- ≡ Helichrysum alpinum Cockayne, Veg. N.Z. 283-284 (1928)
Plants prostrate. Stems 2 mm diameter. Branches 34-78 cm long, sparingly to densely alternate, attaching to the soil substrate by roots along the branches; branchlets green distally, internodes 3-5 mm. Leaves patent, turned to face upwards, 6.8-17.5 mm long; 3.4-8.6 mm wide, obovate, apiculus green; upper surface sparsely hairy, veins entering leaf one, margins plane. Flowering stems 26-75 mm long; green, densely hairy, the transition to scape leaves abrupt; scape leaves narrowly obovate, 17 mm long, 1.8 mm wide. Capitulum solitary, 19-25 mm diameter in dried specimens. Receptacle 3.1-3.3 mm diameter; conical, 2.0-3.6 mm high. Outer involucral bracts 7.1- 11.5 mm long; 1.5-2.0 mm wide; gap brown. Inner involucral bracts 6.0-8.5 mm long, 1.0-1.1 mm wide. Hermaphrodite florets 4.2—4.6 mm long; corolla 3.2-3.8 mm long; 1.1 mm wide at the mouth; lobes 0.5 mm long; anthers 2.0 mm long, 0.21 mm wide, apices 0.25 mm long; anther tails 0.6 mm long; style 3.6 mm long; style arms 0.75 mm long; pappus hairs 24-27 per floret, 3.4-3.6 mm long, apical cells clavate. Female florets 3.5-4.3 mm long, corolla 2.9-3.5 mm long; lobes 0.18 mm long; style 3.8 mm long, style arms 0.68 mm long; pappus hairs 23-25 per floret, 2.3-2.5 mm long, apical cells rounded. Achenes 0.80-1.1 mm long, 0.4 mm diameter, hairs moderately dense to sparse, occasionally absent. Florets 173-193, female florets 42-55% of the total.
[Reproduced from Glenny (1997, New Zealand J. Bot. 35: 451-477) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]