18 in. high, but usually from 6–12 in., in alpine varieties sometimes reduced to 1 in. or 2 in. Lower leaves pinnate; leaflets few, rounded or ovate, entire or toothed, usually stalked, sometimes reduced to 1. Cauline leaves few, pinnatifid with narrow segments. Flowers usually small, few or many, sometimes reduced to 1. Petals narrow, erect or slightly spreading. Stamens sometimes 4 only, especially in European specimens. Pods erect, slender, ½–¾ in. long, very narrow; style short.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 13; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 12; Kirk, Students' Fl. 26.
Var. debilis, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 12.—Erect or decumbent, often much branched. Leaflets in several pairs, rounded or cordate. Pods slender, with long slender styles.—C. debilis, Banks and Sol. ex D.C. Syst. ii. 265; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 626; Raoul, Choix de Plantes, 47. Sisymbrium hetetophyllum, Forst. Prodr. n. 250; A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 310.
Var. corymbosa. Hook. f. l.c.—Smaller. Leaflets in 2 pairs or reduced to a terminal one. Flowers in few-flowered corymbs.—C. corymbosa, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 6; Hook. Ic. Plant, t. 686.
Var. subcarnosa, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 5.—Stout and fleshy. Leaflets 3–6 pairs, obovate or oblong. Flowers numerous, large, corymbose.
Var. uniflora, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 12.—Small, the leaves reduced to one pinnule. Flowers on a slender 1-flowered scape, rather large, sometimes 1⁄4 in. diam.
North and South Islands, Chatham Island, Stewart Island: The variety debilis abundant throughout. The remaining varieties not uncommon in mountain districts in the South Island, and extending to the Auckland and Campbell Islands. Altitudinal range from sea-level to 6500 ft.
Widely distributed in the temperate regions of both hemispheres, and exceedingly variable wherever it is found.
2. C. depressa, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 6.—A small glabrous or pilose stemless perennial. Leaves numerous, crowded, rosulate, 1–2 in. long, elliptic or ovate-spathulate, quite entire or varying from crenate to deeply lobulate, rounded at the tip or retuse, narrowed into petioles of variable length. Flowers small, either solitary on slender scapes or in few-flowered corymbs. Pods ½–1½ in. long, stout, erect; styles short, stout.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 12; Kirk, Students' Fl. 27.
Var. depressa, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 12.—Larger, usually glabrous. Leaves generally lobulate.—C. depressa. Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 6, t. 3 and 4b.
Var. stellata, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 12.—Smaller, glabrous or pilose. Leaves entire or nearly so.—C. stellata, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 7, t. 4a.
South Island: Var. depressa: Nelson—Wairau Mountains and Lake Tennyson, Travers, T. F. C. Marlborough—Mount Mouatt, Kirk! Canterbury—Hopkins River and Lake Ohau, Haast. Otago—Lake District, Hector and Buchanan. Auckland and Campbell Islands: Both varieties abundant, ascending to nearly 2000ft., Sir J. D. Hooker, Kirk!
Chiefly distinguished from reduced forms of C. hirsuta by the habit, spathulate leaves, and stout erect pods.
