Teucrium parvifolium

Teucrium parvifolium
Growing in Christchurch, New Zealand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Teucrium
Species:
T. parvifolium
Binomial name
Teucrium parvifolium
(Hook.f.) Kattari & Salmaki
Synonyms
  • Teucridium parvifolium Hook.f.

Teucrium parvifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, first described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1853 as Teucridium parvifolium. When placed in Teucridium, it was the only species in that genus. It is endemic to New Zealand.

A previously described sub-species Teucridium parvifolium var. luxurians Cheeseman (Labiatae) has recently been regarded as a synonym. The larger leaves of the 4 collected specimens having been found to be within the range of leaf size of the parent species.

The leaf miner moth Sabulopteryxbotanica Hoare & Patrick, sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Gracillariinae) was first described in 2019. The larvae of the moth are underside leaf miners found only on Teucrium parvifolium. The moth was first found on herbarium specimens of T. parvifolium collected in 1961 but it took until 2013 for an adult moth to be found

The current threat classification is "At Risk - Declining"

Description

Erect closely branched softly wooded shrub up to c. 1·5 m. tall; branchlets 4-angled, pubescent when young. Lvs on petioles ± 4–12 mm. long. Lamina ± 4–12–(15) mm. long, broad-ovate to ovate-oblong to suborbicular, membr., sts irregularly lobed. Fls axillary, solitary or in very small, few-fld cymes on very short, 2-bracted peduncles. Calyx-lobes subulate, persistent; corolla pubescent, white, sts flushed pale blue. Cocci ("pyrenes") hispid.

Teucrium parvifolium is a tangled shrub up to 2m high and to 2m wide. The branches and twigs are square in cross section. The leaves are small, dull yellow green to brown green, mostly round but sometimes pointed. On the finely hairy stem the leaves are opposite.


Distribution

Plants are found sporadically from Northland to Southland, mostly in the east of both islands.


References

  1. 1 2 3 "Teucrium parvifolium Hook.f.) Kattari & Salmaki". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  2. ↑ Allan, H.H. (1961). Flora of New Zealand 1: 1-1085. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington
  3. ↑ Moldenke, H.N. 1981: Notes on the genus Teucridium (Verbenaceae). Phytologia 48: 439–444.
  4. ↑ Heenan, Peter (2023-11-13). "Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: the status of four varietal names in Brachyglottis (Asteraceae), Corokia (Argophyllaceae), Mida (Nanodeaceae) and Teucridium (Labiatae)". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 63 (4): 840–850. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2023.2276282.
  5. ↑ Hoare, Robert; Patrick, Brian H.; Buckley, Thomas Robert (2019-07-22). "A new leaf-mining moth from New Zealand, Sabulopteryx botanica sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Gracillariinae), feeding on the rare endemic shrub Teucrium parvifolium (Lamiaceae), with a revised checklist of New Zealand Gracillariidae". ZooKeys (865): 39–65. Bibcode:2019ZooK..865...39H. doi:10.3897/ZOOKEYS.865.34265. PMC 6663935. PMID 31379443.
  6. ↑ "NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  7. ↑ "Flora of New Zealand | Taxon Profile | Teucrium parvifolium". www.nzflora.info. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
  8. ↑ "Teucrium parvifolium". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2026-10-16.