Gentianella angustifolia
Common name
narrow-leaved gentian
Synonyms
None (described in 2004)
Family
Gentianaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
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, Sp
Previous conservation statuses
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, North West Nelson
Habitat
Alpine. In crevices and associated skeletal or rendzina soil pockets in karst marble outcrops, on marble talus, edges of sinkholes, also in similar situations on calcareous siltstones, and in shallow soils in surrounding Chionochloa pallens tussockland.
Detailed description
Plants polycarpic, height in flower 110–360 mm. Caudex branched (6–8 times), 45–150 mm long, covered in a brown shaggy layer of dead leaf bases, stolons absent. Root 2.4–8.5 mm diameter at stem base. Flowering stems lateral only, 1–10 per plant, largest flowering stems 1.4–3.5 mm diameter at base, stems purple-black, decumbent, stem leaves 2–3 pairs per stem, lowest pedicels from halfway up to near apex of flowering stem. Rosette of leaves present and distinct from flowering stem leaves, leaves narrowly elliptic or elliptic, 23.0–161.0 × 6.4–30.0 mm, green, sometimes tinted purple-black on the margins, fl at; petiole absent or indistinct, leaf 3.6–7.6 mm wide at narrowest point, sometimes with a V-shaped petiole; apex acute or rounded. Pedicels one or two per leaf axil, 10–80 mm long, 1.0–1.8 mm diameter. Flowers 3–48 per plant, 18–25 mm long. Calyx 9–18 mm long, green, sometimes tinted purple-black on margins, hairs at calyx–corolla fusion line present, rarely absent; lobes 5.6–12.5 × 2.6–5.6 mm at base, plane, apices acute, margins smooth or minutely denticulate, sinus hairs sparse to abundant, with tips often purple. Corolla 14.2–27.0 mm long, white; tube 3.9–6.2 mm long; lobes 10.3–15.6 × 6.4–13 mm, hairs below sinus present or absent; nectary 0.6–2.9 mm from corolla base. Filaments 7.9–12.3 mm long from corolla base, 0.8–1.5 mm wide. Anthers 1.9–3.9 mm long, anther wall blue-black, mouth yellow, extrorse at anthesis; pollen yellow. Female flowers absent. Stigma colourless. Ovules 35–80 per ovary. Capsule 18–22 mm long.
Similar taxa
Recognised by the sparsely branched, non-bushy growth habit, narrowly elliptic to orbicular leaves, with petioles 4.1-6.9 mm wide, sessile flowering stem leaves which are smaller than rosette leaves; large flowers (corolla 14–25 mm long); long anthers (1.7–3.9 mm long); and by having 25-60 ovules per plant. This species is confined to Nelson where it usually alpine and confined to calcareous rock outcrops and associated shallow soils
Flowering
February
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Fruiting
March - May
Life cycle
Seeds dispersed by ballistic projection, wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009)
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.
Threats
A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which is sparsely to locally abundant within its key habitats. There are no known threats, and all the known populations occur within Kahurangi National Park.
Etymology
gentianella: Little Gentiana (named after Gentius, 6th century king of Illyria, who found the roots of the yellow gentian to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops)
angustifolia: From the Latin angustus ‘narrow, constricted’ and folius ‘leaf’, meaning narrow-leaved
Where To Buy
Not Commercially Available
Attribution
Fact Sheet for NZPCN prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 November 2004). Description modified from Glenny (2004).
References and further reading
Glenny, D. 2004: A revision of the genus Gentianella in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 361-530.
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