Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Mt. Arthur, Nelson. Type: A, 7472, T. F. Cheeseman, alt. 5000 ft., Jan. 1886.

Rosette-lvs c. 2 × 0·4 cm., linear-spathulate, lamina merging imperceptibly into broad petiole, tip subacute; hairs rather coarse, us. appressed, almost overlapping, some shorter ones mixed with longer, similar but fewer on undersurface. Lateral branches few, ascending to erect, up to 15 cm. long in fr., internodes < lvs. Stem-lvs 15-20 × 2-4 mm., linear to narrow-oblong, tip subacute; hairs like those on rosette-lvs. Cymes simple or occ. branched, ebracteate, 8-fld, compact and 1-2 cm. long in fl., up to 5 cm. long in fr.; internodes and pedicels very short. Calyx 5-8 mm. long, lobes c. 1/2 length, subacute; hairs ∞, on lobes long and straight, towards base long and hooked, with under-layer of short straight appressed hairs. Corolla white, c. 7 mm. diam., tube 5-6 (occ. 8-10) mm. long, cylindric, lobes c. 2.5 × 2.5 mm., very broad-oblong; filaments fixed between small scales, c. = anthers which exceed 1 mm. in length and stand wholly above scales; style 2 × calyx in fr., stigma capitate. Nutlets (immature) 2·2 × 1 mm., obtuse.

DIST.: S. Nelson mountains.

Except from the original localities(Mt. Arthur Plateau to Mt. Lockett, and Raglan Mountains(the only specimens seen that match the type are in CM, "Moraine of Hooker Glacier, Mt. Cook, Jan. 1898, T. F. Cheeseman". Plants of M. traversii var. traversii and  var. cantabrica sts have equally narrow lvs but they always show, as well as anthers partly included in the corolla-tube, two constant indumentum features, the hairs on undersurface of rosette-lvs being retrorse and long hairs on calyx all or almost all hooked.