Montigena

Scree Pea
Montigena novae-zelandiae found in the central Waitaki District

Declining (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Montigena
Heenan (1998)
Species:
M. novae-zelandiae
Binomial name
Montigena novae-zelandiae
Synonyms[3]

Swainsona novae-zelandiae Hook.f. (1864)

Seeds and seed pods of Montigena novae-zelandiae

Montigena is a genus of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It includes the sole species Montigena novae-zelandiae, known more commonly the scree pea, a dicotyledonous herb endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The plant is small and woody, arising from thin, branched stems that extend to the surface from a deeply buried root stock. The flowers vary from purple to brown, while fruits appear between January and April.[2]

M. novae-zelandiae was previously classified as Swainsona novae-zelandiae until 1998 when the genus Montigena was created based on the morphological features of the plant.[4][5]

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, it is classified as "At Risk - Declining". Its decline is predicted to be from 10% to 50% from a population of from 20,000 to 100,000 mature plants. Further comments are that it is sparse and that there are recruitment failures.[1]

Montigena is one of the four genera of native legumes in New Zealand; the other three are Carmichaelia, Clianthus, and Sophora.

References

  1. ^ a b de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Barkla, J.W.; Courtney, S.P.; Champion, P.D.; Perrie, L.R.; Beadel, S.M.; Ford, K.A.; Breitwieser, I.; Schönberger, I.; Hindmarsh-Walls, R. (2018-05-01). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 36. OCLC 1041649797.
  2. ^ a b "Montigena novae-zelandiae". New Zealand Plant conservation Network. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  3. ^ Montigena novae-zelandiae (Hook.f.) Heenan. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  4. ^ Bevan, Weir. "Taxonomy of New Zealand Native Legumes". NZ Rhizobia: Bacterial and fungal systematics research. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. ^ Heenan, P. B.; de Lange, P. J.; Wilton, A. D. (March 2001). "(Fabaceae) in New Zealand: Taxonomy, distribution, and biogeography". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 39 (1): 17–53. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2001.9512715.