Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Ruahine Range. Type: K, Colenso 55, 1847.

Stems stout, woody, up to ± 10 cm. diam.; branches stout, woody, clad in long-persistent reflexed lvs; living lvs in close rosettes, patent. Lamina (20)-25-40 × (10)-12-15 mm., obovate-oblong, coriac.; upper surface ± densely clad in appressed white tomentum forming a pellicle; lower surface densely clad in similar but more appressed tomentum, midrib evident to obscured; apex subacute to obtuse, often apiculate; margins very slightly recurved, remotely denticulate, narrowed to very short petiole up to 5 mm. broad, or sts directly into thin almost glab. striate sheath c. 10-15 × 7-10 mm. Scape slender, up to ± 10 cm. long, often short at flowering stage, densely clad in floccose hairs. Capitula 25-35 mm. diam.; phyll. linear-subulate, many, 10-15 mm. long, floccose on outer surface, glandular near apex. Ray-florets narrow, up to ± 12 mm. long; limb gradually widening to apex. Disk-florets funnelform, ± 7-8 mm. long, teeth narrow-triangular; anthers us. distinctly but shortly tailed. Achenes 3-3·5 mm. long, compressed-cylindric; ribs rather obscure, clad in rather stiff ascending hairs. Pappus of white or sordid-white slender, minutely barbellate hairs up to 7-8 mm. long.

DIST.: N., S. Montane to subalpine grassland, herbfield and rocky places from near Cape Colville to c. lat. 43° 30'.

The type, as here selected, has 5 rosettes with capitula. The other specimen available to Hooker is a non-flowering rosette "201 Mt. Hikurangi" and pencilled "Type". Ruahine Range plants mostly well agree with Hooker's plate 34 A, but in herbaria a rather motley assemblage of plants is included under this name.

Martin (T.R.S.N.Z. 65, 1935, 183) describes a var. nivalis : "Herba suffruticosa tegeticulas confertas formans raro 60 cm. excedens, plerumque multo minora. Caules ramosi 3-4 mm. diam.; rami breves, reliquiis demortuorum foliorum dense persistentibus vestiti. Folia viventia a summis ramorum confertis, quam in forma typica breviora albioraque 2.5-5 cm. longa, 1-1·5 cm. lata; oblongo-spathulata raro suborbiculares, obtusa; supra et subter alba, dense vestita lanato tomento. Margina haud recurva, minute dentata; costa media obscura vel evidenta. Scapus 5-15 cm. longus. Bractae pauce, parce tomentosae. Bractae involucri angustatae, numerosae, recurvae. Capitula ± 3 cm. diameter. Achenia linearia, sericea.

"South Island: Type locality-Mount Schiza, Bounds Range. Type in Herbarium of Plant Research Station, Palmerston North. A plant of rock, fellfield, and subalpine meadow at 4000 to 6000 ft. altitude. Dillon Cone, Mount Tarndale, Mount Schiza, Mount Bounds, Mount Tapuaenuku, Pinnacle, Raglan Mountains, Wairau Mountains, and mountains in Amuri County to the south of Marlborough."

In BD is a sheet with 11 rosettes, all without scapes or capitula, labelled by Martin "Celmisia Allanii var. nivalis 5000-6500 ft. Mt. Bounds. Abundant in fellfield and on rock and as an epiphyte on Haastia pulvinaris. Hitherto listed as C. incana." The texture is more coriac. than usual for C. allanii.

Kirk (Stud. Fl. 1899, 284) describes his var. petiolata as having "Leaves oblong-lanceolate, narrowed into a distinct petiole above the expanded sheath, glabrous above, almost silvery beneath. Heads small. Kelly's Hill, Westland, Petrie! Approaches states of C. discolor." The type (in W) consists of 2 rosettes bearing scapes, one with phyll. of capitulum, the other lacking capitulum. There are several achenes. Lamina elliptic to obovate-elliptic, up to 15 × 9 mm., on slender petioles ± 2-3 mm. long; margins sinuate, rather remotely sharply toothed; upper surface glab. or nearly so; lower clad in closely appressed white satiny tomentum. Scapes very slender, glab. or nearly so; bracts ∞, lamina linear-subulate, up to c. 1 cm. long. Disk-florets c. 7 mm. long, tubular, teeth minute. Achenes c. 2-3 mm., cylindric, grooved, with a few ascending hairs; pappus-hairs up to c. 5 mm., white, very finely barbellate.

A member of the discolor rather than the incana group, though Petrie (T.N.Z.I. 45, 1913, 268) under C. intermedia remarks: "Mr. Kirk's variety, the type of which was collected by myself, is closer to typical C. incana than is the widely spread form described above."