Pimelea nitens subsp. nitens
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 | Data Deficient
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low growing sprawling shrub with densely hairy dark twigs bearing pairs of slightly overlapping oval leaves that have hairs on the underside, hairy white flowers and red fruit inhabiting rocky areas of the northern South Island. Leaves 5-8mm long by 2-3mm wide, hairs glisten, straight.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Robust, much-branched, procumbent, decumbent or sometimes semi-upright shrubs up to 250 mm tall; stems usually stiff, up to 400 mm long. Branching mainly sympodial. Young stems brown, densely covered in short, white to greyish or yellowish, fine to coarse, appressed to ascending hairs. Internodes 1-2 mm, densely hairy. Older stems thick (to 12 mm), glabrate, dark grey-brown. Node buttresses lunate, 0.2 mm long, smooth, brown, usually not very prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending, loosely imbricate, on short (0.5 mm), red petioles. Lamina 5-8 × 2-3 mm, medium to dark green, ovate to broadly ovate, slightly keeled; tip sharply acute; base cuneate; abaxial surface densely to moderately densely covered by short, straight, appressed, glistening white, straight hairs; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, 3-7-flowered. Involucral bracts wider than adjacent leaves (5.0-6.0 × 3.5-3.9 mm). Receptacles with dense short hairs. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white, on short (0.3 mm) pedicels, densely covered outside with short hairs; inside hairless. Female tube to 3.5 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 1.5 × 1.0 mm; hermaphrodite tube to 6 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 2.0 × 1.5 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary with a cluster of long hairs at summit and sparse, short hairs to base. Fruits ovoid, fleshy, red, 5.0 × 3.5 mm. Seeds 2.5 × 1.8 mm.
Similar taxa
Pimelea nitens subsp. nitens is distinguished from subsp. aspera by the dark grey-brown colour of the older stems, mostly ovate to broad-ovate leaves with mostly sharply acute (rarely blunt) apices, which are abaxially furnished with shorter mostly appressed, straight, glistening white hairs.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (western Nelson, central and eastern Marlborough, north Canterbury (head of the Clarence River)
Habitat
Montane to alpine. A component of tall tussock grassland and also on rock outcrops and cliffs, especially marble, limestone and sandstone (occasionally on ultramafics).
Threats
Burrows (2011) offers little information noting that Pimelea nitens subsp. nitens is not well known but that it (p. 87) “seems to be relatively common in western Nelson, but that a thorough survey of its situation is needed. No attempt to provide a threat status using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (see Townsend et al. 2008) was made but it seems clear from the little information provided that an interim threat assessment of “Data Deficient” is probably appropriate.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None (first described in 2011)
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - February
Fruiting
February - April
Propagation technique
Unknown. Probably easily grown from semi-hard and hardwood cuttings.
Other information
Where to Buy
Not commercially available.
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.
PIMNSN
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.
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.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (1 May 2011) adapted from Burrows (2011).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Pimelea nitens subsp. nitens Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/pimelea-nitens-subsp-nitens/ (Date website was queried)