Flora of New Zealand Series

Monocarpic or rarely perennial; stems trunk-like, to c. 1 m high and c. 4 cm diam., not forming clumps but with a few much thinner lateral branches near the base only, with prominent very broadly rhombic scars. Rosettes terminal, mostly 10-20 cm diam., rather flattened. Outer rosette lvs to c. 21 × 4 cm, 4-5 mm thick, oblanceolate or narrowly obovate-spathulate and narrowed greatly towards base, glaucous, glabrous and flat with a rounded keel on both surfaces; margins ciliolate, purple especially in upper part; apex ± mucronulate. Flowering shoots terminal, the plants probably usually dying after flowering; axis very stout, tall, erect, glabrous, with many leaflike bracts. Infl. a large, broadly pyramidal panicle, 28-37 × 25-38 cm; fls densely arranged, somewhat secund along branches. Calyx lobes 2-2.5 mm long, glabrous, broadly triangular. Petals 6-7-(8), 8-8.5 × 1.8-2.5 mm, lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, greenish white. Stamens white, the inner whorl 4.7-5.8 mm long, the outer whorl longer. Carpels white. Scales c. 0.5 mm long, rectangular and much wider than long, ± truncate at apex. Seeds not seen.

N.: near summit of headland above Kau Bay (Miramar Peninsula, Wellington).

Canary Is 1988

Steep eastern slope amongst open scrub of Cytisus.

FL Oct.

There is only one small naturalised population of A. urbicum and it is apparently very rare in cultivation in N.Z. The massive stems with very broadly rhombic lf scars and large rosettes of glaucous lvs distinguish the plants from all other spp. in N.Z. A. urbicum is known to hybridise and in the Canary Is it has crossed with a few other spp., especially A. haworthii. However, the plants described above form a ± uniform population and apart from lf and fl. colour seem to have little in common with A. haworthii. The N.Z. plants conform in nearly all respects to A. urbicum as described by Praeger (loc. cit.) and were originally imported for cultivation under this name; the only significant difference may be the slightly higher petal number recorded for Canary Is plants. The number of petals in N.Z. plants is the same as described for the closely related A. hierrense (R. Murray) Pitard et Proust but this sp. has wider lvs and puberulent infls (Praeger, loc. cit.). In addition, H. hierrense is rare in cultivation overseas.