Flora of New Zealand Series

D. uniflorum var. virgatum Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 1906, 427.

D. virgatum (Cheesem.) Ckn. in T.N.Z.I. 44, 1912, 53 non Col. in T.N.Z.I. 28, 1896, 605.

Type locality: Kumara. Type: A, 7028, T. Kirk.

Strict, erect, up to ± 1 m. tall; branches slender, bark purplish brown; branchlets very slender, sparingly lfy. Lamina filiform, 20-25-(50) mm. long, apex blunt. Fls solitary, axillary, peduncled, occ. in few-fld racemes. Bracts rather broad; margins conspicuous, pale, ciliolate. Sepals narrow-ovate, ± = corolla-tube which is 4-5 mm. long with acute lobes.

DIST.: S. Lowland to montane bogs and swamps from c. lat. 41º 30' to c. 45 º.

Oliver (loc. cit. 1952, 7) includes specimens from "Okarito, edge of swamp in forest. (Oliver Jan., 1950, Dom. Mus.) Stems long, up to 1 m. in length, spreading over the ground. In this respect it is like D. uniflorum var. frondosum, but is more slender and the leaves have blunt tips. The leaves agree with those of D. palustre, but have shorter sheaths and do not exceed 26 mm. in length. There are no flowers. The prostrate habit may in part be due to the shady position in which the plants were found growing.