BCA Native Plants - Part 1 Table of contents Introduction Alectryon excelsus subsp. excelsus Dacrydium cupressinum Brachyglottis repanda Vitex lucens Laurelia novae-zelandiae Corynocarpus laevigatus Hedycarya arborea Schefflera digitata Knightia excelsa Phyllocladus trichomanoides Pectinopitys ferruginea Prumnopitys taxifolia Melicytus ramiflorus Pittosporum eugenioides Dysoxylum spectabile Agathis australis Pseudopanax lessonii Pseudopanax arboreus Weinmannia racemosa Phormium tenax Made on the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network website: www.nzpcn.org.nz Copyright: All images used in this book remain copyright of the named photographer. Any reproduction, retransmission, republication, or other use of all or part of this book is expressly prohibited, unless prior written permission has been granted by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network ([email protected]). All other rights reserved. INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE NETWORK This book was compiled from information stored on the The Network has more than 800 members worldwide website of the New Zealand Plant Conservation and is New Zealand’s largest non-governmental Network (www.nzpcn.org.nz). organisation solely devoted to the protection and restoration of New Zealand’s indigenous plant life. This website was established in 2003 as a repository for information about New Zealand’s threatened The vision of the New Zealand Plant Conservation vascular plants. Since then it has grown into a national Network is that ‘no indigenous species of plant will database of information about all plants in the New become extinct nor be placed at risk of extinction as a Zealand botanic region including both native and result of human action or indifference, and that the naturalised vascular plants as well as non-vascualr rich, diverse and unique plant life of New Zealand will plants and fungi. be recognised, cherished and restored’. Funding to develop the website was provided by the Since it was founded in 2003 the Network has New Zealand Government’s Terrestrial and Freshwater undertaken a range of conservation initiatives in order Biodiversity Information System Programme (TFBIS). to achieve its vision. The website is run by a team of volunteers and is That work has included: continually improving in both the richness of content and the range of functions it offers. Training people in plant conservation Publishing plant books, reports and posters The species information used on the website has come from a variety of sources which are cited at the bottom Raising money for the David Given Threatened Plant of a species page. Research Trust to pay for plant conservation research scholarships Where no published treatment was available Peter Educating people about plant life through the used herbarium specimens and his own knowledge of Network website the flora to prepare species pages. Various other contributors have provided text and additional Connecting people through our website, the information to many species pages including botanists monthly newsletter, the Network conference and such as John Barkla, Cathy Jones, Simon Walls, Nick the annual general meeting Singers, Mike Thorsen and many others. The WHAT IS A THREATENED PLANT? threatened fungi text was written by Eric Mackenzie and Peter Buchanan (Landcare Research) and aquatic The NZ Threatened Plant Committee was formed in plant information was supplied by Paul Champion from 1991 and ever since then it has met at regular intervals NIWA. Colin Ogle has contributed to the exotic species to review the status of indigenous vascular plants. It is fact sheets. made up of a team of botanists that between them have an extensive knowledge of the native plants of More than 200 photographers have kindly provided New Zealand. images to illustrate the website and for use in this book especially John Smith-Dodsworth, Jeremy Rolfe, Peter This committee applies a set of criteria to each native de Lange, Wayne Bennett and Gillian Crowcroft, Mike plant to determine its conservation status. The Thorse, Colin Ogle and John Sawyer. resulting list of species classified as threatened is published in the NZ Journal of Botany (see for example THE NEW ZEALAND BOTANIC REGION de Lange et al. 2018). The main threat categories used The information on the Network website, from which are: Extinct, Nationally Critical, Nationally Endangered this book was compiled, is for species that are and Nationally Vulnerable, Declining. Other categories indigenous to or naturalised within the New Zealand used are: Recovering, Relict, Naturally Uncommon, Botanic Region as defined by Allan (1961). The New Coloniser, Vagrant and Data Deficient. For vascular Zealand botanic region encompases the Kermadec, plants the threat status used in this book is taken from Manawatawhi/Three Kings, North, South, Stewart the ‘Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous Island/Rakiura, Chatham, Antipodes, Bounties, Snares, vascular plants, 2017’ by de Lange et al. (2018). Auckland Campbell island/Motu Ihupuku and Recently other committees have been established to Macquarie. review the status of non-vascular plants and have produced assessments for New Zeland mosses (Rolfe et al., 2016) as well as horworts and liverworts (de Lange et al., 2015). Alectryon excelsus subsp. excelsus COMMON NAME New Zealand ash, titoki SYNONYMS Alectryon excelsus Gaert., Alectryon excelsus Gaertn. var. excelsus FAMILY Sapindaceae AUTHORITY Alectryon excelsus Gaertn. subsp. excelsus Alectryon excelsus subsp excelsus. Photographer: Peter de Lange FLORA CATEGORY Vascular – Native ENDEMIC TAXON Yes ENDEMIC GENUS No ENDEMIC FAMILY No STRUCTURAL CLASS Seeds. Photographer: Wayne Bennett Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons NVS CODE ALEEXC CHROMOSOME NUMBER 2n = 32 CURRENT CONSERVATION STATUS 2012 | Not Threatened PREVIOUS CONSERVATION STATUSES 2009 | Not Threatened 2004 | Not Threatened BRIEF DESCRIPTION Small tree with spreading branches and a dark fluted trunk. Leaves with 3-7 offset pairs of glossy dark green leaflets. Flowers red, in small, clustered, sprays. Fruit fleshy red partly surrounding a black seed and expanding from a furry brown capsule. DISTRIBUTION Endemic. North and South Islands from Te Paki to Banks Peninsula HABITAT A widespread coastal to lowland forest tree. Often favouring well drained, fertile, alluvial soils along river banks and associated terraces. It is also a major component of coastal forests, particularly those developed within exposed situations or on basaltic or andesite volcanics. It is a common offshore island tree within the Hauraki Gulf. The large fruits are bird dispersed and so titoki trees often occur as a sparse components of most lowland forest types, throughout the North Island. FEATURES Tree between 10m and 20m tall. Branches stout, erect, all parts invested with fine, velutinous, ferrugineous hairs. Bark brown. Adult leaves dark green, matt when mature, imparipinnate, alternate 80-260 mm long. Leaflets 3-7 pairs; lamina 45-105 x 19-40 mm, subcoriaceous, lanceolate, oblong or narrowly-ovate, apex, subacute often acuminate, rarely obtuse; base cuneate, truncate to oblique, upper leaf surface matt; lamina margin entire or deeply serrated 1-4 times near apex. Inflorescences axillary 90-120 mm long, sparingly branched panicles. Flowers bisexual or staminate. Petals absent. Stamens 5-8 in bisexual and 6-10 in staminate flowers, crimson. Stigma ovoid, in staminate flowers ovary tholiform, style absent, in perfect flowers broadly urceolate, style 1.5-2 mm, erect. Fruits sessile, 1-2-lobed, 14-20 x 9-14 mm, pubescent, globular, carina 3-5 mm long on one side. Seed 7-10 x 4-8 mm, subglobose, black, lustrous, sarcotesta fleshy, scarlet, papillose. SIMILAR TAXA Alectryon excelsus subsp. grandis (Cheeseman) de Lange et E.K.Cameron which is a smaller shrub or tree, usually with a multi-trunked habit. The leaves of subsp. grandis are very glossy (vernicose), distinctly bullate, with 2-4 pairs of broadly oblong or ovate leaflets. A. excelsus subsp. grandis is an allopatric Three Kings Islands endemic. FLOWERING October - December (-June) FLOWER COLOURS Red/Pink FRUITING November - August LIFE CYCLE Arillate seeds are dispersed by frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009). PROPAGATION TECHNIQUE Easy from fresh seed. Grows quickly in suitable conditions, preferring well drained, fertile soils in full sun or partial shade. A popular street tree, and as the fruit is bird dispersed it often naturalises in gardens from street side plantings ETYMOLOGY alectryon: Cockscomb excelsus: Tall TAXONOMIC NOTES The exact status of Alectryon plants on the Poor Knights Islands needs further investigation. In some respects these plants appear intermediate between A. excelsus subsp. excelsus and subsp. grandis (de Lange et al. 1999). POISONOUS PLANT The round black seeds are best avoided despite limited information on their toxicity. many plants in the same family are poisonous. Click on this link for more information about Poisonous native plants. ATTRIBUTION Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 August 2005). Description by P.J. de Lange based in part on de Lange et al. (1999). REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING Cameron, E.K. 1998. Frost resistance in titoki Alectryon. Auckland Botanical Society Journal 53: 15. de Lange, P.J.; Cameron, E.K.; Murray, B.G. 1999: Alectryon excelsus subsp. grandis (Sapindaceae): a new combination for an uncommon small tree endemic to the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37: 7-16. Duguid, F. 1961. Flowering in titoki. Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin 32: 16 Thorsen,