#2459 - Dracophyllum filifolium - Needle-leafed Grass Tree
Previously known as nine other species of Dracophyllum. The generic name means dragon-leaf and refers to the similarity of some species to the unrelated Dracaena. 'filifolium'refers to the very narrow foliage. They are sometimes called grass-trees but that common names is also applied to entirely unrelated plants in Australia. This species is sometimes called the turpentine shrub, because of its readiness to burn even when green.
A shrub or tree-sized Heath-family plant, up to 4m tall, endemic to the North, South, and Stewart Islands of New Zealand. Most common on mountain slopes, saddles, and ridges.
First described by Charles Darwin's closest friend, the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1853.
There are 61 species in the genus, of various sizes and forms, found across most of Australasia. Although dicotyledonous, they resemble primitive monocots with slender leaves concentrated in clumps at the ends of the branches.
Difficult to propagate - the minute seeds are wind-dispersed.
Mount Taranaki, New Zealand