Flora of New Zealand Series

creeping cudweed

Stoloniferous perennial; stems 1-few, ascending to erect, simple or sparingly branched, 20-70 cm tall. Lvs either basal and cauline at flowering, or basal lvs withered or 0; cauline lvs apetiolate, densely white-tomentose on lower surface, glabrous on upper, plane or somewhat keeled, lanceolate, narrow-oblanceolate to linear, cuneate or not narrowed to base and amplexicaul, acute, 30-200 × (1)-4-12 mm; basal lvs cuneate; uppermost lvs linear-lanceolate. Capitula c. 1.5-3 mm diam., few to numerous in dense ± globular terminal clusters, often smaller axillary clusters below; longest subtending lvs 1-4× diam. of cluster. Involucral bracts ovate- to elliptic-oblong, acutely narrowed or rounded to blunt apex, 4-4.5 mm long; stereome green; lamina pale brown; gap and margins clear, partly tinged reddish purple. Achenes minutely papillate, c. 0.6 mm long.

N.; S.; Ch.: throughout up to 800 m but less common in southern South Id.

Also indigenous to Taiwan, Java, Philippines and Australia.

Mostly open wet sites, also sand dunes, pasture, scrub, forest, lawns and gardens.

Allan's (1961) circumscription of G. involucratum also included plants referred by Drury (1972, op. cit.) to G. sphaericum. In G. involucratum and G. limosum the main flowering stem is terminal to the leafy rosette which withers before anthesis, and this stem is leafy to the apex; both G. audax and G. ruahinicum sometimes develop a terminal stem but in these 2 spp. the basal rosette persists and in G. audax the stem lvs are much reduced toward the infl. (see, Drury 1972, op. cit.). However, plants of G. involucratum may appear to have persistent basal lvs at anthesis when internodes between flowering and new rosettes are short. G. involucratum is usually further distinguished by the typically long narrow-lanceolate upper stem lvs, and the stout main stems (1-3.5 mm diam.). Some plants from the N. North Id appear to be referable to G. involucratum, but have smaller cauline lvs and only short lvs subtending the terminal cluster of capitula. Such plants also approach the large forms of G. delicatum treated by Drury as his example 1.