Poa cita, commonly known as the silver tussock, or wī, which is also a Māori name, or by the Māori name pātītī,[1] is a grass of the family Poaceae that is endemic to New Zealand.[2][3] Poa cita was described and named by Elizabeth Edgar in 1986, having previously being named Poa caespitosa.[2][4]
| Poa cita | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Poa |
| Species: | P. cita
|
| Binomial name | |
| Poa cita | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Poa caespitosa | |
It is found throughout most of New Zealand, from the Kermadec Islands to Stewart Island / Rakiura and out to the Chatham Islands, but not known from Raglan to Manawatū in the west of the North Island, except on Mount Taranaki.[2][5][6]
It grows to 0.3–1.0 metres tall, and sometimes hangs as much as 2 metres long down steep banks. It has very fine, narrow leaves, usually 1–1.5 millimetres and up to 2.5 millimetres wide. Leaf width varies through the country, with narrow, needle-like leaves in the central North Island and relatively wide leaves in the northern North Island.[2]
References
edit
- ^ "Poa cita. Wī. Silver tussock". Ngā Rauropi Whakaoranga. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Edgar, E. (1986). "Poa L. in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 24 (3): 446–448. Bibcode:1986NZJB...24..425E. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1986.10409820.
- ^ "Poa cita Edgar". Flora of New Zealand Online. Landcare Research. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ^ "Hortipedia - Poa cita". en.hortipedia.com. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
- ^ "Poa cita Edgar | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ^ Lord, Janice M. (1990). "The Maintenance of Poa cita Grassland by Grazing". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 13 (1): 43–49. ISSN 0110-6465. JSTOR 24053265.
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