Flora of New Zealand Series

C. stellata Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. 1, 1844, 7, t. 4a.

Type: K, "in gravelly debris at foot of a precipice on the windward side of Campbell Island", J. D. Hooker.

Whole plant ± clad in subhispid white hairs; lvs stellately arranged in dense rosettes seldom > 4 cm. diam. Lvs c. 1·5 cm. long, entire to occ. lobed. Infl. compact, c. 2 cm. long; siliques c. 1 cm. long, style subulate. Seeds up to 10.

DIST.: A., C. Lowland to upland rocky places. Whether this is a habitat- induced modification of the commoner glab. plant or genetically distinct is not certainly known. Linking forms occur.

The arrangement of Schulz (loc. cit.) may be summarized as follows:

1 Lvs simple; rarely with 1 or 2 minute lateral lflts2

Lvs trifoliolate, pinnate or bipinnate4

2 Plant quite glab.; seeds 16-203

Plant with lvs and sepals ciliate; seeds 12-16stellata

3 Lvs c. 1·5 cm. longdepressa

Lvs c. 3·5 cm. longdepressa var. acaulis

4 Fls 1-3-(4) mm. long5

Fls 4-15 mm. long8

5 Fls 1-2 mm. long; petals absentcorymbosa

Fls 2.5-3-(4) mm. long; petals present6

6 Ovary quite glabdebilis var. leiocarpa

Ovary with at least some hairs7

7 Stems, at least in lower part, rather densely hairy: styles minutedebilis var. hirtella

Stems glab., or with very sparse hairs; styles 1·5-2.5 mm. longdebilis var. macrostylis

8 Stock comosely clad in bases of dead lvsdebilis

Stock not so cladglacialis var. subcarnosa