Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Milford Sound. Type: K, Lyall.

Large tufted herb, lf-sheaths closely imbricate around stem. Lamina ± 15-25 × 2.5-5 cm., coriac., elliptic- to oblong-lanceolate to elliptic-ovate; upper surface ± sparsely hairy when young, becoming glab., midrib and main veins evident; lower surface densely clad in white to very pale buff appressed velvety tomentum, midrib prominent, rather dark to pale. Apex acute to subacuminate; margins inrolled, entire or with a few teeth obscured by hairs, cuneately narrowed to ribbed petiole c. 5 × 1·5 cm. Sheath up to 10 × 3 cm., often flushed pale purple, clad in dense subappressed tomentum within. Scape (15)-30-40 cm. long, stout, ribbed, clad in deciduous floccose hairs; bracts ∞, lower ones lflike, up to 15 cm. long, including sheath; upper linear, up to 25 mm. long, floccose. Capitula (25)-40-50 mm. diam.; phyll. linear, acuminate, ± 15 mm. long, glab. except in apical part. Ray-florets ∞, ± 2 cm. long, limb narrow-spathulate, 3-toothed. Disk-florets 7-8 mm. long, tubular to narrow-funnelform, teeth narrow-triangular. Achenes glab. or with very few hairs, cylindric, strongly ribbed, 3-4 mm. long. Pappus-hairs white, up to c. 7 mm. long, finely barbellate.

DIST.: S. Coastal to subalpine rocky places, grassland, herbfield, western Otago and Fiordland.

C. brownii Chapman in T.N.Z.I. 22, 1890, 444 was based on a single specimen from "Mystery Pass, Disaster Burn, between Lake Manapouri and Smith Sound; altitude 3,000 ft.-3,500 ft." Chapman's account was drawn up from the plant as it grew in his garden. There is very little doubt that the name is a synonym of C. verbascifolia.