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  4. Poa anceps

Poa anceps

Remutaka Rail Trail.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 04/03/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Maungapakeha taipo, Wairarapa. Nov 2004.<br>Photographer: Barbara Mitcalfe, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Eastbourne Hills.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 23/12/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Eastbourne Hills.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 23/12/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Remutaka Rail Trail.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 04/03/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Remutaka Rail Trail.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 04/03/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Eastbourne Hills.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 23/12/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Eastbourne Hills.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 23/12/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Remutaka Rail Trail.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 04/03/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Remutaka Rail Trail.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 04/03/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Remutaka Rail Trail.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 04/03/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Te Mata Peak, Hawkes Bay.<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>
leaf bases. Te Mata Peak, Hawkes Bay.<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>
Mt Taranaki.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Date taken: 15/03/2013, 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>
Poa anceps.<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>
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Common names

broad-leaved poa

Biostatus

Native – Endemic taxon

Category

Vascular

Structural class

Grasses

Detailed description

Very variable, coarse, light green, greenish brown to bluish green perennial tufted grass to 1 m, with stiff erect leaves < stems, or often scrambling and trailing to 2 m, with hanging leaves and stems drooping from thick stolons, rooting at nodes below tufts; branching extravaginal, with up to three, short, glabrous, obtuse, bract-like sheaths at base; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath light green to light brown, coriaceous, folded and strongly keeled, lateral ribs conspicuous, smooth or slightly scabrid above, rarely minutely scabrid throughout. Ligule 0.5 mm, a truncate usually long-ciliate rim, scabrid abaxially. Leaf-blade coriaceous, folded–flat, 100–400 × 1.0–6.5 mm, abaxially with prominent, thickened midrib, and numerous, distinct lateral ribs, smooth apart from prickle-teeth near tip; upper surface smooth, or scabrid on ribs, rarely papillose-scabrid, occasionally with fringe of stiff short hairs above ligule; margins smooth or scabrid, thickened, tip acuminate or abruptly acute, often pungent, scabrid. Culm 150–700 mm, often not far exserted beyond uppermost leaf-sheath, internodes glabrous. Panicle 100–280 mm, usually open with numerous spreading branches, sometimes contracted, branches whorled, very slender; rachis and primary branches often smooth, secondary branchlets finely, sharply, densely or sparsely scabrid or smooth, often spikelet-bearing ± throughout. Spikelets numerous, 3.0–7.5 mm, 2–8-flowered light green. Glumes subequal, narrow- to elliptic-lanceolate, acute to subobtuse, occasionally smooth throughout, or upper ⅔ scabrid; lower slightly shorter, lower glume 2.0–4.5 mm, 3-nerved, upper 2.5–5.0 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 3.0–4.5 mm, 5–7-nerved, elliptic-oblong, acute to subobtuse, internerves finely scaberulous throughout, occasionally only minutely papillose, bearing short crinkled hairs on lower ½ of midnerve and near base of outer lateral nerves; margins minutely scabrid. Palea 2.5–4.0 mm, keels finely scabrid, interkeel and flanks smooth or minutely scabrid. Callus with thick tuft of soft crinkled hairs. Rachilla c. 0.5 mm, smooth or minutely, sparsely scabrid; prolongation c. twice as long. Lodicules c. 0.5 mm, occasionally hair-tipped. Anthers 1.5–2.5 mm. Seed c. 2.0 × 0.5 mm.

Similar taxa

The Kermadec Islands Poa polyphylla Hack. is closely related (see under that species). Poa anceps is most likely to be confused with Poa xenica (see under that species) and Poa chathamica (see under that species). However, as these species grow in habitats where Poa anceps is not found confusion in the field is unlikely.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Three Kings, North and South Islands (north and western coasts as far south as George Sound, on Banks Peninsula in the east).

Habitat

Coastal, lowland to subalpine. On coastal and inland cliffs, on rock falls, in open forest, scrub and grassland.

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 | Not Threatened

Jump to previous conservation statuses

Detailed taxonomy

Family

Poaceae

Authority

Poa anceps G.Forst.

Synonyms

Poa anceps G.Forst. var. anceps; Poa anceps var. elata Hook.f.; Poa anceps var. foliosa Hook.f.; Poa anceps var. densiflora Hook.f.; Poa anceps var. condensata Cheeseman; Poa affinis var. multiflora Hook.f.; Poa affinis var. agrostoidea Hook.f., Poa anceps G.Forst. subsp. anceps

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Ecology

Flowering

September–December

Fruiting

November–May

Propagation technique

Easily grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. An excellent grass that deserves to be more widely cultivated. Poa anceps is a very variable species and would repay some critical horticultural selection. It is best grown in full sun, and is excellent on banks where it can trail down slope. This species is tolerant of a wide range of conditions.

Wetland plant indicator status rating

Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]

FACU: Facultative Upland

Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).

Other information

Etymology

poa: Meadow grass

anceps: From the Latin an- ‘two’ and caputus ‘head’, meaning two-faced or two-edged

Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key

Key to the grasses of New Zealand

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.

POAANC

Chromosome number

2n = 28

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 | Not Threatened

2012 | Not Threatened

2009 | Not Threatened

2004 | Not Threatened

Jump to current conservation status

Regional conservation statuses

Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT

The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.

Referencing and citations

References and further reading

Edgar E, Connor HE. 2000. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Manaaki Whenua Press, Christchurch, NZ. 650 p.

Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (June 2005). Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000).

Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.

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