Wahlenbergia pygmaea subsp. pygmaea
Common names
North Island harebell
Synonyms
Wahlenbergia pygmaea Colenso; Wahlenbergia pygmaea subsp. tararua J.A.Petterson
Family
Campanulaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Chromosome number
2n = 36
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) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. 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. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (main axial ranges from the Huiarau to Tararua Ranges and adjacent Volcanic Peaks (except Mt Taranaki).
Habitat
Montane to alpine. Common in herbfield, tussock-grassland, on lava fields, and rocks. Usually above the forest line but extending down rivers.
Detailed description
Perennial rhizomatous herb with rosulate tufts of leaves at ground level. Leaves bright green, glossy, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, petiolate; lamina spathulate, 10 × 3 to 20 × 5 mm, 2 mm wide. Leaf margins sparsely toothed, usually red-tinged. Flowers usually insect-pollinated, some forms self-fertile; erect or nodding on short upright scapes, 40-100 mm tall, which may be naked or 1-2-bracted. Corolla soft blue, or blue and white; up to 30 mm diameter, up to 18 mm long, broadly campanulate with tube as broad as or broader than long, lobes c.9 × 7 mm, spreading, broadly elliptic-lanceolate, acute. Calyx lobes c.3.0 × 1.5 mm, glabrous, narrow-triangular. Capsule c.10 × 6 mm, glabrous, domed cylindrical to plump barrel-shaped. Seeds ellipsoid, glossy brown.
Similar taxa
Differs from subsp. drucei by its geographic isolation; by its spathulate leaves whose leaf margins are sparsely toothed and often red-tinged; and by the flowers which are soft blue, white or blue and white
Flowering
December – May
Flower colours
Blue, White
Fruiting
January - May
Propagation technique
Easily grown from tip cuttings and the division of whole plants. Fresh seed germinates readily.
Etymology
wahlenbergia: Named in honour of Wahlenberg, a Swedish botanist and author of A Botany of Lapland.
pygmaea: Tiny
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
TAXONOMIC NOTES
Wahlenbergia pygmaea seems only doubtfully distinct from the earlier named South Island endemic W. albomarginata, and many botanists regard them as conspecific. This requires further study. In the interim Wahlenbergia pygmaea subsp. tararua is here treated as part of W. pygmaea subsp. pygmaea because the morphological distinctions attributed to it by Petterson (1997) are variable and fall within the range of variation seen in W. pygmaea subsp. pygmaea north of the Tararua Ranges.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared by P.J. de Lange 12 June 2007. Description adapted from Petterson (1997).
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.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Wahlenbergia pygmaea subsp. pygmaea Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/wahlenbergia-pygmaea-subsp-pygmaea/ (Date website was queried)