Flora of New Zealand Series

soldier's button

Ascending to erect, slender annual up to 10-(15) cm tall. Stems terete, much-branched from base and above, sparsely to densely clothed in long hairs, up to 20-(40) cm long, not rooting at nodes. Lvs membranous, sparsely to moderately hairy, spathulate, deeply 1-2-pinnatisect, (5)-10-35-(50) mm long; lowermost lvs opposite, petiolate, amplexicaul; lvs above becoming alternate, smaller, apetiolate, and 1-pinnatisect. Involucral bracts in 2 rows, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, 2-3 mm long. Capitula solitary, pale yellow, 3-5-(6) mm diam.; peduncle sparsely to densely clothed in antrorse hairs, very slightly expanded at apex but solid, (1)-3-6 cm long, 0.5-1 mm diam.; ♀ florets in 2-3 rows, pedicellate, lacking any corolla; ⚥ florets (15)-30-40-(50), subsessile, with tubular corolla. Achenes of ♀ florets flattened, 1.2-1.5 × 0.7-1 mm, hairy on both surfaces; lateral angles with thin, glabrous, entire, marginal wings. Achenes of ⚥ florets flattened on inner surface, c. 0.9-1.1 × 0.4-0.5 mm, glabrous; lateral angles thinly ribbed.

N.; S.; St.: Ruapuke Id; K., Ch.

Also indigenous to Australia.

Common in waste places, especially roadsides and disturbed areas about towns, also pasture, riverbeds, coastal sites, disturbed forest and herbfield.

FL Jan-Dec.

Plants may appear greyish or green depending on the density of hairs, but otherwise C. australis is remarkably uniform throughout N.Z. The sp. is usually found in modified habitats and Allan (1961) stated that it is almost certainly introduced. However, Hooker (op. cit.) noted that it was common in N.Z. and its distribution is not inconsistent with its being indigenous here.