Carmichaelia petriei, desert broom, butterfly broom, or pukaki is endemic to the South Island, where it grows in coastal lowland areas to montane grasslands east of the Southern Alps from Lake Pukaki in the McKenzie country to Central Otago and central Southland. It is a very distinctive, stout, erect and openly much branched, leafless shrub up to 2m. It has grooved branchlets that can be round or slightly compressed, and have distinctive yellow pointed tips. It seldom has leaves as the green stems take their place.  In dry areas the stems may be a yellow-green while in less dry areas they tend to be greener. It has purple flowers flushed with white from November and seed pods from February containing seeds that are greenish yellow and sometimes are mottled with black. It is extremely hardy! This plant is unfortunately grazed to the ground by sheep, cattle, hares and rabbits.