Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. decora
Common names
New Zealand harebell, harebell
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Blue, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Perennial herb with stout taproot, and short crowded tufts of rosulate leaves, radical leaves sparse, these sometimes alternate on elongated stems (shade form). Leaves dark green, yellow-green to red green (not drying glaucous), more or less petiolate, dentate to serrate, lamina 10 × 2 to 40 × 10 mm, obovate to oblanceolate, marginal teeth conspicuous, gradually narrowed to petiole as long as the lamina or longer. Flowers fragrant, insect-pollinated, borne on short, slender scapes 30-100 mm long; narrowly campanulate-rotate, corolla pale flax blue to pale blue-violet, often with white zoning and deeper coloured veins, or all white, 15-20 mm diameter, 10-15 mm long, corolla tube 4 × 3 to 10 × 6 mm, lobes 6 × 3 to 12 × 5 mm; style equal in length to corolla tube, lobes 2 or 3. Calyx lobes less than ¼ corolla length; capsule domed cylindric, 6-8 × 4 mm. Seeds 0.5 mm long, ellipsoid, smooth, glossy brown when mature.
Similar taxa
Similar to subsp. laxa (G.Simpson) J.A.Petterson, from which it differs mostly by its restriction to high alpine habitats; development of a strong taproot; development of short crowded rosettes in scree habitats; slender, short (30-100 mm long) scapes; fragrant flowers that are 15-20 mm diameter and 10-15 mm long. The distinctions between subsp. decora and subsp. albomarginata, subsp. laxa and subsp. flexilis (Petrie) J.A.Petterson, appear trivial and overlapping. The taxonomic status of all these subspecies (except perhaps subsp. olivina J.A.Petterson) seems questionable, and would repay further critical study.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Nelson Lakes National Park; possibly also North-west Nelson and Fiordland)
Habitat
Alpine. Inhabiting scree margins and rock crevices
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 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Campanulaceae
Synonyms
None (described in 1997)
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November – April
Fruiting
December - April
Propagation technique
Easily grown from tip cuttings and the division of whole plants. Fresh seed germinates readily. Being insect-pollinated and having an indigenous pollinator, cultivated plants rarely set seed.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Etymology
wahlenbergia: Named in honour of Wahlenberg, a Swedish botanist and author of A Botany of Lapland.
albomarginata: From the Latin albus ‘white’ and marginatus ‘having a border or margin’ meaning something with a white margin, often referring to leaves
decora: Beautiful
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.
WAHASD
Chromosome number
2n = 36
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Petterson, J.A. 1997: Revision of the genus Wahlenbergia (Campanulaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botanv 35: 9-54.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared by P.J. de Lange 12 June 2007. Description adapted from Petterson (1997).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. decora Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/wahlenbergia-albomarginata-subsp-decora/ (Date website was queried)