Flora of New Zealand Series

Goodenia repens Labill. Nov. Holl. Pl. Sp. 1, 1804, 53, t. 76.

Herb with far-creeping stems and branches, rooting at nodes (sts subterranean), yellowish, forming matted patches up to 5 dm. or more diam.; final branchlets sts ascending. Lvs on slender flattened petioles up to c. 4 cm. long, solitary or up to 4 in a fascicle; lamina somewhat fleshy, glossy, of 3 main forms (sts on same plant)--(a) narrowly spathulate, (b) obovate-spathulate, (c) linear to linear-spathulate; (3)-7-15-30 × 1-5 mm. Infl. of solitary fls on bracted peduncles up to ± 4 cm. long; occ. 2-fld, on pedicels ± 2 cm. long; bracts minute, subulate-attenuate. Fls obliquely 7-10 mm. diam. Calyx persistent, with linear to narrow-triangular erect lobes 1-2 mm. long; corolla white to very pale blue, lobes narrow-oblong, acute to acuminate. Fr. obovoid to ovoid, truncate, (3·5)-6-10 mm. long. Seeds compressed, narrowly winged.

DIST.: N., S., St. Coastal muds, sands and rocky places within reach of salt spray.

FL.- FT. 11-4. Inland occurrences on flushed ground, stream, tarn and lake margins: N. Bases of Mounts Ruapehu, Tongariro; slopes of Kaimanawa Range to c. 1000 m. S. Lake, stream and tarn margins from lat. 42° 30' to 45° 30'. Also occurs on streamsides, Dunstan Range near Cromwell, and other places in Central Otago. Also occurs in Australia, Tasmania, Chile. The type is from Australia.

A polymorphic sp. with a considerable range of lf form and size, but how far the different forms are due to genetic and how far to habitat conditions has not been well studied. Inland forms tend to be smaller in all parts than coastal ones. The forms with broader laminae appear to be more common in the southern part of the range.

Buchanan (T.N.Z.I. 3, 1871, 211) described his S. fasciculata as "An erect small shrub. Leaves ⅓ in. long, obovate, coriaceous, nerveless, fasciculate on alternate short branches. Flowers on short peduncles, 3-4, terminal on the branches. axillary to the uppermost leaves. Peduncles 1/6 in. long, with two subulate opposite bracts above the middle. Collected by Dr. Haast at Weka Pass, Canterbury. The shrubby habit of this plant allies it more to Scaevola, but for several other characters, which place it with Selliera and nearer to S. radicans." I have seen only 3 scraps in W. The branches are stiff, the fascicled lvs crowded on the dorsal surface of the branches. The locality is handy of access.

Colenso (T.N.Z.I. 22, 1890, 473) includes in his description of his S. microphylla : "Plant very small, creeping, twiggy; main stems hypogaeous, a few inches long, much-branched . . . woody . . . wiry, very flexuous, rooting at nodes . . . branchlets . . . sub 1/2 in. long, yellowish, their tips only appearing above soil . . . Leaves few . . . sometimes 3-4 at nodes, spreading, broadly lanceolate or sub-obovate-lanceolate, about 1 line long (some much smaller) . . . petioles long flexuous, twice the length of leaf. Peduncles terminal, solitary, 1-flowered, 1 line long . . . Calyx-lobes rather large . . . subacute . . . appressed . . . Corolla 2 lines long . . . dull purple, lobes . . . rather large . . . with dark veins . . . Style longer than the stamens, very stout . . . with dilated orbicular cup-like indusium . . . Capsule (old) about 1 line long, turgid, black . . . Seeds . . . margined, pale, shining. Hab. Swampy ground at Rangipo, eastern base of Mount Tongariro . . . 1889: Mr H. Hill." A Colenso scrap in W agrees with the description of the vegetative parts. A sheet of specimens in W, collected by Petrie ("Murimutu plain S. of Ruapehu D.P. Jan. 1899") is similar; laminae narrow-spathulate to narrow-ovate, ± 2-3 mm. long, on petioles up to 4 mm. long; fls c. 5 mm. long, on filiform pedicels up to 5 mm. long; calyx-lobes triangular; corolla-lobes narrow-ovate, acute. Another sheet of specimens in W collected by Petrie ("Lake Te Anau, D.P. Jan. 1892") has similar lvs: lamina c. 2-4 mm. long, but fls c. 7 mm. long. Specimens in W collected by Petrie ("Nr Ranfurly Nursery Maniototo Co. Otago. D.P. 1909") have lvs with spathulate laminae 2-4 × 1-3 mm. on filiform petioles up to ± 10 mm. long; fls c. 3-4 mm. long, on very slender peduncles up to 10 mm. long; calyx-lobes c. 1·5 mm. long, ovate-triangular. The status of these tiny plants needs further study.