Flora of New Zealand Series

Perennial with stout erect rootstock. Stems erect, glabrous, straight, green, (2)-5-15-(30) cm tall. Lvs glabrous or sparsely ciliate on margins and petiole, green, fleshy. Basal lvs pinnate; petiole winged and sheathing at base; terminal leaflet ovate to broadly ovate, bluntly lobed, > or = laterals; lateral leaflets in 2-3-(4) pairs, elliptic to obovate, sometimes unequal at base, ± entire, shortly stalked. Cauline lvs few, similar to basal lvs, the uppermost becoming 3-foliolate with narrow-oblong ± distantly toothed leaflets. Infl. a compact or elongated raceme, glabrous, straight, (2)-4-10-(15) cm long; pedicels glabrous, erecto-patent to ± spreading, 5-10 mm long at fruiting. Sepals glabrous, usually purplish, rarely green, 1.7-2.2 × 0.7-1 mm. Petals purple to pink, sometimes white, purple-veined, erect, narrow-oblong, (2.2)-3-4-(5) × 0.7-1-(1.3) mm. Stamens 6. Siliques crowded or distant, brown, sometimes purple-veined, erect to ± spreading, sometimes curved, (10)-15-20 × 1-2 mm; valves glabrous; style c. 1 mm long. Seeds oblong to circular, brown, 1-2 mm long.

(1) Small caespitose rosette herb with many lvs forming a compact cushion. Leaflets small, coriaceous, often overlapping. Infl. compact, fastigiate, 2-4-(15) cm tall. Siliques crowded, ± erect, c. 2 mm wide; seeds oblong or rounded, 1.5-2 mm long.

(2) Leafy herb with ascending stems and more open habit than (1). Leaflets larger (up to 2 cm long), thin, not overlapping except the uppermost pair and the terminal. Infl. elongating at fruiting, (2)-5-10-(15) cm tall. Siliques erecto-patent to spreading, c. 1 mm wide; seeds oblong, c. 1 mm long.

A.

C.

Endemic

Endemic

Among boulders and fellfield.

Scree, peat, grassland and rock crevices.

FL Nov-Jan-(Feb) Dec-Feb.

As indicated by Allan (1961), 2 distinct entities occur: