Ranunculus nivicolus
Type locality: Mount Egmont.
Type: K, Dr. Dieffenbach at "limit of perpetual snow".
Erect sparingly branched rather slender herb, ± hairy to glabrate, up to 9 dm. tall. Stock short, stout, roots numerous. Radical lvs on petioles up to 30 cm. long, with broad ± pilose sheathing bases. Lamina reniform-cordate, ± deeply 3-7-lobed; lobes cuneate, inciso-crenate, 7- 16 cm. diam., subcoriac. Cauline lvs few; lower petiolate, up to 6 cm. diam., linear to 3-fid with narrow-linear segs; upper laciniate. Scape branched, with linear entire or toothed segs up to 2 cm. long. Fls us. ∞, 2-4 cm. diam. Sepals 5, broad-lanceolate to linear-oblong, ± pilose; petals (5)-8-15, golden yellow, drying whitish, up to 1·5 cm. long, cuneate, emarginate; gland 1 near base. Fruiting heads ovoid to globose, c. 1 cm. long. Achenes ± hairy to glab., turgid, obliquely obovoid, ± 2 mm. long; style slender, widened at base, hooked at apex, up to 4 mm. long.
DIST.: N. Higher montane to subalpine grassland: Mounts Egmont, Ruapehu, Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, Kaimanawa Range, Mount Holdsworth. Recorded in S. from Mount Stokes.
FL. 9-11. FT. 11-1.
Colenso described (T.N.Z.I. 20, 1888, 188) his R. reticulatus from material collected by H. Hill on "Sides of Mount Ngauruhoe 'alt. 3000 ft.', 1887". His description includes "dwarf tufted perennial, 2-3 in. high . . . leaves 11/4-11/2 in. broad, 8-9 lines long . . . basal sinus very large, 3-parted; segments flabelliform . . . veins anastomosing . . . veinlets . . . largely reticulate, compoundly anastomosing . . . petioles 1-11/4 in . . . very hairy". He compares it with R. pinguis. The specimen at K has petioles ± 4 cm. long, with long ascending white hairs; lamina glabrate, ± 1·5 cm. long, 3-lobed to base, segs again lobed or crenate, cuneately narrowed to base, veins evident. Status uncertain.
