Matthiola incana (L.) W.T.Aiton
stock
Perennial. Stems hairy, branched, stout, erect, woody, to 80 cm tall, bearing conspicuous lf base scars below. Lvs tufted at branch tips, lanceolate, obtuse, entire, sinuate or shallowly pinnatifid, densely tomentose, glaucous, cuneate at base, (3)-8-15-(30) × (0.5)-1-2-(4) cm. Racemes 15-20-(30) cm long; pedicels erecto-patent, 1-2 cm long. Fls fragrant, opening by day. Sepals densely hairy, 9-13 × 1.5-2.5 mm. Petals pink to purple, 18-25 × 5-10 mm. Silique flattened, 50-120 × 3-5 mm; stigma lobes 1.5-2 mm long, dorsally swollen but not horned; valves densely hairy. Seeds circular, brown, flattened, broadly winged, 2-3 mm diam.
N.: Northland, Taranaki (Oakura), Wairarapa (Castlepoint), Wellington coast; S.: Nelson, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Dunedin.
S. and W. Europe, Arabia 1878
A garden escape, often firmly established on coastal cliffs and banks.
N.Z. plants are referable to subsp. incana.