Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Manuherikia Valley. Type: W, "Interior of Otago, J. Buchanan." Endemic.

Plant us. of rather compact habit, stems 1-3 cm. or longer in sheltered habitats. Lvs us. closely placed over length of stem, spreading; sheath short, blade linear-subulate, 5-10 mm. long, tapering to often long acicular tips, strongly bordered when dry. Peduncles short (occ. 1 cm. long). Fls (4)-5-(8) mm. long; sepals 5, subulate from broad base, thickened on midrib, us. with long acicular tips; capsule splitting into 5 narrow valves, shorter than sepals, sts much shorter.

DIST.: N.?, S. Nelson and east side of main divide. Rocky and shingly places, 500-1800 m. altitude.

FL. 12-1. FT. 1-3.

Kirk's type specimen in W is lax with very long peduncles and sepals and is obviously a drawn-up plant from a sheltered place; a range of sizes depending on immediate habitat can be seen above Lake Ohau (BD, 78925) and shows that in its more normal form the sp. approaches C. acicularis, from which, however, it differs in branches shorter and more tightly grouped, in lvs strongly bordered when dry and spreading instead of closely imbricate, and in the strongly patterned sepals with broad thickened midrib and often a pale thickened border also. Sepals are sts > twice capsule length, especially in drawn-up plants, but in stunted cushions they often extend little beyond the mature capsule; such plants approach C. canaliculatus which, however, has (a) very broad sepals that barely exceed the capsule even in lax-growing plants, and (b) shorter aciculae on lvs and especially on sepals. For possible occurrence in N. see notes on C. canaliculatus.