Flora of New Zealand Series

C. thymifolia var. undulata Petrie in T.N.Z.I. 53, 1921, 368.

C. lurida var. undulata Allan in Rep. Aust. Ass. Adv. Sci. 20, 1931, 446, fig. 3.

Type locality: "Inland from Poverty Bay, near the base of Wakapanake Hill and Hopekoko stream."

Stems erect or spreading, arising from the far-creeping branched rhizomes, up to ± 4 dm. long; quadrangular, slender to rather stout; branchlets ± pubescent, slender. Lvs on petioles hardly 1 mm. long; lamina ovate to narrow-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, (10)-12-15-(20) × (3)-5-10-(13) mm., subcoriac., acute to subacuminate, rounded to truncate at base, with a pair of prominent lateral nerves; margins strongly, crisply, sinuate-undulate. Racemes axillary or terminal on branchlets, ascending to spreading, ± 5-7 cm. long; fls rather distant, on pedicels ± 4 mm. long. Sepals oblong-ovate, ± 1·5 mm. long; petals similar, slightly smaller. Carpels 5-(7).

DIST.: N. Open grassland and shrubland, lowland to montane; often accompanied by Pteridium. Lat. about 38° 30' to 39° 30'.

FL.- FT. 9-4.

Type: Oliver (loc. cit. 29) says: "In the Colenso Herbarium in the Dominion Museum there is only one specimen of this species, unfortunately without the locality noted. For the purpose of fixing the specific name, however, this specimen may be declared the type." The specimen is the upper portion of a stem, c. 28 cm. long; racemes 3-4 cm. long, terminating lateral branchlets; lvs ovate-acuminate, up to 15 × 6 mm.; Ivs at base of branchlets up to 15 × 10 mm.

Petrie (T.N.Z.I. 53, 1921, 368) described his C. thymifolia var. undulata : "A typo differt foliis tenuioribus ac secundum margines emorso-undulatis, floribus minoribus. Hab.-Both flanks of the Kaimanawa Range: B. C. Aston! Te Whaiti (Whakatane County) c. 1500 ft." Oliver selects the Te Whaiti specimen in W as the type; this is a terminal part of a stem, 33 cm. long with lateral branchlets up to ± 12 cm. long; lvs narrow ovate-lanceolate, up to 17 × 5 mm.; lvs at base of branchlets ± 15 × 10 mm. Racemes terminating branchlets or axillary.

Of South Island plants with sinuate-undulate lvs Oliver states: "Nelson: Hybrids, apparently with this species as one of the parents, from eastern Nelson, are in the Dominion Museum. Otago: Base of Swampy Hill, Oliver (DM. 161)." Specimens similar to the Nelson ones occur amongst bracken and grass on hills along the mid portions of the Awatere Valley. C. arborea is present along streamsides. Oliver's specimen (DM. 161) from Otago, has lvs up to 20 × 7 mm.; racemes up to 8 cm. long, occ. with a few lvs at base. A specimen in W, labelled C. thymifolia by D. Petrie and collected by him "near Dunedin" (DM. 21) well matches the lectotype of C. kingiana.