Two New Species of Dianella Recognised
In the March 2007 issue of the New Zealand Journal of Botany 45, New Zealand botanists Peter Heenan and Peter de Lange describe two new species of Dianella, D. haematica Heenan et de Lange and D. latissima Heenan et de Lange. Dianella haematica is endemic to the northern North Island where it inhabits mainly acidic peat bogs. The new species can be recognised by its very short, ascending rhizomes, dense tussock habit, blood-red leaf sheaths, and upright, stout, olive or dark green leaves up to 2 m long by 25 mm wide. The perianth of the flowers is patent to only slightly recurved and struma and style are shorter. Dianella latissima may be more widespread, but it is currently known with certainty only from the northern half of the North Island. It is recognised by its very robust, larger tussock forming growth habit, horizontal, shortly creeping rhizomes, and harshly scabrid, usually uniformly green leaves, pale green to light yellow-green leaf sheaths and oblong struma. Both authors stress that species recognition is best made from fresh material, and as such they illustrate their paper in colour. Both D. haematica (as D. aff. nigra (b) (AK 252911; Kopouatai) and D. latissima (as D. aff. nigra (a) (AK 256873; Hauturu) were previously listed by the New Zealand Threatened Plant Panel under Appendix Two as Taxonomically Indeterminate, “At Risk/Sparse” and “At Risk/Range Restricted” respectively (see de Lange et al. 2004). The authors have recommended that Dianella haematica be regarded as “Chronically Threatened/Serious Decline” and D. latissima as “Data Deficient”. Fact sheets for these two species and Dianella nigra Colenso have now been prepared.References
de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Heenan, P.B.; Courtney, S.P.; Molloy, B.P.J.; Ogle, C.C.; Rance, B.D.; Johnson, P.N.; Hitchmough, R. 2004: Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 45-76.
Heenan, P.B.; de Lange, P.J. 2007: Two new species of Dianella (Hemerocallidaceae) from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 45: 269-285.
Posted: 30/03/2007