Bulbinella modesta

Bulbinella modesta
A young Bulbinella modesta specimen.
Bulbinella modesta

Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Bulbinella
Species:
B. modesta
Binomial name
Bulbinella modesta

Bulbinella modesta is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, only found in the West Coast Region in damp lowland areas. It is a very slender plant reaching 300 mm in height. B. modesta was first described in 1964 by the New Zealand botanist Lucy Moore. It gets its specific epithet, modesta, in reference to "the modest dimensions of the plant" compared to other species it had previously been placed in.

Description

Bulbinella modesta is a species of perennial herb in the family Asphodelaceae and the subfamily Asphodeloideae. It is very slender, reaching 300 mm in height.[1][2] Its roots are swollen and are fusiform in character.[2] Its leaves are bright-green in colour, less than 10 mm wide, and linear in character. Its inflorescences (flower clusters) are short. Its flowers are star-like in character, yellow-coloured, with 9.5–13 mm long perianths. Its bracteoles are short. Its pedicels are long and spreading. Its capsules are globe-shaped and 4.5–5 mm in diameter. Its seeds are brown in colour and 3.5–4 mm long.[1]

Taxonomy

The Bulbinella genus was first established in 1843 by Carl Sigismund Kunth.[3][4] Initially, six species from the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa, were placed in the genus Bulbinella; three of them transferred from other genera and three of the species were described as new. In 1845, Joseph Dalton Hooker based his new genus Chrysobactron on B. rossii specimens collected from Campbell Island. B. rossii was first published in the Flora Antarctica by him, noting that Chrysobactron was "very nearly allied" and was similar to the South African Bulbinella genus, but he decided not to move the new genus into it.[5][6] In 1906, botanist Thomas Cheeseman had doubted numerous times about the generic status of the New Zealand species and placed them in Bulbinella rather than in Chrysobactron.[7] B. modesta was first described in 1964 by the New Zealand botanist Lucy Moore in her revison of New Zealand's Bulbinella species.[8]

In 1952, Lucy Cranwell studied the pollination of various New Zealand species; in her study, she mentioned the points of similarity between the grains of South African Bulbinella species and New Zealand Chrysobactron (now known as Bulbinella) species, but no other differences were mentioned by her.[9][10] There are twenty-three species in the genus Bulbinella; seventeen of which are located in South Africa, and six in New Zealand.[11] B. modesta is closely allied to B. hookeri, but differs due to its thinner leaves and growth habitat.[12]

Etymology

The etymology (word origin) of B. modesta's genus name, Bulbinella, derives from the Greek βολβός, simply meaning 'bulb' (an underground plant storage structure). Both words Bulbine and Bulbinella translate to English as 'little bulb'.[13] The specific epithet (second part of the scientific name), modesta, was chosen by Moore to denote "the modest dimensions of the plant" in comparrison with other species it had previously been placed in.[8]

Distribution

A photograph of soil and some plants, which is also the natural habitat of Bulbinella modesta.
B. modesta in its natural habitat.

B. modesta is endemic to New Zealand. It is only found in the West Coast Region of the South Island, ranging from Westport in the Buller District to as far south as about Ōkārito.[1][14] B. modesta's 2023 assessment in the New Zealand Threat Classification System was "At Risk — Naturally Uncommon".[15]

Habitat

New Zealand's Bulbinella species prefer colder habitats and soils with high water content.[16][17] B. modesta typically occurs in boglands, damp lowland areas, and near swamp associated forests.[1][14] It commonly occurs 300 m (1,000 ft) above sea level.[18] B. modesta is commonly associated with Austroderia richardii and Phormium tenax.[19][20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d NZPCN 2025.
  2. ^ a b Moore 1964, pp. 16–18.
  3. ^ Moore 1964, p. 6.
  4. ^ Perry 1987, p. 1.
  5. ^ Moore 1964, p. 2.
  6. ^ Hooker 1859, p. 73.
  7. ^ Cheeseman 1906, p. 718.
  8. ^ a b Moore 1964, p. 16.
  9. ^ Moore 1964, pp. 1–2.
  10. ^ Cranwell 1952, p. 50.
  11. ^ Musara et al. 2017, pp. 1–2.
  12. ^ Musara et al. 2017, p. 4.
  13. ^ Gledhill 2008, p. 90.
  14. ^ a b Moore 1964, p. 18.
  15. ^ De Lange et al. 2024, p. 47.
  16. ^ Musara et al. 2017, p. 2.
  17. ^ Perry 1999, p. 9.
  18. ^ Korner, Farquhar & Roksandic 1988, p. 5.
  19. ^ Wehi & Clarkson 2007, p. 12.
  20. ^ Dickinson & Mark 1999, p. 5.

Works cited

Books

  • Cheeseman, T. F. (1906). Manual of the New Zealand flora (1 ed.). Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Board of Science and Art – via the Internet Archive.
  • Cranwell, Lucy May (1952). New Zealand pollen studies: the monocotyledons: a comparative account. Auckland, New Zealand: Harvard University Press – via the Internet Archive.
  • Gledhill, David (6 March 2008). The Names of Plants. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-68553-5. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  • Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1859). The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843, under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. London, United Kingdom: Reeve Brothers – via the Internet Archive.
  • Perry, Pauline L. (1999). Bulbinella in South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa: National Botanical Institute. ISBN 1-919795-46-4 – via the Internet Archive.

Journals

Miscellaneous

Media related to Bulbinella modesta at Wikimedia Commons

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