Aciphylla

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Aciphylla
Aciphylla glacialis 1028.jpg
Aciphylla glacialis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Subfamily: Apioideae
Tribe: Aciphylleae
Genus: Aciphylla
J.R. Forster & G. Forster
Synonyms

Coxella Cheeseman & Hemsl.

Aciphylla is a genus of about 40 species of herbaceous plants in the family Apiaceae, all but two of them endemic to New Zealand (the remaining two species are found only in Australia). They range from small cushion plants to tall flower spikes surrounded by rosettes of stiff, pointed leaves, the latter probably adaptations to prevent browsing by moa. Their common name is speargrass or Spaniard. Most Aciphylla species live in subalpine or alpine habitats in the South Island. Fragrant oil extracted from some large species, known as taramea, is still used as a perfume by Māori.

Contents

Description

Like other species in the family Apiaceae, speargrasses have taproots and small flowers, which are clustered into inflorescences called umbels. [1] Species can be distinguished by size, habit, flower head and bract size and shape, leaf shape, and the type of stipules growing at the leaf base. [2] Speargrasses in the A. aurea group (six species and three tag-named taxa) have milky sap, while most other species have clear sap. [3] Aciphylla is dioecious, with separate male and female plants which do not flower every year. Because of this, identifying plants to species can depend on leaf characters and locality. [4] The seeds of Aciphylla are winged schizocarps dispersed by the wind. [5]

Many species of speargrass have tough, rigid leaves and flower bracts tipped with long sharp spikes, arranged in one or more rosettes which present spines in every direction. This is reflected in the name of the genus: Aci (needle) phylla (leaf). [6] This form is hypothesised to have evolved to deter browsing by birds: the extinct giant moa. [2] Long spines are known to deter ratite birds from browsing other plants, [7] and the two large-leaved species endemic to the Chatham Islands, which never had moa, have soft leaves without spikes. [1]

Speargrasses range from small, inconspicuous herbs to large spiky mounds, but they take four main forms: [4]

  1. Large speargrasses, often known as Spaniards (although this somewhat derogatory term is avoided in recent publications) or by their Māori name taramea, usually over 50 cm tall, with tough pointed leaves
  2. Small speargrasses, less than 50 cm tall (small speargrasses are collectively known as papaī by Māori, though this name really refers to their tap root), with a variety of leaf types from soft to thistle-like
  3. Sparsely-leaved small species that grow amongst tussocks, and are difficult to see unless in flower
  4. Small cushion forms with rigid leaves, living in alpine areas

Taxonomy

Around 38–40 species of Aciphylla are recognised, along with 9 forms known only by informal tag names, which may or may not represent distinct species. [1] [4] The genus is in need of taxonomic revision: some species may be hybrids; similar species with adjoining distributions such as Aciphylla aurea and A. ferox may in fact be the same species; and tag-named taxa such as Aciphylla "Cass" may belong in an existing species, or need formal description and naming. [3] The following species list is from Mark (2021) [4] with some names from Salmon (1991): [8]

Large speargrasses

Small speargrasses

Sparse-leaved speargrasses

Cushion speargrasses

There are also two Australian species:

Habitat

All but two species of Aciphylla are confined to New Zealand; the remaining two are endemic to Australia. Most species live in or near the alpine zone, but they range from mountains to coast. The group reaches its highest diversity in the South Island. [1] [4]

Cultural use

Māori on occasion plaited sandals out of Aciphylla leaves for travel over snowy terrain. [9] More important, though, was the aromatic gum extracted from the leaves, used in scented oils and sachets. The Ngāi Tahu people of the South Island knew the larger Aciphylla species, especially Aciphylla aurea , as taramea (literally, "spiny thing"), [10] and the resin (ware or wai-whenua) was referred to as ware-taramea. [11] The smaller Aciphylla species were not used as fragrance, although their taproot, known as papaī, was eaten–the red roots of taramea were considered too bitter. [10] [11]

Collecting taramea resin was traditionally the work of women. It was collected by cutting or burning plants in the evening, and gathering the exuded gum (called pia) in the morning. Leaves could also be gathered, plaited, and heated over several days to force out the gum into a gourd. [12] The process was tapu, and only young girls collected the pia after appropriate karakia (prayers) had been performed. Anyone collecting gum needed to sleep with their knees drawn up, in a crouching position, for if they slept in the ordinary way the gum would sink to the roots instead of rising. [13]

The collected oil hardened into a resin, ware-taramea, or could be mixed with animal fat (from kererū, tītī, [12] weka, tūī, or kiore) to preserve the fragrance. It was worn in a pouch next to the skin known as a hei-taramea, used to dress the hair, or rubbed directly on the body. [11] It could also be stored in a hollow bone or bunch of feathers, and when warmed by body heat gave off a pleasant fragrance. [10] The aromatic gum could be stored in a gourd or shell, and was a valuable trade good and gift. Taramea perfume is still prepared commercially by Ngāi Tahu, using a steam extraction method on hand-harvested leaves. [12] A. aurea contains the non-volatile polyacetylene falcarindiol [14] and the seeds contained steam-distilled volatiles such as heptanal and octanoic acid. [15]

Conservation

Many Aciphylla species are threatened by introduced mammals, such as domestic sheep, hares (which can eat the leaves from the side to avoid the spiny tips), and feral pigs (which will dig up plants to eat the carrot-like taproot). [1] [16] The decline of A. colensoi due to browsing from rabbits was noted as early as 1883. [17] Widespread conversion of the New Zealand high country for sheep farming and pasture is also a threat to the group. [1]

Aciphylla species have been suggested as useful indicators for measuring the effect of rabbits and hares on native plants; despite their spikes, the young leaves of Aciphylla are soft and vulnerable to browsing. [18] In experimental plots that has been fenced for 30 years to exclude these lagomorphs, young Aciphylla aurea plants were 15 times as abundant as in nearby plots where only cattle and sheep were excluded; adult plants were 7 times as abundant. [19]

Pests and diseases

Lyperobius huttoni feeding on male A. squarrosa flower in the Blairich Range, Marlborough, New Zealand Huttoni2019.jpg
Lyperobius huttoni feeding on male A. squarrosa flower in the Blairich Range, Marlborough, New Zealand

Aciphylla squarrosa has a species of beetle, the speargrass weevil ( Lyperobius huttoni ), which completely depends on it for food: adults feed on the leaves and flower stalks, and larvae on the roots, although it appears to do little damage to adult speargrass. The decline of A. squarrosa on the mainland and predation by rats and mice had reduced the North Island L. huttoni population by the 2000s to around 150 individuals, living on cliffs of Wellington's south coast. [20] A. squarrosa grows at low altitudes on both the south coast and nearby rodent-free Mana Island, so in 2006–2007 40 weevils were translocated to a speargrass patch on Mana, where they have bred successfully and spread. [21]

In the Chatham Islands Aciphylla dieffenbachii is the sole host of another endangered flightless weevil, Hadramphus spinipennis or coxella weevil. [22] Both weevil and its host are threatened by browsing mammals.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moa</span> Extinct order of birds

Moa are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand. During the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, there were nine species. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about 230 kilograms (510 lb) while the smallest, the bush moa, was around the size of a turkey. Estimates of the moa population when Polynesians settled New Zealand circa 1300 vary between 58,000 and approximately 2.5 million.

<i>Cordyline australis</i> Species of tree

Cordyline australis, commonly known as the cabbage tree, or by its Māori name of tī or tī kōuka, is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand.

<i>Coprosma</i> Genus of flowering plants

Coprosma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands.

<i>Coriaria</i> Genus of flowering plants

Coriaria is the sole genus in the family Coriariaceae, which was described by Linnaeus in 1753. It includes 14 species of small trees, shrubs and subshrubs, with a widespread but disjunct distribution across warm temperate regions of the world, occurring as far apart as the Mediterranean region, southern and eastern Asia, New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean islands, and Central and South America.

<i>Dracophyllum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Dracophyllum is a genus of plants belonging to the family Ericaceae, formerly Epacridaceae. There are 61 species in the genus, mostly shrubs, but also cushion plants and trees, found in New Zealand, Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia. The name Dracophyllum, meaning dragon-leaf, refers to their strong outward similarity to the unrelated Dracaena, sometimes known as dragon tree. Although dicotyledonous, they resemble primitive monocots with their slender leaves concentrated in clumps at the ends of the branches; they are sometimes called grass-trees.

<i>Aciphylla colensoi</i> Species of flowering plant

Aciphylla colensoi is a species of Aciphylla, commonly known as giant speargrass, Spaniard, or its Māori-language name taramea. Individual plants may be up to 90 cm (35 in) in diameter and half as high, and consist of sharp spines, all pointing out from the centre. Yellow flowers may also be present, located on long, strong stems. A. colensoi can be found in both main islands of New Zealand, typically in altitudes from 900 to 1,500 m.

<i>Hadramphus tuberculatus</i> Species of beetle

Hadramphus tuberculatus is a rare weevil endemic to Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. It was thought to be extinct in 1922 but was rediscovered in 2004,

<i>Pittosporum eugenioides</i> Species of tree

Pittosporum eugenioides, common names lemonwood or tarata, is a species of New Zealand native evergreen tree. Growing to 12 m (39 ft) tall by 5 m (16 ft) broad, it is conical when young but more rounded in shape when mature. Its leaves are mottled yellow-green with curly edges and a salient bright midrib, and have a strong lemony smell when crushed. It has highly fragrant clusters of attractive yellow-cream flowers in spring, followed by distinctive black seed capsules. It is found throughout New Zealand's North and South Islands along forest margins and stream banks from sea level to 600 m (1,969 ft). It is New Zealand's largest Pittosporum.

<i>Hadramphus</i> Genus of beetles

Hadramphus, commonly known as knobbled weevils, is a genus of flightless molytine weevils from the family Curculionidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and consists of four species.

<i>Sigaus homerensis</i> Species of grasshopper

Sigaus homerensis is a grasshopper endemic to the southern South Island of New Zealand. It is known only from three isolated populations in Fiordland.

<i>Alpinacris tumidicauda</i> Species of grasshopper

Alpinacris tumidicauda is a species of grasshopper only known from Otago and Southland, New Zealand. The genus Alpinacris is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. A. tumidicauda was described in 1967 by Robert Sidney Bigelow, with a type locality of Obelisk in the Old Man Range (45°19′22″S169°12′27″E). A male holotype and paratype are deposited in the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch. Like all of New Zealand sub-alpine and alpine grasshoppers, A. tumidicauda has a 2- or 3-year life cycle. The eggs must "overwinter" before they will hatch. Hoppers are found throughout the year, and adult grasshoppers can be found throughout the New Zealand summer between December and April. The adult A. tumidicauda do not overwinter.

<i>Aciphylla aurea</i> Species of flowering plant

Aciphylla aurea, known as taramea in Māori and golden speargrass or golden Spaniard in New Zealand English, is a large, spiky, tufted plant with sharp yellowish-green leaves in the speargrass genus Aciphylla. A. aurea is found throughout the South Island of New Zealand in montane to low alpine habitats.

<i>Ichneutica nullifera</i> Species of moth

Ichneutica nullifera is a moth of the family Noctuidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and can be found in the Tongariro National Park, along the Wellington coast and throughout the South Island. The adults are large and the forewing of adults can vary in colour from pale fawn to dark grey. The larvae are coloured a bright yellow-brown with a paler underside. The larval host species are in the genus Aciphylla and as a result the adult moths are often found in habitat dominated by species in this genus. Adults are on the wing from November to early April and are sometimes attracted to light.

<i>Hadramphus spinipennis</i> Species of beetle

Hadramphus spinipennis, commonly called the coxella weevil, is a large, nocturnal, flightless weevil only found on Mangere and Rangatira Islands in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

<i>Lyperobius huttoni</i> Species of beetle

Lyperobius huttoni is a New Zealand weevil found in alpine areas of the South Island and at sea level around the Wellington coast. It feeds only on speargrass (Aciphylla). Weevils from the endangered Wellington population have been translocated to predator-free Mana Island.

<i>Lyperobius hudsoni</i> Species of beetle

Lyperobius hudsoni is a flightless weevil found in alpine areas of Central Otago and Otago Lakes in the South Island of New Zealand.

<i>Lyperobius clarkei</i> Species of beetle

Lyperobius clarkei is a flightless weevil found in alpine areas of Buller and Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand.

<i>Dracophyllum traversii</i> Species of tree (mountain neinei)

Dracophyllum traversii, commonly known as mountain neinei, grass tree, and pineapple tree is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is a deciduous tree endemic to New Zealand. It reaches a height of 0.2–13 m (0.66–42.65 ft) and has leaves which form tufts at the end of its branches. It has a lifespan of between 500 and 600 years.

<i>Dracophyllum fiordense</i> Species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae

Dracophyllum fiordense, commonly known as the Fiordland grass tree, is a species of tree or shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It reaches a height of 1.5–5.0 metres and has tufts of long green leaves at the ends of its branches. Each leaf has a distinctive curled spiral tip. D. fiordense has a pyramid-shaped inflorescence hidden under each clump of leaves, with between 113 and 120 pink flowers on each spike, and later reddish-brown dry fruit; both are around just 2 by 2 mm. It inhabits shrubland, lowland and subalpine forests, and tussock grassland of mountain slopes, gullies, and ridges. Its range covers two main areas: one in Fiordland National Park, and one in the Mount Cook and Westland National Parks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shepherd, Lara; Perrie, Leon (2023-01-20). "An introduction to speargrasses – plants with a prickly reputation". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  2. 1 2 Shepherd, Lara; Perrie, Leon (2023-03-01). "Getting through speargrass defences: how to safely collect samples of a dangerous plant". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  3. 1 2 Shepherd, Lara; Perrie, Leon (2023-02-08). "Speargrass collecting – a whirlwind tour of Te Waipounamu South Island". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mark, Alan (2021). Above the Treeline: A nature guide to alpine New Zealand (2nd ed.). Nelson: Potton & Burton. p. 133. ISBN   978-1-988550-11-4.
  5. ↑ 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. doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
  6. ↑ Jane L. Gosden (May 2023). "An observation of Aciphylla aurea recovery following the exclusion of lagomorphs in the Canterbury High Country". Canterbury Botanical Society Journal. 53: 41–49. Wikidata   Q124307307.
  7. ↑ William G. Lee; Jamie R. Wood; Geoff Rogers (2010). "Legacy of avian-dominated plant–herbivore systems in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Ecology . 34 (1): 28–47. ISSN   0110-6465. Wikidata   Q124312059.
  8. ↑ Salmon, John T. (1991). Native New Zealand Flowering Plants. Auckland: Reed.
  9. ↑ Orbell, Margaret (1985). The Natural World of the Maori. Auckland: Collins. pp. 47–51. ISBN   0-00-217219-4.
  10. 1 2 3 Tipa, Rob (2018). Treasures of Tāne: plants of Ngāi Tahu (2nd ed.). Wellington: Huia. pp. 180–181. ISBN   978-1-77550-295-1.
  11. 1 2 3 Dobson-Waitere, Aaria; MacIntosh, Robin; Ellison, Matapura F.; Smallfield, Bruce M.; van Klink, John W. (2021). "Taramea, a treasured Māori perfume of Ngāi Tahu from Aciphylla species of Aotearoa New Zealand: a review of Mātauranga Māori and scientific research". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 52 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1080/03036758.2020.1856147. ISSN   0303-6758.
  12. 1 2 3 "Taramea". MEA Natural Perfume Oil New Zealand. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  13. ↑ Beattie, Herries (1994). Traditional Lifeways of the Southern Maori. Dunedin: Otago University Press. p. 248.
  14. ↑ Zidorn, Christian; Sturm, Sonja; Dawson, John W.; Klink, John W. van; Stuppner, Hermann; Perry, Nigel B. (2002-02-01). "Chemosystematic investigations of irregular diterpenes in Anisotome and related New Zealand Apiaceae". Phytochemistry. 59 (3): 293–304. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(01)00472-1. PMID   11830137.
  15. ↑ Weston, Roderick J. (2010-08-01). "Chemosystematic comparison of essential oils from eight species of four genera of the New Zealand Apiaceae". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 38 (4): 691–696. doi:10.1016/J.BSE.2010.04.009.
  16. ↑ Colin F. J. O'Donnell; Kerry Weston; Joanne Monks (2017). "Impacts of introduced mammalian predators on New Zealand's alpine fauna". New Zealand Journal of Ecology : 1–22. doi:10.20417/NZJECOL.41.18. ISSN   0110-6465. Wikidata   Q56362966.
  17. ↑ Norbury, D. (1996.) "The effect of rabbits on conservation values." Science for Conservation34. Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.
  18. ↑ Wong V., Hickling G.J. (1999). "Assessment and management of hare impact on high-altitude vegetation." Science for Conservation116. Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.
  19. ↑ Jane L. Gosden (May 2023). "An observation of Aciphylla aurea recovery following the exclusion of lagomorphs in the Canterbury High Country". Canterbury Botanical Society Journal. 53: 41–49. Wikidata   Q124307307.
  20. ↑ Department of Conservation (31 March 2006). "Weevil rescue underway". Scoop News. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  21. ↑ Miskelly, Colin (2015-11-19). "Speargrass weevils thriving on Mana Island". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  22. ↑ Emberson, R. M.; Early, J. W.; Marris, J. W. M.; Syrett, P. (1996). Research into the status and distribution of Chatham Islands endangered invertebrates (PDF). ISBN   978-0-478-01833-2.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
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