Simplicia felix
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Simplified description
Feeble, inconspicuous mat-forming grass of shaded habitats. Plants rooting at nodes. Inflorescences inconspicuous, delicate; flowering branches scabrid, upper branches often tightly appressed to main stem, basal ones often reflexed and spreading. Spikelets one-flowered, bearing prominent scabrid lemma and much reduced, minute scale-like glumes.
Flower colours
Green
Detailed description
Plants forming flaccid, diffuse, often much interconnected, sprawling patches up to 1 m across. Culms 0.25–0.65 m long, green to dark brown when fresh, wiry, initially decumbent, becoming ascendant with the apices weakly erect, culm internodes 5–8, elongated, glabrous; internodes longer than subtending leaf-sheaths. Culm-nodes conspicuously swollen when fresh, dark green-brown to brown-black 0.15–0.25 mm long, rooting freely on contact with ground. Basal leaf-sheaths dull dark brown, membranous, strongly ribbed, usually abaxially pubescent (sometimes glabrous) on ribs, hairs 0.10–0.15 mm long, patent to retrorse; mid stem and upper leaf-sheaths pale-green to green, membranous, strongly ribbed, glabrous (rarely abaxially ribs finely pubescent toward sheath apex). Ligule 2.0–2.6 mm, membranous, lanceolate, apex entire, or deeply lacerate; glabrous, or with both surfaces hairy; hairs 0.15–0.18 mm long. Leaf-blade (20)–40–(60) × (1.0)–1.2–2.4–(3.0) mm, yellow-green to dark green, flat, narrow linear-lanceolate, finely ribbed, ribs smooth (sometimes minutely scabrid); margins minutely scabrid. Panicle 20–40–(80) mm long, linear to ± pyramidal, usually with basal branch or branch pair reflexed (often unevenly so); rachis glabrous (sometimes bearing a few minute prickle-teeth), branches 20–30 mm long, scabrid, binate, initially contracted but as inflorescences mature, spreading to reflexed, devoid of spikelets in lower half to two-thirds; pedicels appressed to branchlets, 0.20–0.25–(0.30) mm long, finely pubescent. Spikelets 2.7–3.0 mm, 1-flowered, lanceolate, light green. Glumes pale green (± hyaline), glabrous, ovatelanceolate to ovate, acute, 1-nerved, nerve sometimes extending beyond apex as a minute mucro, margins initially entire, becoming erose near apex, very sparsely ciliate in upper third; lower glume 0.5–0.6 mm, upper glume 0.75–0.8–(0.9) mm. Lemma 2.0–2.8–(3.0) mm, light green to cream, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, acute, apex mucronate (mucro 0.1 mm long), 5-nerved, the inner 3 nerves conspicuous, the outer less prominent; nerves bearing evenly spaced minute (0.02–0.03 mm long), antrorse, appressed prickle-teeth, interstices usually densely (sometimes sparsely) covered with minute antrorse prickle-teeth. Palea 2.0–2.8 mm, lanceolate, green to purple-green, 1–2-nerved, nerves bearing evenly spaced minute prickle (0.02–0.03 mm long) teeth, interstices usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely covered with minute prickle-teeth. Rachilla prolongation 0.8 mm, filiform, hyaline, glabrous except for sparse cilia cresting prolongation apex. Stamens 3. Filaments 0.6–0.9 mm long, hyaline. Anthers 1.0–1.2 mm, yellow. Ovary narrowly ovoid to weakly trigonous 1.0 mm long, pale green, glabrous; styles apical, 1.0–1.2 mm, hyaline; stigmas plumose, white. Caryopsis 1.2– 1.4–(1.5) mm long, laterally compressed, pale orange to orange-brown when mature.
Similar taxa
Most similar to Simplicia laxa from which it is distinguished by the culm internodes which are longer than the subtending leaf sheaths and consistently glabrous; and by the strongly ribbed, dull dark brown basal sheaths, whose ribs are glabrous or pubescent (if pubescent then with the hairs 0.10–0.15 mm long). The mid-stem and upper-stem leaf sheaths of Simplicia felix are strongly ribbed and usually glabrous. The leaf surfaces and margins are mostly smooth though the ribs and leaf margins may be minutely scabrid. The inflorescences of Simplicia felix are are smaller (up to 80 mm long rather than 150 mm long as in S. laxa), and the branches are scabrid rather than antrorsely hairy. Although the lemma of both species overlap in range, those of S. felix tend to be shorter (2.0–3.0 mm long) than those of S. laxa (2.8–3.4 mm long) and minutely scabrid rather than pubescent. The rachilla prolongation of S. laxa is narrowly lanceolate, 1.25–1.30 mm long and with the margins minutely ciliate, while that of S. felix is filiform, 0.8 mm long and bearing sparse cilia only near the apex. Simplicia felix is not closely allied to S. buchananii from which it is distinguished by the lax, sprawling, rather than erect culms; linear-pyramidal rather than linear inflorescences with binate branching, and by the lower branch or branches usually reflexed rather than appressed to the rachis. The pedicels of S. felix are also pubescent rather than glabrous (rarely minutely scabrid). For more information see de Lange et al. (2016).
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island ( from near Taihape to Wairarapa), South Island (one occurrence in North Otago).
Habitat
A species of eastern lowland to lower montane, often riparian, seasonally dry (drought prone) Podocarp forests overlying base-rich substrates such as limestone, calcareous mudstone and siltstone. It has been found once outside these habitats in North Otago growing within a limestone overhang.
Threats
Simplicia felix occupies a very small area of only a few square metres wherever it occurs. It appears to have quite specific light requirements and tolerates only limited competition from other ground-cover species. The healthiest populations occur at sites where competition is reduced by grazing from cattle and sheep. While grazing apparently benefits S. felix, it will ultimately lead to the collapse of the forest canopy necessary for S. felix to survive. Collectively, Simplicia felix occupies <1 ha, so meeting the criteria for Threatened—Nationally Critical B2 (Townsend et al. 2008), qualified ‘DP’ (Data Poor) and ‘RR’ (Range restricted).
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None - first described in 2016
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December–February
Fruiting
January–April
Propagation technique
Easily grown from rooted pieces and stem node cuttings. Does best in shaded sites. Difficult to maintain. Dislikes competition.
Other information
Etymology
felix: Taken from the Latin word for ‘lucky’ .
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: DP, RR
2016 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2025 | Regionally Threatened – Regionally Critical | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, NR, OL, PE
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 “Conservation Status of Indigenous Vascular Plants in Otago, 2025” Jarvie S et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
de Lange PJ, Smissen RD, Rolfe, JR, Ogle CC. 2016. Systematics of Simplicia Kirk (Poaceae: Agrostidinae)—an endemic, threatened New Zealand grass genus. PhytoKeys 75: 119–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.75.10328
Townsend AJ, de Lange PJ, Norton DA, Molloy J, Miskelly C, Duffy C. 2008. New Zealand Threat Classification manual. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 35 p. https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/sap244.pdf.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (12 December 2016). Description adapted from de Lange et al. (2016).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Simplicia felix Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/simplicia-felix/ (Date website was queried)