Dracophyllum elegantissimum S.Venter

Tree 5–14 m tall with a single stem. Branches form a closed candelabrumshaped crown. Bark on old stems light brown and flaky, on branchlets glabrous and yellowish brown. Leaves crowded at tips of branches in a bromelioid manner, old leaves sometimes present; lamina sheath light brown, 22–58 × 13–43 mm, coriaceous, striate, margin not membranous, shoulder tapering with a smooth margin; lamina coriaceous, light to mid green, linear to linear-triangular, 330–1000 × 10– 20(–32) mm, glabrous, prominently striated; margin cartilaginous, serrulate with 15–24 teeth per 10 mm; apex acute and prominently curled. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, shorter than the leaves, erect, dense, 190–320 mm long, pyramidal, densely branched; rachis and pedicels tomentose; inflorescence axis light green, 10.6–13.5(–14) mm diam. at base; basal inflorescence branch 38–42(–55) mm long, widely spreading (50–90°); inflorescence bracts caducous, longer than flower, coriaceous, light green, ovate-triangular at base, 270–610 × 30– 45 mm, glabrous; margin entire; apex acute. Flowers 600–1000+, arranged in groups of >10 on the basal inflorescence branches; bracteole caducous, shorter than flower, linear, 2.0–6.5(–8.0) × 0.5–1.0(– 1.5) mm, glabrous; pedicel straight, green, 0.5– 2.0 mm long, tomentose. Sepals green, broadly ovate, 1–2 × 1.0–1.5 mm, shorter than corolla tube, striate, glabrous; margin ciliate; apex subacute to obtuse. Corolla light to dark pink; corolla tube campanulate, widened at mouth, 1–2 × 1.3–2.0 mm, exterior glabrous; corolla lobes spreading horizontally to reflexed, ovate-triangular, shorter than corolla tube, 1.2–1.4 × 1.0–1.3 mm; glabrous, apex obtuse. Stamens inserted at top of corolla tube; filament 0.3–0.5 mm long; anthers exserted, rectangular, young anthers pink, deep yellow when mature, 0.9–1.3 mm long. Ovary globose, 1.0–1.5 × 1.3– 1.5 mm; apex tapering and glabrous; nectary scales separate, rectangular, 0.6–1.0 × 0.5–1.0 mm, apices subacute to irregularly toothed; style exserted, 1.5– 1.7 mm long, glabrous, lengthening in fruit; stigma clavate. Fruit not enclosed in persistent sepals, reddish brown, 1.2–1.5 × 1.5–1.8 mm, depressed-globose; apex round and glabrous. Seed yellowish brown, filiform, 0.7–0.8 mm long with a slightly reticulated testa. FL Dec–Feb; FT Feb–Mar.

[Reproduced from Venter (2004, New Zealand J. Bot. 42: 37-43) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]