Flora of New Zealand Series

heath milkwort

Perennial, often decumbent, much-branched herb up to 15-(25) cm high. Stems glabrous or with sparse curly hairs, becoming glabrous at base. Lvs opposite or subopposite below, opposite or alternate above, glabrous, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate or obovate (basal lvs broader), acute or subacute, entire, sessile, 3-10-(18) mm long. Fls 4-10 in short, simple, terminal or apparently lateral racemes; perianth coloured pink to blue or violet toward apex; pedicels 1-2 mm long; bracts ovate-triangular, c. 1 mm long, deciduous; 3 outer sepals linear to narrowly-elliptic, 2-3 mm long; wings petaloid, elliptic to obovate, 4-5.5 mm long, ± = corolla; outer petals entire, slightly > keel; keel fimbriate near apex. Capsule glabrous, 2-4.5 mm long with a marginal wing c. 0.3 mm wide, usually 1/2-3/4 length of persistent calyx wings, rarely ± = wings; seed hairy, dark brown, oblong, 2-2.5 mm long; strophiole 3-lobed.

N.: Aokautere (near Palmerston North); S.: well-established in Dunedin, also collected from Geraldine and the Garvie Mountains.

Europe 1981

Pasture, grassland, up to 1000 m.

FL Oct-Mar.

The heath milkwort has been recorded only recently for N.Z., but has been established here for much longer and confused with P. vulgaris.