Brassicaceae

The pattern of declines and local extinctions of endemic inland Lepidium species in the eastern South Island

Small patches of habitat for indigenous species that remain in developed landscapes are predicted to lose species over time as extinction debts are paid off and to become transformed by spillover from intensive land uses. In December 2020 we searched for plants of three inland South Island-endemic species of Lepidium (Brassicaceae; L. kirkii, L. sisymbrioides, and L. solandri) at previously known locations in Central Otago, the Waitaki Valley, the Mackenzie Basin, and Kura Tāwhiti (Castle Hill, North Canterbury).