Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Mount Alta. Type: OM, Buchanan.

Plant forming rigid tufts up to c. 3 dm. tall including infl. Lvs up to ± 20 × 2 cm.; sheaths thin, ± 5 × 1cm.; stipules lflike, up to 5 cm. × 5 mm., stiff, coriac., oblong, abruptly narrowed to pungent apex (rarely vestigial); petioles up to c. 1 cm. long; pinnae 1-(2) pairs, similar to stipules, very thick and coriac., margins much thickened, abruptly narrowed to pungent tips. Stems of male plants stout, strongly grooved, up to 4 dm. × 8 mm. including infl. c. 15 cm. long. Bracts rigid, erect, lower stipuled, upper us. simple; sheaths very short, stipules spreading, ± 2 cm. long; lamina narrow-oblong, up to 4 cm. × 2-3 mm., pungent. Umbels several, on very short rays. Stems of female flexuous, finely grooved; infl. 5-10 cm. long; Umbels several, ± 5-10-fld, fls sessile or nearly so. Fr. c. 5mm. long; mericarps 4-5-winged; vittae 1-2 per furrow, us. 4 commissural.

Dist.: S. Higher montane to subalpine, central and western Otago, mainly east of divide.