Extinct native herbs found on DoC land

Leptinella filiformis, or slender button daisy, was found in Molesworth. Photo / supplied

Two native herbs thought to be extinct or no longer growing in the wild have been found thriving on conservation land.

Department of Conservation (DoC) rangers found thousands of pygmy goosefoot, or dysphania pusilla, growing at three separate sites.

It was thought to be extinct until found in the McKenzie Basin and Heron Basin in Canterbury, and Molesworth Station in South Marlborough.

Another native herb, leptinella filiformis, or slender button daisy, was also found in Molesworth.

It had not been been seen growing wild since the late 1990s, and was thought to be extinct outside of protected cultivation sites.

Pygmy goosefoot. Photo / supplied

DoC director-general Lou Sanson said pygmy goosefoot had not been seen for 56 years, but a few thousand plants were found at the first two locations.

"Botanists believe pygmy goosefoot may lie dormant for many years as seed when conditions aren't suitable for it to grow," he said.

"It was fortunate rangers were in the right places at the right time when it had germinated in abundance enabling its rediscovery."

Nelson rangers Simon Walls and Shannel Courtney, a botanist, found pygmy goosefoot growing in the Clarence River valley in Molesworth Station during a flora and fauna survey on January 14.

Mr Courtney recognised the species and its significance.

On January 25 Twizel ranger Aalbert [correct] Rebergen found the plant in the Ruataniwha wetlands in the McKenzie Basin. He approached botanists to identify the plant and was advised it was a different species.

Mr Rebergen wasn't convinced and eventually confirmed it was dysphania pusilla.

A third discovery was made in March in the Heron Basin in mid-Canterbury by botanist Nicholas Head.

The discovery of slender button daisy wasn't confirmed until plants collected by rangers in summer had flowered.

Wairau ranger Jan Clayton-Greene saw the herb in the Clarence River valley area but didn't recognise the species until a botanist later identified a specimen she had pressed.

Ms Clayton-Greene returned later with other rangers to collect plants when river levels were low enough.

DoC is now determining how to learn more about the herb species, and what can be done to protect them.