Flora of New Zealand Series

Perennial, sometimes mat-forming. Stems to c. 15 cm long, thin, creeping, glabrous, rooting at nodes. Lvs 3-foliolate, the rosettes in tufts at intervals, glabrous or hairy. Petiole (0.5)-1.5-5-(9) cm long, often dark reddish; stipules 3-5 mm long, broad and scarious. Lamina of leaflets equal, subsessile or nearly so, 2.5-9 × 2.5-9 mm, broadly obcordate, often dark reddish or deep purple below; sinus broad or narrow, rather shallow. Fls solitary; peduncles slender, 1-6-(11) cm long, hairy. Bracts 2.5-4 mm long, linear-lanceolate, glabrate; calli 0. Sepals 3-5-(6) mm long, ± elliptic, with ± appressed hairs; calli 0. Petals 8-15-(20) mm long, broad-obovate, white, usually glabrous, sometimes ciliate. Stamens at 2 levels, glabrous; filaments not dilated at base. Styles slightly to obviously > longer stamens, glabrous. Capsule 4-5 mm diam., globose. Seed 5-7 mm long, ± ellipsoid-ovoid, with prominent raised reticulations.

N.; S.; St.

Also indigenous to Australia and S. South America.

Lowland to subalpine regions, especially in damp places such as stream and lake sides, boggy areas, damp pastures, scrub and forest margins.

FL Jul-Apr.

N.Z. plants were treated by Allan (1961) as O. lactea Hook., but were referred to O. magellanica by Veldkamp, J. F., Fl. Males. Ser. 1, 7: 151-178 (1971).