Poa ramosissima
Synonyms
Poa ramosissima var. beta Hook.f.
Family
Poaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Grasses
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.
POARAM
Chromosome number
2n = 28
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: RR
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Auckland Islands and Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku.
Habitat
Coastal cliffs, usually associated with bird colonies.
Detailed description
Perennial forming soft, turfy bright green, patches, arising from long, bare prostrate culms with erect apices erect. Plants leafy and much-branched; branching intravaginal; leaf-blades persistent. Leaf-sheath greenish brown to purplish, glabrous, hyaline, ribs prominent. Ligule 1.5–4.0 mm, deeply and sharply lacerate, glabrous throughout. Leaf-blade 40–150 × 1–2 mm, thin, weak, flat, ribs many, strong, minutely papillose-scabrid, adaxially furrowed, evenly narrowed to very finely obtuse or subobtuse tip; margins glabrous. Culm 10–400 mm, internodes glabrous. Panicle 20–100 mm, ± oblong, contracted, usually overtopped by leaves; rachis glabrous, branches erect, short, scarcely spreading, finely papillose-scabrid, bearing few spikelets. Spikelets 4.5–7.5 mm, 3–5-flowered, greenish brown, very minutely papillose-scabrid. Glumes subequal or the lower obviously shorter, both narrow-lanceolate, acute or acuminate; lower 2.5–4 mm, 1–3-nerved, upper 3.0–4.5 mm, 3–nerved. Lemma 3.8–5.0 mm, 5–7-nerved, elliptic, drawn out to acute or acuminate tip, mid- and lateral nerves with a few short hairs near base. Palea 2.5–4.5 mm, very narrow, keels with a few short hair-like prickle-teeth. Callus with small tufts of long, twisted hairs below midnerve of lemma and occasionally below lateral nerves. Rachilla 0.5–1.0 mm, glabrous. Lodicules 0.3–1.0 mm, occasionally hair-tipped. Gynomonoecious: each spikelet with 1–2 lower flowers perfect, anthers 1.5–2.5 mm, gynoecium c. 1.5 mm; upper flowers female with minute colourless anthers 0.1–0.7 mm, gynoecium c. 1.5 mm. Seeds c. 1.0 × 0.5 mm.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
Similar taxa
Poa ramosissima is closely related to Poa cookii (Hook.f.) Hook.f. which in the New Zealand Botanical Region is only known from Macquarie Island, but also occurs on Heard and Kerguelen Islands). Both species have deeply lacerate ligules, papillose upper leaf surfaces and panicle branches, and gynomonoecious flowers. From P. cookii, P. ramosissima is distinguished by its more slender than large, tufted growth habit, and by the leaf surfaces and the spikelet which are scabrid-papillose. In P. cookii the undersides of the leaves are glabrous and the spikelets are glabrous.
Flowering
November–December
Fruiting
December–March
Propagation technique
Difficult. Can be grown from fresh seed and rooted pieces. Will not flourish in warmor dry climates and dislikes humid conditions. Best in a cool spot within permanntly damp—but not saturated, fertile soil.
Threats
Not threatened. Listed because this species naturally occupies a small geographic area within which it is very common.
Etymology
poa: Meadow grass
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Attribution
Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000).
References and further reading
Edgar E, Connor HE. 2000. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Manaaki Whenua Press, Christchurch, NZ. 650 p.