Flora of New Zealand Series

Dioec. Infl. a terminal panicle, sts much reduced, on a lfless simple peduncle; spathes often large and foliaceous, each subtending a simple raceme (occ. represented by a single fl.) or a branched sub-infl. of 2–5 or more racemes; bracteoles membr., us. adnate to short pedicels; fls small, us. ∞, ♂ us. larger than ♀. Per. membr. to fleshy, tube very short to well developed, lobes triangular to strap-shaped. Stamens in ♂ < tepals, anthers dorsifixed, mobile; in ♀ minute with flat empty anthers. Ovary superior, 1- or 3-locular; placentae parietal or axile and almost apical; ovules few to many, smaller in ♂ but us. identifiable; style short and thick; stigmatic surfaces 3, well separated or confluent; nectaries 3, slit-like, below and between the stigmatic surfaces. Fr. a berry. Seeds black, ± glossy, sts associated with funicular hairs but not coated by them. Tufted herbs, epiphytic or terrestrial, characterised by peculiar indumentum of scales. Stems short, us. hidden. Lvs 3-ranked, linear to ensiform, us. keeled; sheath broad, closed; nerves ∞, variously incrassate. About 25 spp., mostly in and around the Pacific, represented also in Falkland Is, Réunion and Mauritius; the 13 N.Z. spp. endemic. Astelia Banks et Solander ex R. Br.  nom. cons. : type sp., A. alpina R. Br. of Tasmania.

SYNOPSIS

• A. Subgenus ASTELIA. 
• • Ovary 1-locular; seeds small, smoothly rounded, shining, with incrassate funicle
  • 1. Section ASTELIA. 
  • • Small, forming low, tight turf; lvs narrow to subcylindric; infl. of a few fls or 1; tepals free; ovary elongate; berries large for size of plant; seeds broadly ovoid, funicle hardened into a ± curved beak:
    • 1. subulata, 2. linearis
  • 2. Section DESMONEURON. 
  • • Rather large tufts; lvs with group of 3 subequal lateral nerves, at least in lower half; infl. large, much branched, on long peduncle; tepals connate only at very base, remaining membr. below fr.; ovary small, ± globose; seeds small, narrow, often ± curved, funicle flabellately incrassate:
    • 3. solandri, 4. trinervia
• B. Subgenus ASTELIOPSIS. 
• • Ovary 3-locular; tepals shortly connate but not forming a campanulate tube to enclose base of berry; seeds angular, dull-surfaced, without conspicuous funicle.
  • 1. Section ISONEURON. 
  • • Rather large tufts; lvs with subequal evenly spaced nerves; ovary small, conic; berry white to purplish:
    • 5. banksii
• C. Subgenus TRICELLA. 
• • Ovary 3-locular; tepals connate below, in ♀ forming a conspicuously coloured or thickened tube embracing the base of developing fr.; seeds rather large, rounded externally, glossy, funicle not incrassate
  • 1. Section TRICELLA. 
  • • Small to very large tufts; ovary rather large, globose to flask-shaped; flesh of berry bright orange, surface sts ± flushed with red:
    • 6. fragrans, 7. grandis, 8. chathamica, 9. nervosa, 10. petriei, 11. skottsbergii, 12. nivicola, 13. graminea

Skottsberg (K. svenska Vet. Akad. Handl. 14, 1934, 1–106, Pl. I–XXIV) monographed the genus, relegating some spp. to his new genus Collospermum and arranging the others under subgenera and sections. N.Z. spp. are discussed by Wheeler (N.Z. J. Bot. 4, 1966, 95–113, cytotaxonomy of large North Id spp.) and by Moore (N.Z. J. Bot. 4, 1966, 201–240, revised nomenclature, new taxa, distribution maps). Morice (J. Sci. Fd Agric. 18, 1967, 343–346) reports on seed fats and on this basis groups Sect. Astelia with Sect. Tricella while Sect. Desmoneuron and Sect. Isoneuron fall into a second group together with spp. of Collospermum.

Dumortier (Analyse des Familles des Plantes, 1829, 59) keyed out his monogeneric family Asteliaceae on: "Périgone membraneux; fruit simple, succulent à placentaires pariétaux; 6 étamines, 3 stigmates sessiles". This diagnosis would not include all spp. at present attributed to the genus Astelia.

Hutchinson's Tribe Milliganieae consists of Astelia, Collospermum and Milligania, the last an endemic Tasmanian genus differing in bisexual fls and capsular fr. All possess peculiar surface scales that are anomalous in Liliaceae but are rather closely matched in some genera of Bromeliaceae. The likeness to Tillandsia in this latter family was noted by Solander in his manuscript and by Robert Brown in publishing the generic name.

Silvery white air-filled scales cover most exposed young parts but in some spp. they soon fall off. The largest scales, on lf-sheaths, reach a length of > 1 cm. On the lf-lamina they are smaller, sts fusing into a thin sheet or pellicle on the adaxial surface; on the abaxial surface the scale-blades overlie woolly hairs that in some spp. are thick enough to form a felted layer.

Infls, especially at flowering stage, are often deeply immersed in the lf-bases, and in many spp. even ripe fr. can be seen only by parting the lvs and peering between them. Locules can us. be counted in all ovaries, though some fls are functionally male.

Nerves of lvs are described, in keys and elsewhere, as seen by viewing the lamina against the light and from the abaxial side, except where otherwise stated.

The Maori name, Kowharawhara, originally recorded for A. solandri by Cunningham, was probably used in a generic sense, and it appears in several other forms: Horahora; Puwhara, Puwharawhara; Wharawhara. Kakaha, listed in the Maori Dictionary for A. nervosa, appears in a slightly different form for Collospermum.

Fig. 8. ASTELIA. Examples of four Sections: fruits, × 1½; seeds, × 5; T.S. ovaries. A. fragrans : fruit, × 1½; female flower, × 3½; male flower, × 3½. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X36]