Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Dracophyllum
Species: D. uniflorum
Binomial name: Dracophyllum uniflorum
Common name: Turpentine Bush. Turpentine Scrub,
Dracophyllum uniflorum is an erect, woody-stemmed, 1m tall, summer-flowering shrub with stout needle-like leaves. It is very common throughout the low alpine regions of New Zealand from the mid-North Island southwards. Its habitat is alpine shrub, herbfields and grasslands. Flowers appear January-March.
It is called turpentine bush not because it has turpentines present but because of the ease with which this plant will burn even when green.
Photographed at Arthurs Pass, South Island.
[1]
Photographed March Mavora Lakes, Southland.
[2]
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/