Puccinellia raroflorens
Common names
saltgrass
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Detailed description
Diminutive perennial grass forming diffuse matts up to 2 m diam. and 450 mm high. Plants usually partially covered in soil, rarely flowering with only the short, narrow, dull green leaves visible. Branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath hairless, wider than leaf-blade, ribs few, distinct. Ligule 0.2–0.6 mm, obtuse or truncate, transparent. Leaf-blade 10–30 × 0.2–0.5 mm, hair-like, inrolled, sometimes curled, hairless, tips subacute, margins minutely scabrid. Culm entirely hidden by leaf-sheaths. Panicle rarely present, 10–16 mm, overtopped by leaves, bearing 12 spikelets. Spikelets 3–4–(4.8) mm, 4–6-flowered, green to brownish green. Glumes unequal, ovate, obtuse; lower 0.6–1 mm, 1-nerved, upper 1.1–1.4 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 1.8–2.5 mm, 5-nerved, ovate-elliptic, hairless. Anthers 0.4–0.6 mm. Seeds 1.2–1.6 × 0.6–0.7 mm.
Similar taxa
This species can be distinguished from all other New Zealand Puccinellia Parl. in that it has extravaginal innovation shoots. Flowering plants are rarely seen. When present they differ from other Puccinellia in that the flowering panicles rarely overtop the surrounding leaves.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island (Central Otago) and Stewart Island. Known from the salt pans of Central Otago and in coastal sites on Stewart Island (Paterson Inlet and Mason Bay).
Habitat
A species of inland salt pans, salt slicks, and coastal salt encrusted sand depressions. It has aleo been collected from near barren, stony ground within an estuary.
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 Critical | Qualifiers: CD, DPT, RR
Threats
This species is seriously threatened throughout its known mainland range because of the encroachment of salt-tolerant weeds within the saline soil habitats of Central Otago. Its status on Stewart Island remains unclear being known from just two collections made from widely separated localities and 20 years apart.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–January
Fruiting
November–February
Propagation technique
Can be grown by the division of whole plants. Fresh seed should germinate easily.
Other information
Cultivation
Not commercially available. A few plants are held by specialist growers.
Etymology
puccinellia: After the italian botanist Benedetto Puccinelli (1808 - 1850).
raroflorens: From the Latin raro ‘sporadic’ and florens ‘flowering’
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
Chromosome number
2n = 56
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, DP, RR
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, DP
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, DP
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
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.