Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand (2008 revision)

Abstract

A reappraisal of the conservation status of the indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora is presented using the 2008 version of the threat classification system developed for the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The list comprises 897 taxa (38% of New Zealand's total indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Extinct—6 taxa, Threatened—180 taxa (comprising 91 Nationally Critical taxa, 45 Nationally Endangered, and 44 Nationally Vulnerable), At Risk—651 taxa (comprising 83 Declining, 6 Recovering, 20 Relict, and 542 Naturally Uncommon taxa), 25 taxa listed as either Vagrant (12) or Coloniser (13), and 35 as Data Deficient. A further 171 plants are listed as taxonom ically indeterminate, being those which might warrant further conservation attention once their taxonomic status is clarified. Forty-four recognised taxa and 26 plants rated as taxonomically indeterminate, and previously considered to be threatened and/or uncommon, are removed from this updated listing. A brief analysis of the patterns of rarity exhibited by the listed taxa is presented. Overall, the conservation status of the New Zealand indigenous vascular plant flora is worsening, with 7.6% of this flora now regarded as threatened with extinction. A concordance of plants names from the 2004 listing is provided. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.