Gunnera hamiltonii
| Gunnera hamiltonii | |
|---|---|
| |
| Gunnera hamiltonii at the Rakiura National Park | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Gunnerales |
| Family: | Gunneraceae |
| Genus: | Gunnera |
| Species: | G. hamiltonii
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| Binomial name | |
| Gunnera hamiltonii Kirk
| |
Gunnera hamiltonii is a creeping herbaceous plant in the family Gunneraceae that is endemic to the South Island and Stewart Island of New Zealand. It has clusters of small (2 to 7 cm) grey-brown leaves forming a dense mat. Small green flowers are followed by red berries in the autumn.
Taxonomy
[edit]Gunnera hamiltonii is a creeping herbaceous plant in the family Gunneraceae.[1][2] It was described in 1888 by New Zealand botanist Thomas Kirk in an article by Southland resident William Stewart Hamilton, for whom the species is named.[3][4]
Description
[edit]Gunnera hamiltonii is a creeping herbaceous plant with clusters of small (2 to 7 cm) grey-brown leaves forming a dense mat. It has small green flowers and fruits that are red berries.[2][5]
Distribution and habitat
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G. hamiltonii is endemic to New Zealand, found in Southland, South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura.[6] It is found in damp sand in coastal, sparsely vegetated dune slacks and swales.[2][3]
Conservation status
[edit]It is classified as "Threatened - Nationally Critical" in the New Zealand Threatened Classification System, with the qualifiers CD (Conservation Dependent), RR (Range Restricted), and RF (Recruitment Failure).[7][8]
It is one of the rarest plants in New Zealand, with only five suspected remaining natural habitats. Natural fertilisation of these plants is now difficult as the male and female plants are separate. There was no fruit or seed produced in wild populations studied in 1996.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Gunnera hamiltonii Kirk". www.nzor.org.nz. Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Gunnera hamiltonii". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Gunnera hamiltonii" (PDF). Southland Community Nursery. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Hamilton, William Stewart (1885). "Art. XXXV.—Notes on the Occurrence and Habits of some of our New Zealand Plants". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 17: 290–293.
- ^ "Flora of New Zealand | Taxon Profile | Gunnera hamiltonii". www.nzflora.info. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Webb, Colin; Webb, T. H. (1 December 1976). "Gunnera hamiltonii in Stewart Island, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 14 (4): 361–363. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1976.10428911.
- ^ "Gunnera hamiltonii - NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Lange, Peter de; Gosden, Jane L.; Courtney, Shannel P.; Fergus, Alexander J. F.; Barkla, John; Beadel, Sarah M.; Champion, Paul D.; Hindmarsh-Walls, Rowan; Makan, Troy; Michel, Pascale (1 October 2024). "Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023". New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 43: 1–105. ISSN 2324-1713.
- ^ Webb, Colin (1996). "Seed production in Gunnera hamiltonii". Conservation Advisory Sciertte Notes. 133.
External links
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