Flora of New Zealand Series

Erect herb, 7.5-80 cm tall, often much-branched, with numerous leafy stolons. Stems strigillose all round, with elevated lines decurrent from margins of petioles, more densely strigillose in infl. Lamina of lf usually narrowly elliptic or elliptic, rarely lanceolate or narrowly ovate, 1-6 × 0.2-2 cm. Floral tube 1-1.5 mm deep, subglabrous to sparsely strigillose outside, with a conspicuous fringe of erect white hairs inside. Petals bright rose-purple to lilac, sometimes paler or very rarely white, 5.5-17 × 5-10 mm. Capsule densely strigillose and with glandular hairs, 3.5-7.5 cm long; fruiting pedicel 0.3-1.5 cm long. Seeds with conspicuous pale rim.

S.: W. coast of Nelson, vicinity of Maungarakau Swamp (near Westport).

Also indigenous to S.E. Australia, Tasmania.

Swamps, rare and local.

FL Dec-Mar.

Raven and Raven noted that this sp. seems to be a rather recent immigrant from Australia.