Flora of New Zealand Series

; Holotype: CHR 95457! V. D. Zotov Wainui-o-mata Valley, near sea, Feb 1955; ⚥.

Very tall, stout tussock with ivory sheaths and sharp leaves below a shining white culm bearing a large plumose panicle. Leaf-sheath glabrous, ivory beneath epicuticular wax, midrib green. Ligule to 4 mm. Collar dark brown, adaxially clothed in short hairs. Leaf-blade to 2 m × 3 cm; stiff, abaxially long hairy towards margins below, sharply scabrid from many prickle-teeth in upper ⅓, adaxially with thick weft of hairs at base becoming fewer above, minute stiff hairs throughout; margins long (5 mm) hairy below, becoming very scabrid with rows of prickle-teeth. Culm to 4 m, shining, waxy, internodes glabrous. Inflorescence to 1 m, stiff, erect, densely plumose, rachis smooth, branches and pedicels short stiff hairy, long hairs at axils and below spikelets. Spikelets to 25 mm, of 2-3 florets. Glumes equal, to 25 mm, > florets, 1-nerved, acuminate and awn-like above, scabrid. Lemma to 10 mm, 3-nerved, finely scabrid; hairs to 8 mm radiating from base; lateral lobes to 5 mm; central awn to 15 mm. Palea to 6.5 mm, attenuated, keels and apex ciliate, interkeel and flanks hairy. Callus hairs to 1.5 mm. Rachilla to 0.5 mm, glabrous. Lodicules to 0.5 mm. Anthers of ⚥ flowers to 4.75 mm, of ♀ flowers to 2.75 mm. Gynoecium: of ⚥ flowers ovary to 1 mm, stigma-styles to 1.8 mm; of ♀ flowers ovary to 1.3 mm, stigma-styles to 3.5 mm. Caryopsis to 2.5-3 mm; embryo to 0.75 mm; hilum to 1 mm. 2 n = 90.

N.: Wellington north to Rotorua and Tauranga. In swamps and wet places; sea level to 800 m. FL late Jan-Feb.

Endemic.

Natural populations comprise 57% ⚥ and 43% ♀ plants.

Banks and Solander specimens from Tolaga Bay 1769-1770 (AK 110395, AK 110396) are referable to C. toetoe as Zotov (1963 op. cit.) said. Connor (1971 op. cit.) indicated that a similar specimen at WELT was C. splendens; this is incorrect.