Flora of New Zealand Series

Hydrocotyle uniflora Col. in T.N.Z.I. 17, 1885, 239,

H. asiatica Hook. f. Fl. N.Z. 1, 1853, 82 non L. Sp. Pl. 1753, 234.

Centella asiatica Urban in Mart. Fl. bras. 11, 1879, 287 (p.p.).

Type locality: "Wet sides of slopes, gullies near Norsewood, County of Waipawa" Type: W, lacking a Colenso label but agreeing well with Colenso's description.

Stems rather stout, branching, rooting at nodes. Lvs on petioles (1)-3-5-(15) cm. long; stipules ovate, up to c. 4 mm. long. Lamina glab. or sts loosely hairy towards base and on veins, orbicular to reniform, or oblong-reniform, (5)-10-(20) mm. diam., occ. larger; sinus open or base ± truncate; margins finely, regularly crenulate to nearly entire. Peduncles (2.5)-3-4-(25) mm. long, slender, ± pilose. Bracts 2, suborbicular to ovate, glab. Fls 1-2-(4), sessile, forming heads ± 5 mm. diam.; petals ovate, purple to whitish. Fr. suborbicular, somewhat compressed, c. 3-(4) mm. diam., with broad commissure. Mericarps rounded on dorsal edge, obscurely to distinctly 3-5-(7)-ribbed on face.

DIST.: Three Kings, N., S., St., Ch. Common in lowland damp grassland, moorland, boggy places, forest margins, throughout.

FL. 10-3. FT. 12-5.

The Colenso sheet in K appears to be from the same gathering. The type sheet has several fruiting pieces in good order and agreeing in details. Petioles ± pilose. (1)-2-3-5 cm. long; lamina 5-12 × 5-14 mm., shallowly crenulate. Peduncles 1-2 fld, ± 15 mm. long; fr. somewhat compressed, ± 3 mm. diam. Colenso apparently accepted C. asiatica as occuring in N.Z. and segregated C. uniflora mainly on its smaller size and reduced umbel. The complex needs further study. Cockayne and Allan (T.N.Z.I. 57, 1927, 62) remark: "Plants taken from damp pastures near Feilding, which were then prostrate, with very small, thick, leaves on short petioles, have in cultivation in the junior author's garden become quite luxuriant and show little if any difference from the form found in forest, or in shade in boggy places in the same locality. The forms appear to be epharmones of a single jordanon."

Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 648) maintains C. asiatica (L) Urban as the name of the N.Z. sp., and cites the Tasmanian H. cordifolia Hook.  Ic. Pl. 4, 1841, t. 303 as a synonym. Nannfeldt (loc. cit. 404-405) accepts C. asiatica, C. uniflora, C.cordifolia as three distinct spp., the first widespread. He distinguishes the Tasmanian C. cordifolia from the N.Z. uniflora, interalia, by the commissure of C. cordifolia being 0·2-0·4 mm. wide, as against 0.6-0·8 mm. for C. uniflora.