Flora of New Zealand Series

creeping cudweed

Stoloniferous perennial; stems 1-few, usually ascending, sometimes erect, usually simple, rarely sparingly branched, (2)-5-20-(40) cm tall. Lvs usually mostly basal at flowering; basal lvs short-petiolate, densely white-tomentose on lower surface usually including mid-vein, usually moderately to densely, sometimes sparsely tomentose on upper, plane, narrow- to broad- obovate or oblanceolate, long-cuneate, usually obtuse, sometimes acute, shortly mucronate, (5)-15-40-(60) × (2)-5-12 mm; cauline lvs usually becoming much reduced upwards, often oblong, acute, finally apetiolate and broad-based. Capitula c. 1-2 mm diam., (5)-8-numerous in dense ± globular terminal clusters, very rarely smaller axillary clusters below; longest subtending lvs 0.5-1.5× diam. of cluster. Involucral bracts elliptic to oblong-elliptic, obtuse to subacute, 3.5-4 mm long; stereome green, sometimes tinged reddish purple toward apex; lamina yellow to pale brown or orange; gap and margins usually tinged pinkish purple, sometimes clear. Achenes minutely papillate, c. 0.7 mm long.

N.; S.; St.; Ch.: lowland to subalpine throughout.

Endemic.

Grassland, forest margins and clearings, coastal sites, scrubland, rock outcrops, riverbeds, pasture, waste places.

This entity was included by Allan (1961) within his concept of G. collinum Labill., but was recognised by Drury (1972, op. cit.) as G. audax subsp. audax; subsp. ruahinicum D. Drury is treated here at specific rank. G. audax is somewhat variable in habit, hairiness, and bract colour; plants from more shady sites are much more leafy and often less hairy than is typical for the sp. and may then appear similar to G. gymnocephalum. On Banks Peninsula, such green-leaved plants can occur along side the typical white-leaved form, but the 2 sorts are otherwise identical. Although the green-leaved form is more common in shady sites, the dimorphism does not appear to be entirely habitat dependent. In G. audax, generally flowering stems are lateral to the persistent rosette, but occasional plants are found in which the stems are also terminal.

G. audax is very similar to G. ruahinicum but is distinguished by the broader, more often obtuse basal lvs, less leafy stems, shorter lvs subtending the terminal infl., and generally paler bract lamina.