Flora of New Zealand Series

Ascending to erect perennial herb. Lvs glabrous or moderately to densely lanate especially on lower surface, apetiolate and often cuneate to amplexicaul base, elliptic, or elliptic-oblong to obovate, irregularly dentate to 1-2-serrate, lyrate-pinnatifid or 1-pinnatifid with oblong, few-toothed segments, or rarely crenately lobed, (2)-4-12-(20) × (1)-2-5 cm; teeth or segments (3)-7-20 or more on each side. Uppermost lvs smaller, narrower, often ± oblong or lanceolate, less divided and more conspicuously amplexicaul. Supplementary bracts 3-16-(20), 1.5-5 mm long. Involucral bracts 12-16-(19), glabrous, 2-5 mm long. Ray florets usually 7-13, very rarely as many as 22; ligules yellow, 3-8 mm long. Achenes with 1-3 rows of hairs in narrow grooves between broad ribs, not or scarcely narrowed to apex, 2-2.8 mm long.

N.: east coast from Bay of Plenty to Castlepoint.

Endemic.

Usually on coastal cliffs, often limestone, less common on cliffs inland to 600 m in Hawke's Bay.

FL Nov-Feb-(Jun).

S. banksii sens. lat. varies greatly among populations, but a detailed investigation is required before any can be confidently accorded infraspecific status. Allan (1961) treated glabrous populations as S. banksii sens. strict. and lanate populations as S. colensoi Hook. f.; he recognised 3 vars for S. colensoi, viz.,  var. colensoi,  var. lobatus Allan, and  var. obtusifolius Allan. Plants of glabrous populations usually have fewer rays [7-9-(10) cf. 11-13-(22)] and fewer supplementary bracts [3-9 cf. (5)-9-16-(20)] than do lanate plants, but plants from the N. Ruahine Range are intermediate with hairy lvs but few rays and supplementary bracts. S. banksii differs from S. rufiglandulosus in the broader-based lower stem lvs, the broad ribs of the achenes, and in being evergreen.