Poa subvestita
| Poa subvestita | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Poa |
| Species: | P. subvestita |
| Binomial name | |
| Poa subvestita (Hack.) Edgar | |
Poa subvestita is a species of grass in the family Poaceae, endemic to the South Island of New Zealand.[1] It was described by Austrian botanist Eduard Hackel in 1902 as Poa novae-zelandiae var. subvestita.[2] It has since been recognised as a distinct species.
Distribution
Poa subvestita is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, found largely on the Main Divide and to its west, and occasionally to its east.[3]
The type specimen was a female plant collected by Leonard Cockayne in Arthurs Pass in 1898.[3]
Habitat
P. subvestita is found in montane to alpine zones on shaded rocks and cliffs. It is particularly common on limestone and marble, and often grows in areas made damp by waterfalls.[3]
Identification
P. subvestita forms robust perennial tufts to 40 cm, with erect, wide, stiff leaves that are persistent at ligules. The leaf-sheath is glabrous and the ligule glabrous and entire. The culm overtops the leaves, and bears a lax, sometimes dense, drooping panicle with large spikelets (8-10 mm). Spikelets contain 4-6 dioecious flowers with subequal glumes, and glabrous, subobtuse-tipped lemmas.[3]
Similar species
Poa subvestita is very similar to P. novae-zelandiae and the two species of grow together. Indeed, the isotype of P. novae-zelandiae contains a mixture of the two species.[4] P. novae-zelandiae is gynomonoecious, meaning that some florets are entirely female (with only pistils) and some that are hermaphrodites (with pistils and anthers) on the same plant, while P. subvestita is dioecious, meaning that plants either contain entirely male or entirely female florets. P. subvestita plants are also usually more robust, wider-leaved than in P. novae-zelandiae and with lemmas that are subobtuse rather than acuminate, as is common in P. novae-zelandiae.[3]
Poa subvestita and P. novae-zelandiae are both similar to P. sudicola, which differs from them by its long creeping rhizomes.[5]
P. subvestita forms a putative wild hybrid with Poa hesperia, which has been collected in Fiordland and western Otago.[4]
Biology
Poa subvestita is a dioecious species. Male plants contains a tiny gynoecium (less than 0.2mm), and females smaller (0.3-0.7 versus 2-3mm) pollen-sterile anthers.[3] Dioecy has appeared three times in Poa, with P. subvestita being part of a dioecious group of New Zealand species including P. sudicola and P. foliosa.[6]
P. subvestita is part of a group of tetraploid species endemic to New Zealand, with 2n = 28 chromosomes.[7][8]
It is dispersed by wind and attachment.[9]
Taxonomy
P. subvestita was described by Austrian botanist Eduard Hackel in 1902 as Poa novae-zelandiae var. subvestita.[2] It was elevated to specific rank by Elizabeth Edgar in 1986.[4]
Etymology
Poa - from the ancient Greek name 'poa' for grass of fodder.[10]
subvestita - partially clothed in hairs.[11]
Gallery
References
- ↑ "Flora of New Zealand | Taxon Profile | Poa subvestita". www.nzflora.info. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- 1 2 Institute., New Zealand; New Zealand Institute (Wellington, N.Z.) (1902). "Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute". v.35 (1902). Archived from the original on 2025-02-23.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Poa subvestita (Hack.) Edgar - Flora of New Zealand Series". floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2026-03-16. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- 1 2 3 Edgar, E. (July 1986). "Poa L. in New Zealand*". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 24 (3): 425–503. Bibcode:1986NZJB...24..425E. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1986.10409820. ISSN 0028-825X.
- ↑ "Poa sudicola". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ Hoffmann, Matthias H.; Schneider, Julia; Hase, Philipp; Röser, Martin (2013-03-27). "Rapid and Recent World-Wide Diversification of Bluegrasses (Poa, Poaceae) and Related Genera". PLOS ONE. 8 (3) e60061. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...860061H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060061. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3609727. PMID 23544123.
- ↑ Murray, Bg; de Lange, Pj (March 2013). "Contributions to a chromosome atlas of the New Zealand flora – 40. Miscellaneous counts for 36 families". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 51 (1): 31–60. Bibcode:2013NZJB...51...31M. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2012.747969. ISSN 0028-825X.
- ↑ Rodionov, Alexander; Nosov, Nikolai; Kim, Elena; Machs, Edward; Punina, Elizaveta; Probatova, Nina (2010-12-01). "The origin of polyploid genomes of bluegrasses Poa L. and gene flow between Northern Pacific and sub-Antarctic islands". Russian Journal of Genetics. 46 (12): 1598–608. doi:10.1134/S1022795410120021.
- ↑ Thorsen, Michael J.; Dickinson, Katharine J.M.; Seddon, Philip J. (2009-11-20). "Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora". Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 11 (4): 285–309. Bibcode:2009PPEES..11..285T. doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
- ↑ Mitich, Larry W. (June 1998). "Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua L.)". Weed Technology. 12 (2): 414–416. Bibcode:1998WeedT..12..414M. doi:10.1017/S0890037X00044031. ISSN 0890-037X.
- ↑ "Meanings of Scientific Names". www.proteaatlas.org.za. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
