Pimelea pseudolyallii
Common names
pimelea
Synonyms
Pimelea pseudo-lyallii Allan
Family
Thymelaeaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
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.
PIMPSE
Chromosome number
2n = 36
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, Sp
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP
2004 | Sparse
Simplified description
Low growing scrambling shrub with hairy twigs bearing pairs of green pointed leaves that are silkily hairy underneath and bearing hairy white flowers and red fruit inhabiting the eastern South Island. Leaves 5-15mm long by 3-6.5mm wide, hairs project beyond margin to give a silver-edged effect.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand. South Island (easterly in Marlborough, Canterbury, North Otago)
Habitat
Montane to alpine. In open montane beech (Nothofagus spp.) forest near bush line, subalpine scrub, amongst shrubs in tussock grassland and within tussock grassland.
Detailed description
Robust, procumbent shrub with few to many flexible stems up to 800 × c.80 mm, but sometimes climbing in erect shrubs or tussocks; occasionally with adventitious roots. In exposed sites plant size is reduced and plants maybe appressed, with short, spreading stems. Branching sympodial and lateral. Branchlets light brown, moderately densely to sparsely covered in long, white, appressed hairs; internodes 2–6 mm long. Older stems glabrate to glabrous, smooth, dark brown. Node buttresses lunate, brown, often masked by hairs, not prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending at first, soon becoming patent, sometimes appearing distichous in appressed plants, on reddish petioles 0.5–1.5mm long. Lamina medium to dark green, narrow-ovate to broad-ovate or elliptic to broad-elliptic or sometimes oblong, 5.0–15 × 3.0–6.5 mm, flat or slightly keeled, margin slightly down-turned, mid-vein clearly evident, sunken adaxially; tip acute, base cuneate; abaxial surface moderately to densely covered with long, white and glistening or sometimes yellowish, appressed hairs; stomata only on abaxial leaf surface. Inflorescences terminal, loose, 5–12-flowered. Involucral bracts 4, usually wider than adjacent ordinary leaves (10–7 mm). Receptacle densely hairy, sometimes slightly convex. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white, scented, on short (0.6 mm) pedicels, very hairy outside, inside hairless. Female tube 3–4 mm long, ovary portion wrinkled, 2.3 mm, calyx lobes 2–1 mm; hermaphrodite tube 5–6 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes ascending, 2.5 × 1.4 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary hair cover dense near summit, sparse to half way down. Fruits fleshy, red, broad–ovoid 4 × 3 mm. Seeds 2.6 × 1.3 mm.
Similar taxa
Despite its name this species is most similar to members of the P. aridula Cockayne complex and has little resemblance to P. lyallii Hook.f. From the common South Island form of P. aridula it differs by its weakly erect, spreading (up to 0.25 x 1 m) rather than stoutly erect (up to 1 x 1 m) growth habit, green to dark leaves which are glabrate above, silky hairy beneath (rather than green and copiously silvery hairy throughout), and spreading rather than ascending. Superficially similar to the southern form of Pimelea villosa which has hairs without the long silky tips and are more olive in colour.
Flowering
November - January
Flower colours
Cream, White
Fruiting
December - February
Propagation technique
Easily grown from semi-hardwood cuttings. In a garden setting this species forms a somewhat sprawling sub-shrub. It has attractive pink, pinkish-white to red fruit.
Threats
Not Threatened. Apparently a naturally uncommon, biologically sparse species. Burrows (2011) notes that there is extensive introgressive hybridism present between this species and especially members of the P. oreophila complex (see Notes). Nevertheless he accepts the current threat listing of “At Risk/Naturally Uncommon” as valid.
Etymology
pimelea: Pimeleoides means “resembling Pimelea’’, a genus in the family Thymelaeaceae (Greek, -oides = resembling, like).
pseudolyallii: Deceptively similar to Pimelea lyallii
Taxonomic notes
Burrows (2011) notes and provides examples (based on some morphological evidence) that there is extensive introgressive hybridism between P. pseudolyallii and other Pimelea (such as P. oreophila) both within and outside the range of P. pseudolyallii s.s. Burrows (2011) includes plants from the western Wellington coastline previously regarded as an unnamed race of P. aridula (see de Lange et al. 2009) as part of this hybrid swarm. This hypothesis needs further testing using modern molecular methods.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (28 April 2011), Description adapted from Burrows (2011).
References and further reading
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.
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.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Pimelea pseudolyallii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/pimelea-pseudolyallii/ (Date website was queried)