Flora of New Zealand Series

Type: K, Dieffenbach, locality not given.

Stout rigid, much-branched, up to 1 m. or more tall, us. less; branchlets clad in short grey to fulvous hairs, lf-scars prominent, bark almost black. Lvs quadrifariously imbricate, on very short petioles. Lamina at first ascending, becoming subpatent, 5-10 × 3-5 mm., oblong-ovate to elliptic-oblong, obtuse to subacute, keeled, very coriac., glab., lateral veins evident to obscure. Subfloral lvs broad-ovate, ± 10 × 7 mm. Infl. of 9-12-fld heads. Per. (6)-9-10-(15) mm. long, white to pink, silky-hairy within and without. Fr. dry, ± 4 mm. long.

DIST.: N. Montane to subalpine grassland and fellfield from about lat. 37° to 41°.

The type sheet has 2 good pieces. Branchlets densely hairy; lvs ± 6-7 mm. long, ovate-oblong, lateral nerves evident; petiole broad, ± 1 mm. long. Subfloral lvs ± 10 × 6 mm., broad-ovate. Per. up to 15 mm. long; lobes ovate-oblong, up to 5 mm. long.

The complex needs further study in the field. Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 581) reduces the following 3 spp. of Colenso to absolute synonymy: (a) P. stylosa Col. in T.N.Z.I. 20, 1888, 205, from "High lands near Mount Ruapehu . . . specimens . . . given to me in 1879 . . . near P. buxifolia, Hook. f., but the leaves are without lateral nerves . . . the floral leaves are smaller, the flowers very much larger, coloured, with coarser hairs, the filaments very stout and long, and the bark not black." A specimen in W has lvs ± 7 × 4 mm., ovate; floral lvs ± 9 × 4 mm., per. tube ± 8 mm., lobes ± 5 mm. -(b) P. subsimilis Col. in T.N.Z.I. 28, 1896, 609, from "Ruahine Mountain-range: Mr. H. Hill; 1895", is described as: "A dwarf shrub 10 in.-12 in. high, erect, stout; branches . . . densely clothed with patent white hairs . . . Leaves . . . narrow oblong-ovate, 2-21/2 lines long . . . Flowers . . . heads, 4-8 together . . . perianth . . . with long white hairs . . . lobes pink-coloured . . ." -(c) P. montana Col. in T.N.Z.I. 31, 1899, 279, from "Ruahine Mountain-range, slopes, east side; 1898: Mr. A. Olsen", is described as: ". . . young branchlets densely clothed with coarse grey woolly hairs . . . Leaves . . . subdecussate . . . ovate, 4 lines long . . . much keeled . . . margins translucent yellow-green . . . Flowers few, solitary, sometimes in pairs on tips of branchlets; perianth very hairy, shaggy, 5 lines long."