelea
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
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: DPR, DPS, DPT, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Very low-growing shrub with hairy twigs bearing pairs of very small leaves that are hairy underneath, hairy white flowers and pink or pale orange fruit inhabiting short tussock grasslands in the Ashburton, Rangitata and Rakaia Catchments in Canterbury. Leaves 3-4mm long by 1mm wide.
Detailed description
A small, much-branched, appressed shrub up to 50 mm high and 100-200 mm across. Short branches radiate from a stout main stem with short sympodial and lateral branchlets, forming small, discrete, open cushions. Young stems brown, sparsely to moderately densely covered in short, grey-white hairs; internodes 0.3-1.0 mm long. Older stems grey-brown, sometimes buried in wind-blown silt or sand. Node buttresses smooth, brown, lunate to elongate, sometimes prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending, loosely imbricate, sessile or on very short (0.1 mm) red petioles. Lamina 3.0-4.0 × 0.8-1.2 mm, pale glaucous-green, elliptic to ovate, or oblong, slightly keeled and adaxially concave; tip obtuse; base cuneate; adaxial surface glabrous (rarely with a few hairs), abaxial surface moderately densely covered with short hairs; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal on branchlets, 2-6-flowered; involucral bracts 4, similar in size to adjacent leaves or larger (4.0 × 1.6 mm) partly hiding the flowers. Receptacles sparsely to moderately hairy. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white or sometimes faintly pink-tinted, on very short (0.1 mm) pedicels, with a sparse cover of short hair outside, inside hairless. Female tube 1.5-2mm long, ovary portion 1.5 mm, calyx lobes 0.9 × 0.9 mm; hermaphrodite tube 3-4 mm long, ovary portion 1.3 mm, calyx lobes 1.1 × 1.1 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary apex bearing a cluster of short hairs at summit. Fruits ovoid, opaque, pinkish white, pink or pale orange 4.5 × 3.1 mm. Seeds 2.2 × 1.2mm.
Similar taxa
Allied to Pimelea sericeovillosa from which it differs by its more open-branched habit, more numerous flowers and adaxially glabrous leaves. It may also be confused with P. mesoa (subsp. mesoa only) from which it differs by its smaller leaves and flowers and pinkish white, pink or pale orange fruits.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (inland Canterbury, in the middle catchments of the Rakaia, South Ashburton and Rangitata Rivers).
Habitat
Montane to alpine. A species of sparsely vegetated well-drained silty, sandy, or gravelly soils on old moraines and outwash surfaces. Mostly associated with short tussock (Festuca novae-zelandiae and Poa colensoi) grassland, often growing admixed with small shrubs and herbs or within moss and lichen cushions.
Threats
Burrows (2011) notes that this species is common in the Lake Heron and Lake Clearwater basins and in some reserved areas but that it is otherwise vulnerable to land development especially land being modified by topdressing, over-sowing or that which is heavily stocked with cattle or subject to the spread of wildling pines. He further observes that the ecology of the species is little known. Despite these comments the species was not assessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification Manual (Townsend et al. 2008) and so has no valid threat assessment. At this stage it seems that based on the evidence presented by Burrows (2011) an interim threat assessment of “Data Deficient” is probably the most appropriate.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None (first described in 2011)
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September - November
Fruiting
unknown
Propagation technique
Unknown. Probably easily grown from semi-hard and hardwood cuttings.
Other information
Etymology
pimelea: from Greek pimelē, meaning “lard” or “soft fat,” presumably referring to the oily seeds or fleshy cotyledons.
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.
PIMDUR
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 | Data Deficient
2012 | Data Deficient
2009 | Data Deficient
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Burrows, C.J. 2011: Genus Pimelea (Thymelaeaceae) in New Zealand 4. The taxonomic treatment of ten endemic abaxially hairy-leaved species. New Zealand Journal of Botany 49: 41-106.
de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Courtney, S.P.; Heenan, P.B.; Barkla, J.W.; Cameron, E.K.; Hitchmough, R.; Townsend, A.J. 2009: Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand (2008 revision). New Zealand Journal of Botany 47: 61-96.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (30 April 2011) adapted from Burrows (2011).