Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: Flora Track, Nelson. Type: CHR 141184, D. R. Given, 1964.

Lvs to 200 × 7 cm.; lamina very narrowly long-acuminate; adaxial surface bright green, the pellicle very delicate and inconspicuous, remaining attached even in old lvs, easily visible only in dried specimens. Infl. on stout peduncle; panicle to 20 × 20 cm. but us. smaller; most spathes subtending several racemes and branching of second order not uncommon, the total number of racemes sts as much as 70. Raceme-axes, especially in fr., tapering notably from base to tip.

Montane forest.

In some places, e.g. Paparoa Range, A. nivicola var. moriceae can be distinguished from the superficially similar and equally abundant plants of A. nervosa by its rich brown velvety abaxial indumentum. In other areas the colour contrast is less strong.  Var. moriceae (unlike A. nervosa) does not appear to extend into the tussock grassland above timber line, whereas  var. nivicola is characteristically a plant of higher altitudes, us. among tussocks.