Gunnera hamiltonii explained

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

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

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.^[5]

Distribution and habitat

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.

Conservation status

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]

External links

• Environment Southland factsheet - see sidebar
• Photo of cultivated Gunnera hamiltonii
• New Zealand Duneland Ecology - includes photo of wild Gunnera hamiltonii

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gunnera hamiltonii Kirk . 2019-04-24 . www.nzor.org.nz . Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research.
2. Web site: Gunnera hamiltonii . 2024-11-02 . New Zealand Plant Conservation Network . en.
3. Web site: Gunnera hamiltonii . 2 November 2024 . Southland Community Nursery.
4. 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 . English . 17 . 290–293.
5. Web site: Flora of New Zealand Taxon Profile Gunnera hamiltonii . 2024-11-02 . www.nzflora.info.
6. Webb . Colin . Webb . T. H. . 1976-12-01 . Gunnera hamiltonii in Stewart Island, New Zealand . New Zealand Journal of Botany . 14 . 4 . 361–363 . 10.1080/0028825X.1976.10428911.
7. Web site: Gunnera hamiltonii - NZTCS . 2024-11-02 . nztcs.org.nz.
8. 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 . 2024-10-01 . Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023 . New Zealand Threat Classification Series . English . 43 . 1–105 . 2324-1713.
9. Webb . Colin . 1996 . Seed production in Gunnera hamiltonii . Conservation Advisory Sciertte Notes . 133.