Flora of New Zealand Series

galinsoga

Erect annual, 10-75 cm tall. Stems glabrous to moderately hairy, usually becoming almost glabrous below, much-branched. Lvs glabrous or sparsely hairy especially on margins and veins of undersurface, petiolate, usually ovate, sometimes elliptic, acute to acuminate, obtuse to truncate at base, serrate, 1-9 cm long; upper cauline lvs usually smaller, narrower, and apetiolate. Capitula 3-7 mm diam., in loose clusters; peduncles 3-20-(35) mm long, sparsely to densely hairy and usually with stalked glandular hairs. Involucral bracts foliaceous, mostly persistent, with narrow to broad membranous laciniate margins. Outer and inner receptacular scales 3-fid, innermost persistent. Ray florets usually 5; ligules white, entire or shallowly (2)-3-fid, 1-1.8 × 1-1.8 mm. Disc florets many, golden yellow. Achenes of ray florets strongly flattened, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, 1.8-2.5 mm long; pappus 0, or reduced to short, entire or laciniate scales < 0.7 mm long. Achenes of disc florets flattened or square in section, usually hairy especially on angles, 1.5-2 mm long; pappus scales 15-22, 1-1.5 mm long, subulate, laciniate and usually obtuse at apex, sometimes acute to acuminate on innermost achenes.

N.: throughout but not collected from Hawke's Bay; S.: Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, C. Otago.

S. America 1896

Locally abundant in gardens and cultivated land, also waste places and pasture.

G. parviflora is a common weed of newly cultivated or disturbed ground. It is superficially very similar to G. quadriradiata from which it can be most reliably distinguished by the obtuse apex of the pappus scales, at least on the achenes of the outer disc florets (Fig. 23), and the reduced scales of the ray achenes. Canne (op. cit.) noted that the achenes of G. parviflora may lack a pappus, but in N.Z. material a conspicuous pappus is always present on the disc achenes. The common name yellow weed has also been used in N.Z.