Flora of New Zealand Series

Straggling to suberect, glandular perennial herb, becoming somewhat woody toward base. Stems clothed in short hairs, becoming glabrous, often procumbent, ascending at tips and rooting along ground. Lvs alternate, moderately clothed in short erect hairs, fleshy, lanceolate to elliptic or obovate, acute, cuneate to the slightly amplexicaul base, with 3-5 distant teeth on each side, (2)-3-9 × 0.5-1.5 cm; lvs near capitula becoming smaller, narrow and often entire. Capitula solitary, 5-8 cm diam. Involucral bracts in 2 rows, usually moderately hairy and densely ciliate, rarely sparsely hairy, lanceolate, (10)-13-16 mm long. Ray florets 12-17; ligules pinkish mauve on upper surface, purplish blue tinged green on lower, 2-4.5 cm long; disc florets numerous, blue, with glabrous lobe apices. Achenes obovoid, glabrous, 3-angled, faintly reticulate and with central rib between angles, 6-7 mm long.

N.: Auckland City, Rangototo Id; S.: Nelson City, Heaphy Track, Waipapa Bay (Marlborough), Leithfield Beach (N. Canterbury).

South Africa 1988

Established locally near sites of cultivation, scrub and forest margin, waste places, coastal habitats.

FL Jan-Dec.

This sp. is very similar to O. fruticosum and differs mainly in the brightly coloured upper ligule surface and the somewhat narrower lvs. The related O. barberae (Harvey) Norlindh also has ligules brightly coloured on the upper surface but is distinguished by the hair tufts on the corolla lobes of the outer disc florets.