Flora of New Zealand Series

Stems prostrate or semi-prostrate, trailing, often purple; rootstock slender to fairly thick. Petiole 2-15-(20) mm long but usually much less. Lamina ovate-hastate or triangular-hastate. Perianth segments c. 5 mm long, ovate to obovate, slightly valvate, loosely investing but not enclosing fr. Pericarp easily removed. Testa nearly smooth.

N.: N. Auckland (mainly offshore islands), Bay of Plenty (White Id); K.: Raoul and the Herald Islets to L'Esperance; Ch.

Also indigenous to coastal N.S.W. and Victoria.

Coastal boulders and cliff faces, especially on volcanic rock, common in many seabird colonies, sometimes in the partial shade of coastal scrub.

FL Jul-Jan.

E. trigonos subsp. trigonos has hitherto been confused with E. triandra in N.Z.; the absence of a fleshy red fr. distinguishes  subsp. trigonos although vegetative parts of the 2 taxa are almost identical.

Wilson (op. cit.) suggested that some Kermadec and Little Barrier Id specimens with triangular to hastate lvs represent an undescribed sp. or a variant of E. allanii. In the field, at both these localities, only one taxon can be distinguished and this is best referred to E. trigonos.