Pimelea suteri Kirk

A small, much-branched shrub. In open, exposed sites relatively compact and often appressed or decumbent, to 8 cm high, with short, stiff stems. In shaded sites among tall tussock grasses stems slender, procumbent, flexible, to 30 cm long. Branching sympodial and lateral, young stems medium brown, moderately densely covered in short, appressed hairs; internodes 1–2 mm (exposed sites), 3–5 mm (sheltered sites). Older stems dark brown to black, glabrate to glabrous. Node buttresses lunate to elongate, brown, hairy, not prominent on leafless stems. Leaves decussate, ascending, becoming patent, on very short (0.2 mm) petioles or sessile. Lamina olive green, linear–lanceolate, sometimes slightly falcate, 5–8 × 0.8–2 mm, slightly keeled, may be inrolled when dry; tip acute, but blunt; base cuneate, mid-vein evident; abaxial surface covered with sparse, short hairs, along mid-vein and margins of young leaves, often with a small tuft at the tip; older leaves glabrous; stomata on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, loose, 4–10-flowered. Involucral bracts 4, wider than ordinary leaves (5 × 2.8 mm). Receptacles have dense, short hairs. Plants gynodioecious. Flowers white, on short (0.1 mm) pedicels, calyx lobes ascending, outside covered in very dense short hairs; inside hairless.♀ tube 4.2 mm long, ovary portion 2.8 mm, calyx lobes 2 × 1 mm; ♀ tube 4.5 mm long, ovary portion 2 mm, calyx lobes 2 × 1.2 mm. Anther dehiscence introrse. Ovary with small cluster of long hairs at summit. Fruits ovoid, red, fleshy, 4 × 2 mm. Seeds 2.3 × 1.2 mm. Crest very thin. Flowering spring-summer.

[Reproduced from Burrows (2011, New Zealand J. Bot. 49: 41–106) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]

Fruiting: Oct.–Dec.