Flora of New Zealand Series

orache

Much-branched, prostrate or widespreading to suberect, farinose, monoecious annual, often with erect main stem and stiff horizontal branches, sometimes mat-forming. Stems ribbed, ± slender. Petiole to 1.5 cm long; lamina 2-7 × 0.3-4 cm, mostly linear-lanceolate, lanceolate or elliptic, sometimes ovate and then often hastate, rarely lobed on 1 side only, otherwise lamina nearly always entire, green or grey-green; base narrow-cuneate to cuneate; apex acute to obtuse. Infl. lvs (even down to base of branches) smaller, narrower, with shorter petioles. Infl. long, spicate; fls in glomerules; upper glomerules sometimes subtended by small bract-like lvs. ♂ fls: perianth c. 0.5 mm long; segments green with hyaline margin. ♀ fls: bracteoles 1-1.5 mm long at anthesis, sessile, triangular or rhombic-triangular, often triangular-hastate, otherwise entire or with a few marginal or sometimes central dorsal teeth, sometimes with appendages. Fruiting bracteoles (1.5)-2.5-8.5- (11) × 1-5-(6) mm, sometimes unequal, thin, green or grey-farinose, the lower part united; apex acute or acuminate. Fr. enclosed or apex exserted from bracteoles, 1.4-2.2-(3.2) mm diam., circular, laterally flattened; pericarp easily removed. Testa shining black, almost smooth.

N.: Auckland City, Opotiki (Bay of Plenty); S.: E. areas from Marlborough to Southland, C. Otago; St.; Ch.

Europe, W. Asia 1853

Waste places, especially on dry, stony ground, and in the ash and stony substrate of some railway yards and roadsides, also in cultivated land, dry riverbeds, and on coastal sand near settlements.

FL Jan-Mar.

Most early records of A. patula probably refer to one of the forms of A. prostrata. The 2 spp. are most easily distinguished by the shape of the base of the lvs below the main infl. at flowering. They also differ in chromosome number: 2 n = 36 in A. patula, 2 n = 18 in A. prostrata. The bracteoles are extremely variable in both spp. in N.Z. Some plants have all lvs ± linear and thus resemble the European A. littoralis L.  A. patula has been known as A. angustifolia, A. australasica and A. erecta in N.Z.