Flora of New Zealand Series

C. cardrona Hamlin in Rec. Dom. Mus., Wellington  2,  1955,  121.

Type locality: Red Hills, Wairau Valley, Nelson, 3,000 ft. Type: AK, 2700, T. F. Cheeseman, Jan. 1882; isotype at CHR and possibly at K.

Tufts very dense, 3–7 cm. high; shortly rhizomatous. Culms completely hidden by the light grey-brown, membr., fibrillose lf-sheaths. Lvs c. 0.5 mm. wide, dingy red, much > culms, plano-convex, nerved on the abaxial surface, smooth on the adaxial surface, margins scabrid, tip subobtuse, often somewhat curled. Infl. a short dense head of 3–4 spikes; terminal spike male, slender, very shortly pedunculate, glumes lanceolate, acute, red-brown; remaining spikes female, sessile, 5–12-fld, glumes c. 3.5 × 1.5 mm., dull red-brown, distinctly nerved, lanceolate, acute, with the midrib produced to a scabrid awn. Utricles 2–3.5 × c. 1.5 mm., biconvex, or obscurely trigonous, elliptic-lanceolate, spreading when ripe, light red-brown, distinctly nerved, narrowed to a ± scabrid beak 0.5–1 mm. long, bidentate, orifice scabrid. Stigmas 3. Nut c. 1.5 mm. long, obtusely trigonous, oblong-obovoid, dark grey-brown.

DIST.: N. Volcanic Plateau, Mt Hauhangatahi. S. Nelson, hills flanking the Wairau Valley; Canterbury, Hakatere Station, south branch of Ashburton R.; Otago, Cardrona and Nevis Valleys.

C. cardrona was described from Mt Cardrona, c. 4,300 ft, Otago. Type: WELT, 1891, D. Petrie.

C. uncifolia is distinct from C. libera and C. filamentosa in having the spikes buried among the lvs. C. hectori is rather similar to C. uncifolia but has wider, green lvs and smooth, dark brown, mature utricles.