Iberis umbellata L.
candytuft
Annual or short-lived perennial. Stems erect, ridged, glabrous, 20-30-(60) cm tall. Lvs simple, entire or shallowly toothed, glabrous, narrow-lanceolate to linear, acuminate at apex, narrowed to stalk-like base. Infl. a compact corymb, not elongating at fruiting; pedicels spreading, hairy, 0.5-1 cm long. Sepals glabrous, usually pinkish, 3-5 × c. 1 mm. Petals pink or purple, rarely white; anterior pair 9-13 × 4-5 mm; posterior pair 5-8 × c. 3 mm. Silicle ovate, 8-11 × 5-8 mm; valves finely veined, with broad acuminate wings forming an acute apical notch. Style (2)-3-4 mm long. Seeds ovoid, brown, somewhat flattened, barely winged, 2-3 mm long.
N.: Northland (Kaikohe, Taipa), Wellington (Wallaceville); S.: Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, C. Otago.
Mediterranean 1958
Waste places, especially coastal. A garden escape, probably casual in most places.
FL Dec-Feb Dec-May.
