Flora of New Zealand Series

Original localities: "Summit of McCrae's Run and Fairfield Downs, alt. 4000'". Type: K, Monro, Christmas, 1853.

Tufted, us. softly pilose herb up to 4 dm. tall. Stock stout, clad in old lf-sheaths; roots ∞, thick. Lvs all radical, on stout petioles up to 15 cm. long, with broad, pilose sheaths. Lamina (2.5)-4-10 cm. diam., densely to rather sparsely hairy to glabrate, reniform to suborbicular, or ovate, cordate to truncate at base, coriac. to submembr., margins coarsely crenate, sts crenately lobulate. Scapes 2-8-fld, up to 8cm. tall; lowest bract often lf-like, up to 5 × 3 cm., deeply lobed to entire; upper bract up to 3 cm. long, lanceolate to oblong, entire or with 1-2 teeth. Fls 1-3 cm. diam.; sepals 5, linear-oblong, ± 5 mm. long, glab. to pilose; petals 5-10, ± 1cm. long, narrow-obovate to obcordate; nectary gland 1, basal. Fruiting heads globose, up to 1·5 cm. diam.; achenes hairy to nearly glab., turgid, keeled, ± 2 mm. long; style c. 2-(3) mm. long, straight or slightly hooked, expanded to base, or with 3 narrow wings.

DIST.: S. Montane to subalpine grassland and herbfield from lat. 41° to 44°.

FL. 10-1. FT. 12-3.

The South Island plants placed under R. insignis, R. monroi and R. lobulatus are not yet satisfactorily defined. Kirk (Stud. Fl. 1899, 9) followed by Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 439) describes two vars:

var. dentatus, "Leaves broadly ovate or ovate-lanceolate, crenate, lobed or dentate; clothed on both surfaces with strigose ferruginous pubescence. Kaikoura Range; Mount Torlesse; Broken River, &c." Specimens ± answering this description occur in the range of the sp. The lf margin is concealed by the dense array of long ferruginous hairs.

var. sericeus, "Achenes clothed with silky hairs. Kaikoura Range, Buchanan." Similar forms occur on Mount Peel, Canterbury.

The whole complex needs further study. Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 439) places R. muelleri Buchan. in T.N.Z.I. 19, 1887, 215, t. 16 under R. monroi. Buchanan's plant came from the Tararua Range. His description is: " stout, robust, fulvous and villous plant, 5-6 in. high. Root-stalk stout, rootlets numerous. Leaves all radical, round, crenate-lobed, 2 in. diam., petioles 2 in. long. Peduncles few, 4-5 in. long. Flowers 2-3, large, white, each flower with a broad linear bract beneath, and a flower bud in the axil." Yellow petals often whiten on drying.