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Volume I (1961) - Flora of New Zealand Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons
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Anisotome Hook.f.

ANISOTOME Hook. f., 1844

Umbels us. compound, rays us. many; involucral bracts various, 0-(. Calyx-teeth very small, or obsolete; petals us. white, occ. pinkish to mauve or reddish, incurved; stamens incurved. Fr. us. ± narrow-oblong in outline; mericarps us. distinctly compressed, with us. 5 sub-equal very narrowly winged ribs. Vittae us. 1 per furrow and 2 on commissural face. Small to large tufted herbs, sts rhizomatous, mostly glab. or nearly so, aromatic; latex mostly cop. The stock is us. well-developed, often multicipital, and produced into a stout deeply descending taproot. Some 20 spp., a few of Australia; the N.Z. spp. endemic.

Key

1
Lvs 1-pinnate to 3-foliolate or rarely 1-foliolate
2
Lvs 2-3-pinnate or decompound
6
2
Plant very stout, up to 6 dm. tall; lamina very thick, up to 2 dm long; pinnae c, 5 cm. long; umbels 5-8 cm. diam.; bristle-points stiff
5. pilifera
Plant not very stout; all measurements much less
3
3.
Lamina glaucous to greyish or bluish green
4
Lamina light to dark, clear or brownish green
5
4
Margins of pinnae distinctly toothed or lobed
1. enysii
Margins of pinnae entire to very minutely crenulate
2 flabellata
5
Lvs erect to spreading; stems and umbels not at all obscured by lvs
3. aromatica
Lvs prostrate or nearly so; stems and umbels ± obscured by lvs
4. imbricata
6
Stems very stout, ± 1-2 m. tall; umbels (4)-5-8-(10) cm. diam; segs of pinnae with cartilaginous pungent tips
7
Stems not very stout, not > 6 dm. tall, us. shorter; umbels not > c. 5 cm. diam; segs not pungent-pointed
9
7
Final segs of pinnae ± 4 × 1-1·5 cm.
6. latifolia
Final segs of pinnae not > 3 cm. × ± 5 mm.
8
8
Sap milky; segs of lvs with few or no teeth
7. antipoda
Sap watery; segs coarsely toothed
8. acutifolia
9
Lf-segs ± 4-5 mm. wide, coarsely toothed
8. acutifolia
Lf-segs linear, or if up to 4 mm. wide then not coarsely toothed
10
10
Lamina and petioles very fleshy, dark slate- to blue-grey
11
Lamina and petioles not fleshy, pale to brownish or dark green
12
11
Involucral bracts ternately divided
12. carnosula
Involucral bracts entire or occ. once forked at tips
13. diversifolia
12
Lf-segs with short or long hair-processes or acicles
13
Lf-segs without hair-processes, not acicular
15
13
Segs rather distant, ± 10 × 1 mm., diverging at wide angles, acicular
16. brevistylis
Segs rather close-set, with distinct hair-processes
14
14
Segs linear, ± in one plane; cauline lvs us. present
10. haastii
Segs capillary, plumosely arranged; cauline lvs us. absent
11. capillifolia
15
Lamina dissected into filiform to capillary segs up to 25 × 1 mm.
14. filifolia
Lamina not so dissected; segs not filiform, mostly ± 10 × 2-4 mm.
16
16
Stems, petioles, petiolules very slender; lamina deltoid in outline, petiolules divergent; final pinnae not > 5 mm. long
15. deltoidea
Stems, petioles, petiolules rather stout; lamina not deltoid in outline, petiolules ascending; final pinnae ± 10 mm. long
17
17
Lvs 2-3-pinnate; secondary pinnae deeply lobed to again pinnate, rather distant; lobes ± 10 × 1-2 mm., subacute to acute
9. lyallii
Lvs 2-pinnate; secondary pinnae deeply, irregularly lobed; lobes ± 10 × 4 mm., obtuse to subacute
intermedia complex

The spp. now assigned to Anisotome have sts been merged into Ligusticum or Aciphylla. The genus, based on A. antipoda and A. latifolia, may, as now understood, need sub-division at least into subgenera. Endlicher (Endl. ex Walp. Ann. Bot. syst. 2, 1850, 702) places A. antipoda and A. latifolia as the members of his new genus Calosciadium, but the two spp. concerned must remain in Anisotome. Cheeseman (Ill. N.Z. Fl. 1, 1914 t. 66) points out that A. carnousula and A. diversifolia differ from all other spp. of the genus "in the fruit, which is not at all winged, but simply furnished with low rounded ridged . . . When the southern spp. of the Umbelliferae are systematically worked up I anticipate that these two species will find a home in another genus." The difference between the mericarps of these spp. and those of A. antipoda and A. latifolia is very marked, but A. enysii and other spp. show different stages in the development of acute to definitely winged ridges. The frs need intensive study.

A. dissecta (Kirk) Cheesem. has been transferred to Aciphylla.

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