Syrrhopodon armatus
Common names
moss
Biostatus
Native
Current conservation status
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2025 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, SO
Category
Non-vascular
Structural class
Mosses
Detailed description
Plants small, pale white- or brown-green, forming tufts or sparse turves. Stems simple or sparsely forked, from
Distribution
Indigenous. Kermadec Islands: Raoul Island, Dayrell Island. New Zealand: North Island (Te Paki to Pauanui) and Chatham Islands (Rekohu and Rabbit Islands)
Habitat
Saxicolous, corticolous or rarely terricolous. Coastal. Usually on the shaded trunks or root mats of pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa and M. kermadecensis), near the base of tree fern trunks or on rotting Astelia bases. Also on shaded rock. Sometimes on shaded soil especially near petrel or shearwater burrows on offshore islands
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
N.A. - spore producing
Fruiting
N.A. - spore producing
Other information
Etymology
armatus: Equipped, armed
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.
SYRARM
Previous conservation statuses
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2014 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, SO
2010 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, SO
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 July 2011.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Syrrhopodon armatus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/syrrhopodon-armatus/ (Date website was queried)