Flora of New Zealand Series

Maori dock

Glabrous, much-branched, divaricately spreading herb with stout tap-root; branches and branchlets together up to c. 50 cm long, rather slender. Lower lvs with slender petioles from > to much < lamina. Lamina (1)-3-15-(17) × (0.2)-0.4-2.5-(3) cm, linear to narrow-oblong or elliptic, usually brown, rarely green; margins ± undulate and often crisped or even crenulate; base cuneate to truncate or cordate, sometimes widened; apex obtuse or subacute. Upper lvs smaller, linear to ovate-oblong, gradually decreasing to 2 cm long or less. Infl. of numerous, rather distant whorls of 6-12, ⚥, protandrous fls; lvs subtending whorls gradually reduced towards infl. apex; pedicels rather slender, glabrous, often short. Perianth segments 1.5-3 mm long; outer segments lanceolate or narrow-ovate, apiculate, ± spreading at fruiting; inner segments ovate to almost rhombic, acuminate. Fr. valves strongly reticulate, with (1)-2-3-(4) straight teeth on each margin; tubercles usually 0, sometimes 1, narrow and towards base. Nut (1.5)-1.8-2.3 mm long, pale brown, lustrous, sharply angled.

N.; S.; St.; C.: from mountains of C. North Id southwards, descending to sea level in parts of the South Id and St., mostly uncommon in the north.

Endemic.

Lowland to montane grassland, open places, especially bogs, wet flushes, lake and streamsides.

FL Nov-Apr.

Because of confusion with the superficially similar, naturalised sp. R. brownii, the brief distribution given by Allan (1961) is misleading. Likewise, Allan's record for the Kermadecs is based on plants of R. brownii. R. flexuosus is the only extra-Australian sp. in sect. Simplices subsect. Australienses (Rechinger, op. cit.). It is very closely related to the widespread temperate Australian R. dumosus Meissner.