Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand (2008 revision)

Abstract

A reappraisal of the conservation status of the indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora is presented using the 2008 version of the threat classification system developed for the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The list comprises 897 taxa (38% of New Zealand's total indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Extinct-6 taxa, Threatened-180 taxa (comprising 91 Nationally Critical taxa, 45 Nationally Endangered, and 44 Nationally Vulnerable), At Risk-651 taxa (comprising 83 Declining, 6 Recovering, 20 Relict, and 542 Naturally Uncommon taxa), 25 taxa listed as either Vagrant (12) or Coloniser (13), and 35 as Data Deficient. A further 171 plants are listed as taxonom ically indeterminate, being those which might warrant further conservation attention once their taxonomic status is clarified. Forty-four recognised taxa and 26 plants rated as taxonomically indeterminate, and previously considered to be threatened and/or uncommon, are removed from this updated listing. A brief analysis of the patterns of rarity exhibited by the listed taxa is presented. Overall, the conservation status of the New Zealand indigenous vascular plant flora is worsening, with 7.6% of this flora now regarded as threatened with extinction. A concordance of plants names from the 2004 listing is provided.

A review of Bulbinella (Asphodelaceae): distribution, conservation status, and economic importance

“…gibbii is at risk and naturally uncommon according to the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, whereas Bulbinella gibbii var. balasifera is not threatened (Moore et al 1970, Thorsen 2009, De Lange et al 2009). …”

“…The leaves are similar in length (20-75 cm × 30 mm wide) to those of Bulbine hookeri, but in Bulbine modesta they are considerably thinner and have a prostrate growth habit rather than erect, as in Bulbine hookeri (Moore 1964, Milicich 1993. The current conservation status of Bulbinella modesta is at risk according to the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (Moore et al 1970, Thorsen 2009, de Lange et al 2009) because they are only known from the lowland alluvial forest of the West Coast Island (Milicich 1993).…”

Morphological and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data show that New Zealand endemic Myosotis petiolata (Boraginaceae) comprises three rare and threatened species

“…The M. pygmaea species group ( Meudt et al, 2015 ) Questions persist regarding the delimitation of these morphologically similar species ( de Lange et al, 2010 ), four of which appear on the New Zealand threatened species list ( de Lange et al, 2013 ). Indeed, of the 44 endemic New Zealand Myosotis taxa, 32 are considered threatened or at risk ( de Lange et al, 2013 ). A priority in the conservation management of members of this genus is to both accurately delimit species and understand the levels and structure of genetic diversity present.…”

The conservation status of New Zealand bats, 2009

“…This paper reports the results of our assessments. This followed parallel re-evaluations of the vascular plant flora (de Lange et al 2009), and bird , reptile (Hitchmough et al 2010), amphibian (Newman et al 2010), marine mammal (Baker et al 2010) and marine invertebrate (Freeman et al in press) faunas.…”