Sherardia arvensis L.

Annual herb with diffuse or mat-forming habit; roots slender, reddish. Stems prostrate or decumbent; angles scabrid. Lvs and leaflike stipules (1.5)–2–15 × (0.8)–1–4 mm, narrow- to broad-elliptic, hairy; margins and midrib beneath scabrid; apex mucronate or acuminate. Involucral bracts similar to lvs but sometimes almost lanceolate. Calyx lobes c. 0.5 mm long, lanceolate-ovate. Corolla 2–4.5 mm diam.; tube slender, > lobes, whitish; limb cross-shaped; lobes c. 2 mm long, narrow-elliptic, usually mauve, occasionally white. Mericarps 1.5–2 mm long excluding persistent calyx, obovoid or ellipsoid, with appressed hairs.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]

Flowering: Jan.–Dec.