Geum parviflorum Sm.
(C.J.W., D.R.G.)
Erect herb up to 30 cm high at flowering, arising from a stout, woody stock. Basal lvs up to 15 cm long, white-pilose, imparipinnate; lateral leaflets in up to 15 pairs, the lower minute but upper sometimes up to 15 mm long; terminal leaflet (1)-2-5-(7) cm long, crenate-dentate and sometimes obscurely lobed; cauline lvs few, oblong, toothed, sometimes very reduced. Peduncle up to 30 cm high. Infl. of (1)-3-8-(25) fls. Petals 4-8-(10) mm long, creamy white. Achenes densely pilose especially on margins.
N.; S.: mountains from East Cape southwards, sometimes locally absent; A.
Also indigenous to S. America.
Damp tussock grassland and herbfield, rocky sites, stream banks.
FL Dec-Mar FT Dec-Apr.
As circumscribed here, G. parviflorum may include several undescribed entities. The status of plants from A., treated by Allan (1961) as var. albiflorum (Hook. f.) Allan, needs to be considered in relation to these.
