Poa foliosa is a perennial, dioecious grass growing as densely clumped tussocks up to 2 m in height. The tussocks arise from short, woody stolons, with the shoots covered at the base by the fibrous remnants of sheaths. The leaf-blades are 150–400 mm long and 3–6 mm wide. The plant flowers from October to December, and fruits from November to April.[5][6]
On Macquarie Island's coastal terraces and slopes it grows in mixed stands with Stilbocarpa polaris where the drainage is good, and along the borders of streams. It forms a tall tussock grassland along the beaches above the high-water mark, as well as patchily on the island's plateau in sheltered and relatively exposed sites. The upland grasslands are an important habitat for burrow-nesting petrels.[7]
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1845 as Festuca foliosa by Joseph Hooker.[3][1] In 1864 he redescribed it as belonging to the genus Poa.[4]
Conservation status
In both 2009 and 2012 it was deemed to be "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System,[5] and this New Zealand classification was reaffirmed in 2018 (due to its restricted range), with a further comment that it was safe overseas.[2]
References
^ abHooker, J.D. (1845). "Festuca foliosa". The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. 1: 99. Plate LV
^ abde 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.; Ladley, Kate (2018-05-01). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017"(PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 47. OCLC1041649797.
