Carmichaelia

New Zealand broom
North Island Broom
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Galegeae
Subtribe:	Astragalinae
Genus:	Carmichaelia R.Br.[1]
Species
See text.

C. arborea leaves

C. arborea fruit

Carmichaelia (New Zealand Broom) is a genus of 24 plant species belonging to Fabaceae, the legume family. All but one species are native to New Zealand. The exception, Carmichaelia exsul, is native to Lord Howe Island and must have dispersed from New Zealand.^[2]

The formerly recognised genera of Chordospartium, Corallospartium, Notospartium, and Huttonella are now included in Carmichaelia.^[3][4] The Carmichaelia, Clianthus (kakabeak), Montigena (scree pea) and Swainsona genera comprise the clade Carmichaelinae.^[2]

Carmichaelia have a range of forms from trees to prostrate species a few centimetres high.^[4] Mature plants are usually leafless, with stipules fusing into scales to replace leaves.^[3]

Carmichaelia is named after Captain Dugald Carmichael, a Scottish army officer and botanist who studied New Zealand plants.^[4]

Carmichaelia is distributed throughout New Zealand although the eastern South Island has 15 species endemic to it. Most species have a restricted range within New Zealand. They colonise disturbed ground in shallow, poor soils, drought- and frost-prone areas and alluvial soils.^[2][5]

New Zealand Broom is not closely related to the European species Cytisus scoparius, Common Broom, which has been introduced to New Zealand, where it is commonly known as Scotch Broom and is classed as a noxious weed because of its invasiveness.

Species

Species having the cylindrical shaped leaves typically found in northern hemisphere brooms:

• Carmichaelia stevensonii: Weeping broom or Tree broom is a distinct tree, growing up to 9 m high. It occurs only at altitude in the northeast corner of the South Island, particularly along the Clarence and Awatere Rivers.
• Carmichaelia glabrescens: Pink broom, grows up to 10 m high. It also is restricted to growing at altitude in the Marlborough region of the South Island.

Species where the green branches or branchlets are flattened and take the place of leaves. The mature specimens are almost completely leafless while the juvenile form may have a few leaves:

• Carmichaelia williamsii: Giant flowered broom. Found in coastal regions of the Bay of Plenty and East Cape.
• Carmichaelia grandiflora: Large flowered broom. Found only on the West Coast of the South Island.
• Carmichaelia arborea: South Island broom.
• Carmichaelia odorata: Scented broom.
• Carmichaelia aligera: North Island broom. Common throughout the northern part of the North Island.
• Carmichaelia enysii: Dwarf broom. Forms low clumps not more than a few centimetres high. Found south of Arthur's Pass.

Other notable species include:

• Carmichaelia angustata: Leafy broom: very similar to the above species except that it usually has some leaves.
• Carmichaelia flagelliformis: Whip broom; the stems are rounded, thin and whippy. Found from the East Cape southwards.
• Carmichaelia crassicaule: Coral broom. Occurs in arid, stony ground on the eastern side of the Southern Alps, growing up to an altitude of 1300 m.

References

1. ^ Entry in New Zealand Plants database, Landcare Research. Retrieved on 7 April 2006.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Wagstaff, Steven J.; Peter B. Heenan and Michael J. Sanderson (1999). "Classification, origins, and patterns of diversification in New Zealand Carmichaelia (Fabaceae)". American Journal of Botany 86 (9): 1346–1356. doi:10.2307/2656781. JSTOR 2656781. PMID 10487821. http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/reprint/86/9/1346. Retrieved 2008-07-26. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Heenan, P.B. (1998). "An emended circumscription of Carmichaelia, with new combinations, a key, and notes on hybrids". New Zealand Journal of Botany 36: 53–63. ISSN 0028–825X. http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjb/2007/014-lo.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-26. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Taxonomy of New Zealand native legumes". 2008-07-19. http://www.rhizobia.co.nz/taxonomy/legume.html. Retrieved 2008-07-26. 
5. ^ Weir, Bevan (2006). Systematics, Specificity, and Ecology of New Zealand Rhizobia. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/394. Retrieved 2008-07-26.