Montigena
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| Genus: | Montigena |
Montigena is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, comprising a single species of dicotyledonous herb native to New Zealand, known as Montigena novae-zelandiae or more commonly the scree pea. 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.[3][4]
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
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Montigena novae-zelandiae". New Zealand Plant conservation Network. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ Bevan, Weir. "Taxonomy of New Zealand Native Legumes". NZ Rhizobia: Bacterial and fungal systematics research. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ 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.
