Tongariro National Park New Zealand Alpine Plants

A low, broom-like heath with narrow, tough leaves and airy clusters of small tubular flowers. In Tongariro it grows in fellfield and scrub margins where it weathers wind and frost as a woody subshrub.

Woody subshrub with many wiry stems and narrow, sometimes rolled leaves; look for the broom-like habit and small, tubular flowers clustered toward branch tips.

Common Confusions

• Dwarf Hebe Veronica spp. Dwarf hebes have broader leaves and denser flower spikes; Dracophyllum is more broom-like with narrow leaves.
• Greigia Phyllachne colensoi Phyllachne is a mat-forming cushion, not a woody broom-like shrub.
• Moss Mat Racomitrium spp. Moss mats are green/grey and non-woody; Dracophyllum has woody stems and persistent leaves.
• Astelia Astelia spp. Astelia forms a central rosette of broader leaves rather than narrow, spiralled leaves of Dracophyllum.
• Olearia Shrub Olearia spp. Olearia tends to have broader leaves and daisy-like flowers, unlike the tubular flowers of Dracophyllum.