Endemic to theSouth Island of New Zealand, it grows into a sprawling shrub, reaching heights of just 30–200 cm (10–80 in), and has leaves which form bunches at the end of its branches.

[2][3] D. acerosum D. densum D. filifolium D. kirkii D. ophioliticum D. patens D. rosmarinifolium D. trimorphum D. arboreum D. longifolium D. muscoides D. pronum D. scoparium D. strictum D. fiordense D. menziesii D. latifolium D. townsonii D. traversii other Dracophyllum spp.

longifolium but Venter argued its complete lack of the latter's large juvenile leaves and caducous floral bracts set it apart.

[6] In a 2010 article in the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, a team of several botanists, including Venter, used genetic evidence to perform a cladistic analysis and create a complete phylogeny of the tribe Richeeae and other closely related species.

[2][3][9] D. ophioliticum often grows in association with a large number of plants including: Leptospermum scoparium, Veronica albicans, Phormium cookianum subsp.

juniperina, Phyllocladus trichomanoides, Exocarpos bidwillii, Pseudopanax crassifolius, Melicytus alpinus, Gaultheria antipoda, Coprosma microcarpa, C. perpusilla subsp.

The forest that they may be found in, though to a lesser extent than the open slopes which they mainly inhabit, are made up of mostly Leptospermum scoparium, Veronica albicans, and Coprosma microcarpa.

[4] In order to survive in the clay loam, a soil type which is easily eroded and changed by the weather, many plants develop roots at the nodes of their stems to better stay fixed into the ground.