Celmisia cordatifolia Buchanan

Woody-based herb with short branchlets arising from a sparsely multicipital stock, usually just below the soil surface; living leaves in rosettes at the tips of branchlets; the whole plant forming a clump of several rosettes. Leaf sheaths densely imbricate and compacted into a pseudostem. Leaf lamina (4)-6-8-(12) × (2)-3.5-4.5-(5) cm, coriaceous, at first erect but later decumbent, cordate to ovate; upper surface often sulcate, concolorous, yellowishto glaucous-green, glabrous or with scattered white hairs when young; lower surface densely clad with ferrugineous or whitish hairs: tip acute; margins entire, recurved, often with a rim of ferrugineous hairs; base prominently cordate; petiole up to twice lamina length, purple, covered in floccose ferrugineous hairs. Scape purple, clad in dense ferrugineous tomentum, up to 35 cm long; bracts publicanumerous, erect, linear, monocephalous. Capitula obcorup to 6 cm diam. Phyllaries in several series, linear-subulate, erect, glabrous in lower part and localdensely brown-tomentose towards tip. Ray florets c. 25, ligulate, the limb linear-lanceolate, white. Disc florets c. 110, funneliform, yellow; tube with eglandular biseriate hairs. Achene fusiform cylindric, ribbed, 4-5 mm long, glabrous. Pappus unequal, 5-6 mm long, of 25-30 bristles.

[Reproduced from Given (1984, New Zealand J. Bot. 22: 139-158) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]