Flora of New Zealand Series

Erect or straggling, short-lived, perennial herb. Lvs lanate when young, becoming glabrous on upper surface but usually remaining lanate on lower, cuneately narrowed to stem and often amplexicaul, ovate to suborbicular, pinnately lobed to pinnatisect with narrow to broad entire or few-toothed segments, (3)-5-18-(25) × 2-7-(12) cm. Uppermost lvs smaller, usually less divided, often narrow-obovate and less narrowed at base. Supplementary bracts 3-16, 1.5-4 mm long. Involucral bracts (13)-17-21, glabrous to sparsely hairy, 4-9 mm long. Ray florets 10-14-(20) ( subsp. radiolatus) or 0 ( subsp. antipodus); ligules yellow, 1.5-4-(6) mm long. Disc yellow, 5-15 mm diam. Achenes ± evenly hairy or rarely hairs confined to grooves between ribs ( subsp. radiolatus), or almost glabrous or minutely papillate ( subsp. antipodus), slightly narrowed to apex, 2.2-3.5 mm long.

Ch. ( subsp. radiolatus), Ant. ( subsp. antipodus (Kirk) C. Webb).

Endemic.

Coastal habitats, open forest, grassland.

FL Aug-Feb.

The 2 subspp. were accorded specific rank by Allan (1961) as S. radiolatus and S. antipodus Kirk. Subspp. radiolatus and antipodus have the same habit and lf form, the same chromosome number (2 n = 40), and the same cobwebby hairs which distinguished them from most members of the S. lautus group. Plants from Ant. differ significantly from those on Ch. only in the absence of ligulate florets and the reduction of the achene hairs [Webb, C. J., New Zealand J. Bot. 25 : 148 (1987)].