Flora of New Zealand Series

Erect annual to biennial herb, up to c. 1 m tall. Stems ridged, sparsely to moderately hispid, becoming less hairy below. Cauline lvs oblanceolate, flat, apetiolate and cuneate, acute, mostly remotely serrate, rarely entire, sparsely to moderately hispid on both surfaces, usually prominently and densely ciliate, 30-70 × 3-8 mm; uppermost lvs smaller, often linear. Infl. a leafy panicle with dominant main axis. Capitula 1-3 mm diam.; receptacle usually smooth, rarely with short flanges between pits. Inner involucral bracts linear, green, glabrous or with 1-2 hairs on midrib, 2.5-4 mm long; outer bracts glabrous, or with a few hairs on midrib. Outer florets with evident ligules 0.5-1 mm long, white. Achenes obovoid-cylindric, sparsely hairy, 1-1.3 mm long; pappus hairs cream to fawn.

N.: known from a few collections only, Whangarei, Tauranga, Te Kuiti, Rotorua, E. of Taupo, Hauhungaroa Range and Poverty Bay.

N. America 1988

Waste places, dry open gullies.

FL Dec-Mar.

Most records of C. canadensis in N.Z. are based on material of C. bilbaoana which is much more common than true C. canadensis. The 2 spp. are easily distinguished by the shape of the involucral bracts (C. canadensis is similar to C. parva, Fig. 19) and also by the more conspicuous ligules and hispid lvs of C. canadensis. C. canadensis has also been confused with C. albida from which it differs in the almost glabrous involucral bracts and in having ligulate outer florets.