Festuca luciarum is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, found in the eastern North Island at higher altitudes.

Festuca luciarum
Holotype from the Auckland War Memorial Museum Herbarium

Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Festuca
Species:
F. luciarum
Binomial name
Festuca luciarum

Taxonomy and naming

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Lucy Cranwell and Lucy Moore on their field trip to Maungapohatu in 1932

The species was first formally described in 1998 by Henry Connor, based on specimens collected by botanists Lucy Cranwell and Lucy Moore from Maungapohatu in Te Urewera in 1932.[2][3] Connor named the species after both Cranwell and Moore.[4]

The species is closely related to the species Festuca coxii, Festuca multinodis and Festuca ultramafica, which form the Neozeylandic clade II of Loliinae grasses.[5][6]

Description

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F. luciarum is a tall stoloniferous grass with long shoots that have dark violet inflorescences.[2] There are morphological differences between different members based on which geographically separated area they are found in.[2]

Habitat and range

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The species is endemic to New Zealand,[7] found in the inland areas of the eastern North Island, at an elevation of between 900–1,500 m (3,000–4,900 ft).[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Festuca luciarum Connor". New Zealand Threat Classification System. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Connor, H. E. (September 1998). "Festuca (Poeae: Gramineae) in New Zealand I. Indigenous Taxa". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 36 (3): 329–367. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1998.9512574. ISSN 0028-825X. Wikidata Q130242302.
  3. ^ "Festuca luciarum". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  4. ^ Young, Maureen; Cameron, Ewen (2014). "Plants named for our "two Lucies". An occasional paper in the series "Plants named for ABS members"" (PDF). Auckland Botanical Society Journal. 69 (2): 178–179. ISSN 0113-4132. Wikidata Q124313556.
  5. ^ Heenan, PB; Mitchell, AD; de Lange, PJ; Keeling, J; Paterson, AM (2010). "Late-Cenozoic origin and diversification of Chatham Islands endemic plant species revealed by analyses of DNA sequence data". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 48 (2): 83–136. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2010.494337. ISSN 0028-825X. Wikidata Q130242398.
  6. ^ Luis A Inda; José Gabriel Segarra-Moragues; Jochen Müller; Paul M Peterson; Pilar Catalán (5 December 2007). "Dated historical biogeography of the temperate Loliinae (Poaceae, Pooideae) grasses in the northern and southern hemispheres". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 46 (3): 932–957. doi:10.1016/J.YMPEV.2007.11.022. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 18226932. Wikidata Q48075292.
  7. ^ "Codium cranwelliae". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 5 September 2024.