Flora of New Zealand Series

Shrub up to 3 m. tall, with spreading branches. Branchlets much-compressed, glab., 2-4 mm. wide. Lvs on young plants (1)-3-5-foliolate; lflts obcordate, c. 5 × 5 mm. Infl. of 1-3 racemes per notch on ± pilose peduncles c. 10 mm. long, (3)-5-(7)-fld. Fls ± 4 mm. long, on pubescent pedicels c. 1 mm. long. Calyx c. 1 × 1 mm., sparsely hairy; teeth minute, triangular. Standard flushed and veined with purple; keel white, purple-flushed at apex, auricles rounded; wings white, auricles bluntly pointed. Ovary glab. Pods ± compressed, about oblong to suborbicular, (7)-9-10 × (3)-4-5 mm., black; beak rather stout to slender, c. 2 mm. long. Seeds 1-2, orange-red, sts ± black-mottled.

DIST.: N. Lowland alluvial ground, sand-dunes, streamsides, forest margins throughout.

Simpson has placed a rather wide range of forms under this name, linking up with C. aligera and C. silvatica. He remarks (loc. cit. 252): "All the plants of the North Island with wide flattened branchlets need investigation in the field." Raoul's description (loc. cit.) includes: "C. ramis teretibus; ramulis ancipitibus foliatis, striatis, glaberrimis; racemis brevissimis; leguminibus ovatis acutis transverse rugosis glabris nigrescentibus; seminibus reniformi-compressis concoloribus lutescentibus . . . Frutex . . . 2-3-metralis . . . Racemi . . . pauciflori . . . Legumen 1-2-spermum . . . transverse-rugosum." His plate shows a concolorous seed. What Raoul meant by lutescens I do not know, but the word luteus and its derivatives (fide Lewis and Short Latin Dict. 1922, 1087) includes mud-coloured, various shades of yellow to orange. Raoul's type is in P, and came from Bay of Islands. Specimens I have seen from there have branchlets ± 3 mm. wide; pods c. 10 × 5 mm., black; seeds red, not spotted. The specimens (BD 64477) fit Raoul's plate quite well.