Flora of New Zealand Series

Depressed perennial herb; stock stout, often multicipital; stems very short or obsolete. Lvs mostly in radical rosettes; petioles long, slender; lamina ± orbicular, up to 20 mm. diam., deeply divided into 3-5 lobes, these again segmented. Peduncles 1-fld, short; fls small, sepals oblong, petals us. white > sepals. Carpels ± densely hairy; seeds smooth.

DIST.: N., S., St. Occ. to common in coastal dunes and lowland to montane grassland.

FL.- FT. 11-4.

The above is a general description covering the N.Z. forms. A polymorphic sp. ranging from S. America to Australia, Tasmania and N.Z. The typical form (Knuth loc. cit. p. 84, f. 15) is not certainly known in N.Z., although Knuth cites G. brevicaule as a synonym. He describes  var. glabrum Knuth in Engl. Bot. Jb. 37, 1906, 565 as with "Peduncule petiolique retro-adpresse pilori. Folia glabrescentia", from N.Z. and Tasmania. The N.Z. forms at present distinguished may be keyed as follows:

1 Lvs distinctly mottled with purple; fls pinkvar. maculatum

Lvs not mottled; fls white2

2 Lamina glabrate, ± glossyvar. glabrum

Lamina densely softly pilose, not glossyvar. arenarium