''Xeronema callistemon'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

endemic to the

Poor Knights Islands The Poor Knights Islands ( Māori: ''Tawhiti Rahi)'' are a group of islands off the east coast of the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. They lie to the northeast of Whangarei, and offshore halfway between Bream Head ...

and

Taranga Island The Hen and Chicken Islands (usually known collectively as the ''Hen and Chickens'') lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They lie east of Bream Head and south-east of Whangarei with a tot ...

in the north of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

.Xeronema callistemon f. callistemonXeronema callistemon f. bracteosa
/ref> It was discovered in 1924 and has a common name Poor Knights lily. The plant is listed as vulnerable in the 1997 IUCN Red List of Plants,1997 IUCN red list of threatened plants
p.746 but as of October 2010 is not listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.http://www.iucnredlist.org/
and search for Xeronema callistemon

Etymology

The common name of the plant originates from the Poor Knights Islands on which it was discovered. The islands, in turn, were so named because of their similarity in shape to the Poor Knights Pudding – a bread-based dish popular at the time of their discovery by Europeans. The botanical species name means "with a beautiful stamen", referring to the prominent red stamens of the plant's flowers.

Structure

The green

stalk Stalk or stalking may refer to: Behaviour * Stalk, the stealthy approach (phase) of a predator towards its prey * Stalking, an act of intrusive behaviour or unwanted attention towards a person * Deer stalking, the pursuit of deer for sport Biol ...

s of ''Xeronema callistemon'' start growing vertically, initially sheathed by overlapping leaves. As the flower emerges, the stalk then turn sideways, growing a red flower raceme with prominent red

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

tipped with orange

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

and resembles a giant bottlebrush or toothbrush.Barbara Matthew
Growing Native Plants
Taylor & Francis, 1979, p. 50 The individual flower

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s are 10–15 mm long, the stamens up to tall, and the length of the brush is usually between and can reach . The plant itself is about tall and wide.

Habitat

Xeronema callistemon on Poor Knights Islands-2

''Xeronema callistemon'' usually grows on

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained ( aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals ( phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The min ...

sea cliffs and rocky outcrops and sometimes in forest. It requires much water and is pollinated by birds and butterflies. If its seed falls on a nearby tree, such as ''

Metrosideros excelsa ''Metrosideros excelsa'', commonly known as pōhutukawa ( mi, pōhutukawa), New Zealand Christmas tree, New Zealand Christmas bush, and iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display o ...

'', then it may grow as an epiphyte on it. The species has no obvious natural enemies and is listed as vulnerable because it grows naturally only on two islands. These islands are protected by the New Zealand Government as nature reserves and have a limited access. However, the plant is becoming popular for cultivation in private gardens. A related species, '' Xeronema moorei'', is found on the islands of New Caledonia, 1500 km to the northwest.Jan 16, 2006: Xeronema callistemon
/ref>

Growth

Plants grow from fresh falling seeds. Although they germinate easily, it might take 10–15 years for them to grow into the flowering size. They flower between September and December, peaking in October (spring in New Zealand).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3007658 Xeronemataceae Flora of New Zealand Plants described in 1924