Pomaderris paniculosa subsp. novaezelandiae
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low growing sprawling shrub with fuzzy twigs bearing wrinkled oval smooth-edged leaves inhabiting sites in Northland. Often appears partly dead. Leaves 14–45mm long by 8–15mm wide, underside covered by whiteish fuzz. Flowers brownish, in small clusters along a leafless stalk. Fruit small, dry.
Flower colours
Brown, Orange
Detailed description
Rather untidy, prostrate, sprawling, often widely scrambling to sub-erect shrub 1–2 × 1–2 m, main branches arising at ground level, these often layering. Adult leaves 9–50 × 6–20 mm, oblong; upper surface glabrous; lower surface with dense tomentum of sessile and stalked stellate hairs, often brown or ferruginous; margins sinuate to shallowly crenate, not revolute; petioles to 10 mm, stipules 1–2 mm long, soon deciduous. Juvenile leaves extremely variable, sometimes < 6 mm long, conspicuously toothed, thinly tomentose on both surfaces. Inflorescence an axillary or terminal, elongated, leafless panicle. Flowers dark orange-brown or green-brown, c. 4 mm diameter; calyx spreading, calyx-tube covered in mealy, stellate hairs, lobes c. 1.5 mm long, persistent to capsule maturity. Petals 0. Anthers ovoid. Style divided to > ½ length. Ovary with apical tuft of short-rayed stellate hairs, wholly immersed in the calyx tube at anthesis, slightly > ½ immersed at fruiting. Fruit cocci opening by opercula occupying ⅘ of their inner faces. Seeds 1.6 × 1.1 mm, usually one per flower, dark brown, smooth, not glossy.
Similar taxa
Easily recognised by the sprawling, widely spreading, growth habit (often with plants bearing many dead or dying branches), slender branches; stipules which are deciduous; glabrous adult leaves which have entire margins; and by the persistent sepals. It is perhaps closest to P. rugosa Cheeseman which differs by its geographic isolation (Herekino, Silverdale, Coromandel Peninsula, Hauraki Gulf Islands, Firth of Thames, Aotea and Kawhia Harbours), usually erect rather than sprawling, prostrate growth habit, cream or pale yellow, rather than brownish flowers and by the fruits which have deciduous rather than persistent sepals.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (Te Paki (Hikurua / de Surville Cliffs) and near Whangarei (Mt Manaia, Mt Aubrey, Bream Head)).
Habitat
A plant of open, rocky ground, cliff faces and rock pillars. On the Hikurua / de Surville Cliffs it is a common plant of open ultramafic (serpentinite) talus, cliff faces and less commonly plateau scrub. At Mt Manaia it is confined to the andesitic plugs and associated boulderfield.
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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- 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 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS, DPT, RR
Threats
Aside from its localised distribution, this plant is abundant and under no obvious threat.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Rhamnaceae
Synonyms
Pomaderris oraria var. novae-zelandiae L.B.Moore
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–December
Fruiting
November–February
Propagation technique
Can be grown from layered pieces, semi-hardwood cuttings and fresh seed. Does best in full sun, with excellent drainage.
Other information
Cultivation
Occasionally available from specialist native plant nurseries.
Status notes
Other records of this species from Maunganui Bluff and Cape Maria Van Diemen are considered doubtful, and the latter location is not supported by wild herbarium specimens but only garden plants purported to be from that location.
Etymology
pomaderris: Lid skin
Chromosome number
2n = 36
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: DP, RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan HH. 1961. Flora of New Zealand, Volume I. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 1085 p.
Webb CJ, Sykes WR, Garnock-Jones PJ. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Christchurch, NZ. 1365 p.
Attribution
Description based on herbarium specimens and both Allan (1961) and Webb et al. (1988).
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.