Flora of New Zealand Series

Slender low-climbing evergreen woody climber. Lvs hairy on both sides, 3-foliolate, dull green, 1.5-4-(7) × 1-3-(4) cm; leaflets coriaceous, variable in shape, divided into 3 or more spathulate lobes, occasionally pinnatifid; petiole 1-4-(4.5) cm long. Fls unisexual, solitary or 2-4 clustered in lf axils. Bracts in 1-2 pairs, ± connate, spathulate, hairy. ♂ fls: sepals 4-(5), imbricate, yellowish green, glabrous above, hairy beneath, ovate-oblong, 8-15 × 3-6 mm; anthers 1-2 mm long; filaments glabrous. ♀ fls: sepals 4-(5), imbricate, slightly greener than ♂, glabrous above, ± silky hairy beneath, ovate-oblong, 8-12 × 3-6 mm; staminodes few. Achenes glabrous, 3-5 mm long. Style 1.5-2.5 cm long at fruiting.

S.: Marlborough (upper Awatere Valley), Canterbury, Otago, Southland (Te Anau Downs); St.

Endemic.

River terraces, rock outcrops, dry hillsides and scrub.

FL Sep-Dec FT Dec-Mar.

Allan (1961) treated C. marata and C. quadribracteolata as parts of a variable complex. However, Cartman, J., Canterbury Bot. Soc. J. 20: 36-37 (1986), has shown that the 2 are quite distinct and provided short descriptions.