Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Mt Holdsworth. Type: WELT, 1681, Aston, Mar., 1907.

In loose pale yellow-green tufts, often with only 2–3 distant culms per plant. Culms 30–60 cm. long, < 1 mm. diam., trigonous, glab. or scabrid just below infl., drooping or nodding; basal bracts light brown. Lvs 4–6 per culm, < mature culms, (2)–2.5–5 mm. wide, soft, scabrid on margins and on adaxial surface towards tip. Spikes 4–6–(8) cm. × 3–6 mm., often bracteate, clavate, male part of spike us. c. 1 mm. diam. and 1/5 to ¼ length of whole spike, female fls (12)–17–32, lax towards base of spike with internodes 4–8 mm. long, more crowded above with internodes 0.5–1 mm. long. Glumes ± = utricles, deciduous, ovate, acute or acuminate, hyaline with green midrib or brownish. Utricles 5–6 × c. 1.5 mm., trigonous or triquetrous, ovoid, us. smooth except for a prominent lateral nerve, but occ. with a few less distinct nerves, green to grey-brown, stipe 1–1.5 mm. long, beak 1–2 mm. long.

DIST.: N. Throughout. S. Nelson, Otago and Southland, rare elsewhere. St., Ch.

Forest from (200)–600–1,000 m. altitude.

U. zotovii is more widespread in North Id than the closely related U. rupestris, which is, however, more common than U. zotovii in South Id. A. P. Druce finds that U. zotovii is readily distinguished in the field from U. rupestris since it is a paler green and the wide-1vd loose tufts have only a few culms in contrast to the dense tufts and ∞ culms of U. rupestris. The plants also occur at different altitudes, U. rupestris being a higher altitude plant, U. zotovii occurring at mid-altitudes, while a third closely related sp. U. angustifolia occurs in lowland forest in very poor soil and can be distinguished by its smaller size.