Var. dendyi
C. dendyi Ckn. in T.N.Z.I. 47, 1915, 118.
"Although this species is extremely close to C. atrata Hook. f., it may be at once recognized by the colour of the florets, which are never black, but vary from quite pale yellow to brown, and the involucral bracts equalling or rather longer than the florets. The plant frequently grows in company with C. atrata. It is quite possible that the brown-flowered form is a hybrid between the yellow form and the black C. atrata."
DIST.: S. The stations are indicated by Cockayne: "Common on subalpine and alpine shingle-slips of the drier mountains where there is a steppe climate." No type is mentioned by Cockayne.
My few observations support the hypothesis that the forms with intermediate colours are hybrids.