Bulbinella hookeri

Bulbinella hookeri, commonly known as the Māori lily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand; its range covers the North, South, and Stewart Islands. It is commonly found in tussock grasslands, and in soils with high water content. B. hookeri reaches a height of up to 120 cm (50 in) tall. B. hookeri was first described in 1851 by the botanists Joseph Dalton Hooker and William Colenso as Chrysobactron hookeri. It gets its specific epithet, hookeri, after Hooker, who first described the species with Colenso.

Bulbinella hookeri
Bulbinella hookeri
Conservation status
Not Threatened (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asphodelaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Bulbinella
Species:	B. hookeri
Binomial name
Bulbinella hookeri (Colenso ex Hook.)

Description

Bulbinella hookeri is a species of perennial herb in the family Asphodelaceae and the subfamily Asphodeloideae. It reaches 120 cm (50 in) in height. Its leaves are strap-like in character and usually smooth and narrow, the longest and widest leaves were measured at 75 cm (30 in) long and 30 cm (10 in), respectively. B. hookeri's flowers are bright yellow in colour.^[1][2] Its peduncles are 15–50 mm × 2.5–7 mm long, the racemes are 7.5–40 × 1.5–2.3 cm long, its pedicels are usually about 1.5 mm long, but can be 4 mm long. Its capsules are 7–9 × 4–5.5 mm long. Its infructescences (fruit clusters) are usually arranged above the leaves. Its seeds are approximately 5–6 mm long.^[2]

Taxonomy

The Bulbinella genus was first established in 1843 by Carl Sigismund Kunth.^[3][4] Initially, six species from the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa, were placed in the genus Bulbinella; three of them transferred from other genera and three of the species were described as new. In 1845, Joseph Dalton Hooker based his new genus Chrysobactron on B. rossii specimens collected from Campbell Island. B. rossii was first published in the Flora Antarctica by him, noting that Chrysobactron was "very nearly allied" and was similar to the South African Bulbinella genus, but he decided not to move the new genus into it.^[5][6] B. hookeri was first described by Hooker and William Colenso in 1852, and placed it in the genus Chrysobactron.^[7] In 1906, New Zealand botanist Thomas Cheeseman had doubted numerous times about the generic status of the New Zealand species and placed them in Bulbinella rather than in Chrysobactron.^[7]

In 1952, Lucy Cranwell studied the pollination of various New Zealand species; in her study, she mentioned the points of similarity between the grains of South African Bulbinella species and New Zealand Chrysobactron (now known as Bulbinella) species, but no other differences were mentioned by her.^[8][9] There are twenty-three species in the genus Bulbinella; seventeen of which are located in South Africa, and six in New Zealand.^[10]

Etymology

The etymology (word origin) of B. hookeri's genus name, Bulbinella, derives from the Greek βολβός, simply meaning 'bulb' (an underground plant storage structure). Both words Bulbine and Bulbinella translate to English as 'little bulb'.^[11] The specific epithet (second part of the scientific name), hookeri, is named in honour of Hooker, who first described the species with Colenso.^[12] The species is commonly known as the Māori lily.^[13] In the Māori language, the species is known as riki and waoriki.^[14]

Distribution

B. hookeri in its natural habitat, in a boggy tussock grassland.

B. hookeri is endemic to New Zealand, its range covers the North, South, and Stewart Islands.^[1][15] In the North Island, it occurs Mount Taranaki, Maungapōhatu, partly in the north-western part of the Ruahine Range. In the South Island, it occurs in Canterbury Region, Marlborough Region, Nelson, and as far west as Cobb Valley. B. hookeri's northern limits are Lake Taupō and Mount Taranaki, and its southern limit is approximately the Waiau Uwha River in Canterbury.^[2] B. hookeri's 2023 assessment in the New Zealand Threat Classification System was "Not Threatened".^[16]

Habitat

New Zealand's Bulbinella species prefer colder habitats and soils with high water content.^[17][18] B. hookeri typically occurs in mountainous areas, but still common above 150 m (500 ft) above sea level. It is commonly found in boggy areas, shaded slopes, seepages, valleys with high rainfall, and other wet places. B. hookeri principally occurs in tussock grasslands.^[15]

Ecology

A 2018 study of the native bee, Lasioglossum sordidum, foraging in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, reported that B. hookeri was occasionally visited by the species.^[19] B. hookeri is likely pollinated by insects, such as bees and flies, and its seeds are later dispersed by the wind.^[10][20]