Dracophyllum traversii, commonly known as mountain neinei, grass tree, and pineapple tree is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is a deciduous tree (or, in some cases, a shrub) endemic to New Zealand. It reaches a height of and has leaves which form tufts at the end of its branches. It has a lifespan of between 500 and 600 years.
Similar to some other Dracophyllum species, it has a candelabra-shaped canopy; long, thin, green leaves; and a prominent pyramid-shaped inflorescence. It has tiny red flowers, between 500 and 3000 on each panicle, and equally tiny reddish-brown dry fruit. D. traversii inhabits a variety of forest and shrubland types, from lowland to subalpine, in gorges, on cliffs, and on mountainsides. It has a range that stretches from Waima forest at the top of New Zealand's North Island, down to Otago and Fiordland in the South Island.
It was first described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1867, and was placed by Walter Oliver in the subgenus Dracophyllum in 1928. A cladistic analysis using genetic sequencing was published in 2010, revealing that D. traversii was indeed related to D. latifolium as Oliver had thought. The status of D. pyramidale as a synonym is disputed by taxonomic institutions and botanists, with Plants of the World Online not recognising the positions of the New Zealand Organism Register, New Zealand Plant Conversation Network, and various New Zealand botanists.
Description
Dracophyllum traversii is a shrub or tree that grows to a height of tall, though those growing in exposed subalpine areas often do not reach . Similar to D. elegantissimum, it forms a candelabra-like canopy with its branches, which have flaky light brown bark. Its leaves, which concentrate at the ends of branches like species in the family Bromeliaceae, are , leathery, and very finely toothed such that there are 18 to 20 teeth every . Plants which grow at the upper reaches of the tree line have a grey wax on their leaves, as well as change colour during Winter from green to a reddish-purple, as a result of anthocyanins.
It flowers from October to February with densely-packed long panicle (branched inflorescence), though those growing in full sun may be shorter, producing 500–3000 or more red (though sometimes green) flowers on each. The panicle has a central axis in diameter with branches at right angles. It is covered in inflorescence bracts (modified leaves) which are and light green with a white colour at their base and pink at the tip. Its flowers are recaulescent and suspended off of tiny 4.0–4.8 by 0.5–0.7 mm bracteoles and 0.5–2.0 mm long hairy pedicels.
The sepals are a red (sometimes green) colour, egg-shaped, and 1.2–3.0 by 1.1–2.5 mm, which is the same length as the corolla tube. The corolla (petals) itself is red, though the 2.7–3.0 by 4–5 mm bell-shaped tube is occasionally white. Its lobes are reflexed and are 2.5–2.8 by 2.0–2.5 mm. The stamens occur at the top of the corolla tube and consist of a 1.8–2.0 mm long pink (becoming yellow) oblong anther suspended off of a 1.0–1.5 mm long filament. It has a 1.4–1.5 by 1.8–2.0 mm hairless, almost globe-shaped, ovary and 1.0–1.5 by 1.0–1.5 nectary scales. The stigmas are five-lobed and have 2–3 mm long styles.
It fruits from December to May producing yellow-brown coloured 0.95–1 mm long egg-shaped seeds. Surrounding the seeds are red to purple-brown 1.9–2.0 by 2.8–3.0 mm hairless fruit. D. traversii is morphologically very similar to D. latifolium, but differs by its more robust growth habit and leaf and flower characteristics. Its leaves are serrulate as opposed to the serrate leaves of D. latifolium, and it has larger, hairless, sepals, as well as a longer and wider corolla tube and globe-shaped ovary. Its seeds are also much smaller than that of D. latifolium.