Flora of New Zealand Series

Perennial hairy herb with creeping branched stems arising from a stout, usually multicipital and rhizomatous stock. Petioles slender, usually 1-2.5 cm long, ± silky hairy. Lamina heterophyllous, 5-50 × 1-10 mm, ± silky hairy, of 4 main intergrading types, sometimes more than 1 on same plant: a) broad-ovate, oblong or suborbicular, usually not lobed, b) almost hastate with terminal sinuate or toothed lobe, and linear to narrow-oblong, entire or toothed, much smaller basal lobes at right angles, c) filiform to linear, with basal lobes entire or toothed, d) almost filiform to broadly linear and entire or nearly so. Fls axillary, solitary; peduncles ± filiform. Bracts paired, narrow-linear. Sepals unequal, 5-7 mm long, broad-ovate, ± appressed-hairy; apex rounded. Corolla c. 2 × 2 cm, white. Capsule c. 7 mm diam., globose. Seeds with network of short, narrow ridges.

S.: inland Kaikoura Range and upper Awatere Valley (Marlborough), Mackenzie Basin (Canterbury), Kawerau Gorge (C. Otago).

Endemic.

Montane, open grassland and rocky places.

FL Nov-Feb.

C. fractosaxosa is very variable and in form a) above resembles C. verecundus.