Flora of New Zealand Series

Perennial. Stems decumbent to suberect, slender, becoming stout with age, glabrous, (2)-5-10 cm long; axillary fascicles of lvs present; adventitious roots sometimes present at nodes. Rosette lvs short-lived. Cauline lvs linear, hyaline at base, glabrous or very rarely with short glandular hairs on surface or margins, aristate at apex, 4-7 × 0.4-0.5 mm. Fls small, (4)-5-merous. Pedicels glabrous or with sparse glandular hairs, (5)-10-18 mm long. Sepals obtuse, glabrous or glandular-hairy, always green, 1.5-2.5 × 1 mm. Petals = sepals. Stamens 10. Capsule ovoid, slightly > calyx; styles and valves 5. Seeds brown, triangular-ovoid, smooth, 0.4 mm long.

N.: islands of Hauraki Gulf, Te Puke, Wellington; S.: Christchurch.

Europe 1968

Lawns, pasture, waste land, coastal rocks.

S. subulata is sometimes cultivated in rockeries and borders and most wild collections are probably garden escapes.