Aciphylla Latifolia 137-8407

''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 preferred habitats are 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.

Description

Like other species in the family Apiaceae, speargrasses have taproots and small flowers, which are clustered into inflorescences called umbels. 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. Speargrasses in the ''A. aurea'' group (six species and three tag-named taxa) have milky sap, while most other species have clear sap. 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. The seeds of ''Aciphylla'' are winged schizocarps dispersed by the wind.

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). This form is hypothesised to have evolved to deter browsing by birds: the extinct giant moa. Long spines are known to deter ratite birds from browsing other plants, and the two large-leaved species endemic to the Chatham Islands, which never had moa, have soft leaves without spikes.

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

# 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
# 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
# Sparsely-leaved small species that grow amongst tussocks, and are difficult to see unless in flower
# Small cushion forms with rigid leaves, living in alpine areas

Taxonomy

Around 45–52 species of ''Aciphylla'' are recognised, along with forms known only by informal tag names, which may or may not represent distinct species. 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. The following species list is from Mark (2021), with some names from Salmon (1991):

Large speargrasses

* ''Aciphylla aurea'' W.R.B. Oliver (Golden Spaniard, golden speargrass) – Nelson-Marlborough south, 300–1500 m
* ''Aciphylla colensoi'' Hook.f. (Giant speargrass, wild Spaniard) – North and South Islands, 900–1500 m
* ''Aciphylla dieffenbachii'' Kirk (Dieffenbach's speargrass, coxella) – Chatham Islands, cliffs
* ''Aciphylla ferox'' W.R.B. Oliver (Fierce speargrass) – Nelson to North Canterbury, 600–1400 m
* ''Aciphylla glaucescens'' W.R.B. Oliver – Hikurangi to Foveaux Strait, coastal to 1400 m
* ''Aciphylla horrida'' W.R.B. Oliver (Horrid speargrass) – South Island, 600–1400 m
* '' Aciphylla scott-thomsonii'' CKN. & Allan (Giant speargrass) – Arthur's Pass south, 600–1200 m
* '' Aciphylla squarrosa'' J.R. & G. Forst. – Hikurangi in North Island to Marlborough, coastal to 1400 m
* '' Aciphylla subflabellata'' W.R.B. Oliver – Eastern Marlborough to Southland, 300–1400 m
* ''Aciphylla takahea'' W.R.B. Oliver – Central Fiordland, 900–1300 m
* ''Aciphylla traversii'' (F.Muell.) Hook.f. (Chatham Island speargrass) – Chatham Islands, open ground

Small speargrasses

* ''Aciphylla cartilaginea'' Petrie – Stewart Island, 600–900 m
* ''Aciphylla dissecta'' (Kirk) W.R.B. Oliver (Tararua speargrass) – Tararua Range, 1000–1600 m
* ''Aciphylla divisa'' Cheesem. – Central Canterbury south, 1100–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla hectorii'' Buchan. – Central and western Otago, south Westland, 1000–1800 m
* ''Aciphylla intermedia'' Petrie (possible hybrid between ''A. dissecta'' and ''A. colensoi'')
* ''Aciphylla kirkii'' Buchan. – Central and western Otago, south Westland, 1000–1800 m
* ''Aciphylla lecomtei'' Dawson – Otago lakes to Southland, 1400–1900 m
* ''Aciphylla monroi'' Hook.f. (Little or pygmy speargrass) – Northern South Island, 1100–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla montana'' J.B. Armst. (Armstrong's speargrass) – Eastern South Island, 1100–2000 m
* ''Aciphylla multisecta'' W.R.B. Oliver – Central Westland south, 1100–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla pinnatifida'' Petrie (Subalpine Spaniard) – Otago to Southland and Fiordland, 1100–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla polita'' (Kirk) Cheesem. – Northwest Nelson, 900–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla similis'' Cheesem. – Lewis Pass to Otago Lakes, 900–1400 m
* ''Aciphylla stannensis'' Dawson (Tin Range speargrass) – Stewart Island, 550–760 m
* ''Aciphylla traillii'' Kirk (Stewart Island speargrass) – Stewart Island, 600–970 m
* ''Aciphylla trifoliolata'' Petrie – Lyall Range, north of Buller Gorge, 1300–1550 m

Sparse-leaved speargrasses

* ''Aciphylla anomala'' Allan – Northwest Nelson, 1400–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla crenulata'' J.B. Armst. – Mid–southern South Island, 900–1700 m
* ''Aciphylla hookeri'' Kirk – Northwest Nelson to Arthur's Pass, 900–1400 m
* ''Aciphylla indurata'' Cheesem. – Westland, 900–1300 m
* ''Aciphylla lyallii'' Hook.f. – Fiordland and surrounding area, 1100–1400 m

Cushion speargrasses

* ''Aciphylla congesta'' Cheesem. – Fiordland, 1700–1900 m
* ''Aciphylla crosby-smithii'' Petrie – Fiordland, 1400–1600 m
* ''Aciphylla dobsonii'' Hook.f. – South Canterbury, North Otago, 1500–2200 m
* ''Aciphylla leighii'' Allan – Fiordland, 1850–2100 m
* ''Aciphylla simplex'' Petrie – Central Otago, 1850–2100 m
* ''Aciphylla spedenii'' Cheesem. – Eyre Mountains

Australian speargrasses

There are also two Australian species:

* '' Aciphylla glacialis'' (F.Muell.) Benth. (Mountain celery) – Victoria and New South Wales
* ''Aciphylla simplicifolia'' (F.Muell.) Benth. – Victoria and New South Wales

Other speargrasses

POWO and Landcare Research list the following additional species:

* ''Aciphylla acutifolia'' Cockayne
* ''Aciphylla cuthbertiana'' Petrie
* ''Aciphylla decipiens'' (Hook.f.) Benth. & Hook.f
* ''Aciphylla flabellata'' Cockayne

* ''Aciphylla flexuosa'' W.R.B.Oliv
* ''Aciphylla inermis'' W.R.B.Oliv
* ''Aciphylla latibracteata'' W.R.B.Oliv
* ''Aciphylla poppelwellii'' Petrie
* ''Aciphylla townsonii'' Cheeseman
* ''Aciphylla verticillata'' W.R.B.Oliv
* ''Aciphylla ×intermedia'' Petrie
* ''Aciphylla ×latibracteata'' W.R.B.Oliv

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.

Cultural use

Māori on occasion plaited sandals out of ''Aciphylla'' leaves for travel over snowy terrain. 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"), and the resin (''ware'' or ''wai-whenua'') was referred to as ''ware-taramea.'' 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.

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. The process was tapu, and only young girls collected the pia after appropriate karakia, tītī, 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. It could also be stored in a hollow bone or bunch of feathers, and when warmed by body heat gave off a pleasant fragrance. 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. ''A. aurea'' contains the non-volatile polyacetylene falcarindiol and the seeds contained steam-distilled volatiles such as heptanal and octanoic acid.

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). The decline of '' A. colensoi'' due to browsing from rabbits was noted as early as 1883. Widespread conversion of the New Zealand high country for sheep farming and pasture is also a threat to the group.

''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. 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.

Pests and diseases

''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. ''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.

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

References

External links

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Apioideae
Apioideae genera