Pimelea hirta
Common name
pimelea
Synonyms
None (first described in 2011)
Family
Thymelaeaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Current conservation status
The conservation 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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. 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. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Data Deficient
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | Data Deficient
2009 | Data Deficient
Brief description
Shrub with sprawling hairy dark twigs to 40cm long bearing pairs of small pointed leaves that are inconspicuously hairy underneath and hairy white flowers and red fruit inhabiting upland areas of the East Cape and Kaweka to Ruahine Ranges. Leaves 6-9mm long by 2.5-5mm wide.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (Raukumara, Maungaharuru, Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges)
Habitat
Alpine. Usually on limestone outcrops but a component of tall tussock grassland and subalpine scrub
Detailed description
A robust, much-branched procumbent to decumbent shrub with stems up to 400 mm long. Branching sympodial and lateral. Young stems brown, with a moderately dense cover of long, dull-white hairs; internodes 1-3 mm long. Older stems glabrous, dark brown to black. Node buttresses lunate, 0.2 mm long, smooth, brown, masked by hairs on young stems, not very prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending and loosely imbricate to patent, on short, dark red petioles (0.3 mm). Lamina 6.0-9.0 × 2.5-5.0 mm, medium green, elliptic to broad-elliptic, or broad-ovate or oblong slightly adaxially concave to keeled, mid-vein evident, sunken adaxially; tip acute; base cuneate; abaxial surface moderately sparsely covered by dull white, relatively long, straight (rarely curled) hairs; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, loose, 4-7-flowered. Involucral bracts 4, similar in size to ordinary leaves or larger (6-3 mm). Receptacle moderately densely hairy. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white on short (0.8 mm) pedicels, very hairy outside, inside hairless. Female tube 5 mm long, ovary portion wrinkled, 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.9 × 1.1 mm; hermaphrodite tube 6 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 2.8 × 2.0 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary with a few short hairs at summit. Fruits red, ovoid, fleshy 4.0 × 2.7 mm. Seeds ovoid, 3.5 × 2.0 mm, crest thin.
Similar taxa
Potentially confused in the field with Pimelea oreophila subsp. ephaistica from which it differs by its larger overall stature and leaves, and by the obviously longer, denser abaxial leaf hairs.
Flowering
December - February
Flower colours
White
Fruiting
Unknown
Propagation technique
Unknown. Probably easily grown from semi-hard and hardwood cuttings.
Threats
Pimelea hirta is newly described that has not been recognised by an informal tag name previously. Therefore this species has not been formally listed by the New Zealand Threat Listing Panel (see de Lange et al. 2009). However Burrows (2011) did not use the New Zealand Threat Listing Classification System (see Townsend et al. 2008) in his conservation assessment, and his comments, unquantified as they are suggest that the best course of action is to list this species as “Data Deficient” until such time as better data is obtained, and the species can be assessed by an appropriate threat listing panel.
Etymology
pimelea: Pimeleoides means “resembling Pimelea’’, a genus in the family Thymelaeaceae (Greek, -oides = resembling, like).
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (1 May 2011). Description adapted from Burrows (2011).
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.
Townsend, A.J.; de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Molloy, J.; Miskelly, C.; Duffy, C. 2008: The New Zealand Threat Classification System manual. Wellington, Department of Conservation
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Pimelea hirta Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/pimelea-hirta/ (Date website was queried)