Damnamenia vernicosa
Common name
damnamenia
Synonyms
Celmisia vernicosa Hook.f.
Family
Asteraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous 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.
DAMVER
Chromosome number
2n = 108
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Auckland Islands and Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku.
Habitat
A species of mostly upland cushion bogs and Pleurophyllum Hook.f. dominated meadows. Also grows at low elevations in exposed, inhospitable, sparsely vegetated sites.
Detailed description
Stoloniferous herb with thick woody multicipital basal stock. Living leaves densely imbricating and forming rosettes at tips of branchlets and sometimes at ends of leafy stolons. Leaves glossy as though varnished, glabrous; venation simple with lateral veins of sheath not extending into the lamina. Ptyxis plain. Inflorescence scapose and monocephalous. Receptacle obconic; phyllaries in several series, bearing eglandular uniseriate hairs only. Ray florets ligulate, female, white, occasionally pale rose especially near tips, limb and tube clad in scattered hairs. Disc florets tubular, pefect, purple or occasionally yellow, cyathiform above point of insertion of stamen filaments and usually cylindrical below, although occasionally gradually narrowing towards corolla base; corolla hairs eglandular biseriate and uniseriate; stamen tip usually obtuse or if acute then short, anther tails present but shorter than the basally narrowed filament collar; style arms short, terminal appendage broadly triangular and bearing long collecting hairs on back and margin. Pappus bristles unequal, in more than one series, plumose with long crowded teeth. Achene obconic, clad in duplex hairs.
Similar taxa
None
Flowering
November - January
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Fruiting
December - March
Life cycle
Pappate cypselae are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult - should not be removed from the wild
Threats
A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic, abundant and under no obvious threats within its known sites. Both Auckland and Campbell Island are Nature Reserves and World Heritage Sites administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation who exercises strict controls on landings to these islands.
Etymology
vernicosa: Varnished
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Attribution
Description from Given (1973).
References and further reading
Given, D.R. 1973. Damnamenia gen. nov. A New Subantarctic Genus Allied to Celmisia Cass. (Astereae-Compositae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 11: 785-796.
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309