Flora of New Zealand Series

C. squarrosus Cheesem. in T.N.Z.I. 28, 1896, 534.

Type locality: Central Otago. Type: W, "Interior of Otago. Mr. Buchanan." Endemic.

Plant a compact cushion, branches close, lfy along their length. Lvs stiff, squarrose, sheath short and inconspicuous; blade c. 3-4 mm. long, subulate, canaliculate, narrowed into short acicular tip, strongly bordered, in younger lvs with groove between border and broad rounded midrib when dry. Peduncles short. Fls 2.5-3 mm. long; sepals 5, ovate to broadly triangular, with thickened keel and often margin also, obtuse or tapering to short apicula; capsule splitting into 5 narrow lobes = or slightly > calyx.

DIST.: N.?, S. Mountains of Nelson and Otago.

FL. 12-1. FT. 12-4.

The few North Id specimens labelled as this sp. are atypical, with longer peduncles and sepals rather narrow, acicular-tipped, and projecting well beyond the capsule. They are uniform among themselves and form very compact cushions at high altitudes on Mt. Egmont (to 2100 m. altitude) and (apparently as rare plants) on Mt. Hikurangi (A, Cranwell and Moore, 1932) and on Kaimanawa, Ruahine, and Tararua Ranges (BD, A. P. Druce). It is a question whether they might not be more correctly placed under C. buchananii in spite of their sepals being relatively short for that sp.