''Dracophyllum acerosum'' is a species of shrub or small tree endemic to New Zealand's South Island. It was first described by

Sven Berggren Sven Berggren (12 August 1837 – 28 June 1917) was a Sweden, Swedish botanist, explorer and university professor. He was a professor at Lund University 1883–1902, later at Uppsala University. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Aca ...

in 1877 and gets the specific epithet ''acerosum'', meaning needles shaped, for its leaves. In the heath family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

, it inhabits mountain slopes, ridge lines and hillsides and reaches a height of . A 2017 assessment using the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

classified it as "Not Threatened", giving it an estimated population of more than 100,000.

References

Citations

acerosum Endemic flora of New Zealand Taxa named by Sven Berggren {{Ericaceae-stub