Thyridia repens
Common name
Native musk, Maori musk, Native monkey flower
Synonyms
Mimulus repens R.Br.; Mimulus colensoi Kirk
Family
Phrymaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites
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.
MIMREP
Chromosome number
2n = 20
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). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By 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.
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: EF, RR, SO, Sp
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, SO
2004 | Sparse
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North and South Islands. Also Australia
Habitat
Strictly coastal. Usually at the back of salt marshes and estuaries, in permanently damp or soggy, saline mud or silt soils in locations that are periodically flooded during high, spring or King tides. Sometimes in dune swales. Intolerant of much competition from taller plants or faster growing mat-forming species.
Features
Mat-forming, succulent, perennial herb. All parts glabrous. Stems dark green to red-green, prostrate, sometimes ascending at apices, rooting at nodes. Leaves sessile, amplexicaul, c. 2-8 x 1-6 mm, dark green, brown-green to reddish-green, broadly ovate-oblong, entire, punctuate, somewhat succulent. Flowers on short, ascending branches, solitary in leaf axils; pedicels 2-8 mm long, dark green to pinkish-green. Calyx 2-7 mm long, < corolla tube, broadly funneliform; apex truncate, minutely toothed. Corolla 10-15 mm long, distinctly 2-lipped. light purple, mauve, lilac or white, red-spotted with yellow open throat; lower lip bearded; lobes shallow, broader than long. Capsule 6.5 mm long, broadly cylindric.
Similar taxa
None - the combination of habitat preference, mat-forming growth form, succulent, glabrous, dark green to red-green stems and foliage, and light purple, mauve, lilac or white flowers mark this species out from the three other introduced and yellow-flowered Erythranthe species present in New Zealand.
Flowering
September - February
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Fruiting
November - May
Propagation technique
Easily grown from rooted pieces, stem cuttings and fresh seed. Very beautiful but tends to be short lived. Needs frequent re-potting to maintain itself and should be grown in full sun in a pot kept partially submerged in water.
Threats
A widespread, naturally uncommon, biologically sparse species. It is most uncommon in the northern North Island becoming progressively more abundant south of the Waikato, although it is still often absent over large parts of the country. In some parts of its range, particularly metropolitan Auckland, populations have been lost through road realignments (where they cross salt marshes e.g., the upper Waitemata Harbour) or through land reclamation. The spread of the aggressive salt grasses (Spartina spp.) and Carex divisa. is also a risk in some parts of its range. Nevertheless, these range contractions are insufficient nationally to justify an upgrade to one of the three threat categories.
Etymology
repens: From Latin repere meaning to creep, means creeping
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Taxonomic Notes
Barker et al. (2012) proposed a new classification for Mimulus in which they segregated off a number of genera, including the erection of a monotypic Thyridia W.P.Barker et Beardsley to cover the Australasian species Mimulus repens R.Br. However, many of the characters which were used to segregate that genus are found also in Peplidium Delile and further the molecular support for the generic splits proposed is weak. Therefore until further research is undertaken it seems wise to retain the existing classification for Mimulus.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 8 August 2004. Description adapted from Allan (1961).
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Government Printer, Wellington.
Barker, W.R.; Nesom, G.L.; Beardsley, P.M.; Fraga, N.S.2012: A taxonomic conspectus of Phrymaceae: A narrowed circumscriptions for Mimulus, new and resurrected genera, and new names and combinations. Phytoneuron 1-60.
Gardner, R. 1988. Mimulus repens. Auckland Botanical Society Journal, 43: 67
Citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Thyridia repens Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/thyridia-repens/ (Date website was queried)