Poa pygmaea
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Simplified description
Easily recognised by the diminutive (up to 100 × 25 mm), compact, grey-green, cushion-forming growth habit; culms that scarcely over top the leaves, and panicles with obtuse lemmas whose internerves are glabrous in the upper ½ and sparsely covered with fine, usually crinkled hairs in the lower ½.
Detailed description
Small, dull grey-green to green, much-branched, very densely packed perennial, rooting from short prostrate branches and forming compact, rigid cushions to 100 × 25 mm high, slightly overtopped by filiform flowering culms with few spikelets. Branching intravaginal, new shoots with densely imbricating leaves; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath much wider than leaf-blade, pale greyish brown, membranous, glabrous, shining, ± indistinctly ribbed. Ligule 0.5–1.0 mm, apically glabrous, entire, narrowed centrally to a short point, underside sparsely to densely minutely pubescent. Leaf-blade 3–7 × 1–2 mm, stiff, inrolled, underside glabrous, ribs prominent, upper surface strongly ribbed, ribs whitish with fine minute hairs or prickle-teeth; midrib scabrid near very curved, subobtuse or occasionally acute tip. Culm 15–25 mm, internodes mainly smooth with a few minute prickle-teeth above. Panicle 5–10 mm, contracted, racemose, with 1–3 spikelets; branches and pedicels glabrous. Spikelets 4.5–5.5 mm, 2–5-flowered, light green to purplish. Glumes equal, 2.5–3.5 mm, 3-nerved, ovate-elliptic, subobtuse, smooth or rarely with a few prickle-teeth on midnerve near tip; margins entire. Lemma 3.0–3.5 mm, 5-nerved, ovate, obtuse, lower ½ with fine, often crinkled hairs on nerves and sparse somewhat shorter hairs on internerves, upper ½ sparsely scabrid on midnerve and near wide membranous margin; midnerve occasionally minutely excurrent. Palea 2.5–3.0 mm, keels ciliate, interkeel with sparse minute hairs. Callus with few long hairs. Rachilla 0.5 mm, sparsely ciliate; prolongation twice as long. Lodicules 0.4–0.6 mm. Anthers 1.2–1.6 mm. Seeds c. 1.5–2.0 × 0.5 mm.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Otago (Pisa Range and Mount St Bathans).
Habitat
Subalpine to alpine in snow hollows and on lake margins
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 – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
Threats
Not Threatened—but known to occupy only small areas within its few known habitats.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–November–(December)
Fruiting
December–March
Propagation technique
Difficult. Can be grown from fresh seed and from rooted pieces in an alpine house. Dislikes humidity and drying out.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Etymology
poa: Meadow grass
pygmaea: Tiny
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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.
POAPYG
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | At Risk – Regionally Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CI, NS, NStr, RE, RR, St, TL
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
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.