, :‘l t' |î
m
■‘ S
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H a b . N o rtliem Islan d . Summits of th e E u a h in e mountains, Colenso.
I cannot distinguish these specimens from Auckland Island ones, nor from the P . carnosa, Br., of Tasmania,
though that plant has usually, hut not constantly, but two seeds in each cell. I t varies very much in habit, size,
aud hairiness. Roots very stout. Leaves numerous, fleshy, spreading, lanceolate, entire or lobed or toothed, 11-2
inches long, glabrous, or villous at thc.base. Scapes stout, short, hairy, two- to four-flowered. Bracts short, blunt.
Sepals broadly ovate, blunt.—Various European species of Plantago grow both on mountain-tops aud on the seashore,
as seems to be the case with this plant.
§ b. Flowers in dei
3. Plan tag o spathulata, Hook, fil.; sparse villosa v. glabrata, foliis carnosis eonfertis steUatim p a ten tib
u s obovato-lanceolatis spathulatisve obtusis integerrimis 3-nerviis in petiolum la tum angusta tis basi
viUosis, scapis liirsutis, spicis breviusculis deusifloris, floribus omnibus eonfertis infimisve dissitis, sepalis
TXT 1/Sir*. C + ...pilosis obtusi s«, capsul-æU. 1l_o__c_u_ 1lZis_ C2\ -sperm i s. •
H a b . N o rth e rn Islan d . E a s t coast on rocks and in sand, i
A rather large species, but variable in size, and in amoimt of villous hairs on all parts, sometimes nearly
glabrous. Leaves numerous, spreading, 1-5 inches long, oblong-lanceolate, spathulate, blunt, quite entire, three-
nerved. numerous, hirsute. many-flowered, inch long. Sepals kdxxy. Capmle
oeUs two-seeded.
4. Plan tag o R a o u ln , D e n e .; glabrata, pilosa, pubescens v .su b h irsu ta , foliis elongato-lanceolatis 1 -5 -
u e rtiis in teg ris dentatis lobulatisve basi lauatis, scapis elongatis pilosis, spicis brevibus oblongo-cylin-
draceis parvifloris multifloris, bracteis la te marginatis dorso glabratis, sepalis late ovatis obtnsis orbiculatisve
glabris, coroUæ lobis parvis, capsulæ loculis 2-spermis. Bene, in BC . Brock. P . varia, A . Cunn. Prodr.
H a b . N o rth e rn and Middle Islands. Ab u n d an t from th e Bay of Islands, Cunningham ; to Otago,
.An extremely variable plant in foliage, but very constant in the flowers. Root stout or fibrous. Leaves
1 -10 inches long, pubescent, pilose, or nearly glabrous, villous at the base, linear-lanceolate or eUiptical-lanceolate,
entire, lobed, or toothed, rigid or flaccid, often narrowed into long hairy petioles. Scapes numerous, longer than
the leaves, haiiy. Spikes ^ -1 inch loug, more slender and smaller-flowered than in the last species. Sepals broadly
ovate or orbicular. Capsule two-ceUed; cells two-seeded.—Very neaily allied to the Australian P. varia, but the
flowers are smaUer, spike shorter, and bracts glabrous; stiU nearer P . Tasmanica, but the bracts have in that very
narrow margins, which are broad in this.
Obs. The P. Aueklandica of Auckland Island (Fl. Antarct. p . 64. t. 42) has not been gathered in New Zealand.
C-1 0 .
N a t . O r d . L X V I I L N Y C T A G IN E r iE , J u s s .
Gen. I . P ISO N IA , L .
hermaphroditi, v. ab o rtu dioici. Pe ria n th ii limbus pUcatus, 5-lobus, persistens. Stamina
‘riculus tubo augulato aucto clavato perianthii inclusus. Bmhryo erectus. B r . Prodr.
A small genus, chiefly of littoral tropical shrubs or trees, with viscid cymes of fruit, sometimes armed with
hooked spines, in which smaU birds get entangled. P . Sinclairii, the only New Zealand species, grows also in Norfolk
Island and in the Port Jackson colony (Pive-finger Bay), and forms a small tree, 12-15 feet high, with opposite
or ternate, very large leaves, and paniculate cymes of lurid greenish flowers. Stems and hranclm glabrous.
Leaves petiolate, broadly oblong, 4 inches to a foot long, quite entire, blunt, glabrous, deep green, flaccid when dry.
Cymes compound, pubescent, 2 -4 inches broad, many-flowered. Flowers pedicellate. Perianth tubular or funnel-
shaped, pubescent, with a bluntly five-lobed mouth. Stamens seven; filaments unequal in height, united into a
tube surrounding the base of the ovary. Ovary elongated, membranous, one-celled, with one erect ovule, a long
slightly curved style, and discoid heart-shaped stigma. Utriculus surrounded with the hardened, lengthened, ribbed
perianth, l i inch lo n g ; ribs viscid, not spinous. Bmhyo linear, with longitudinally-folded, crumpled cotyledons,
enclosing a little albumen and a short terete radicle. (Name from William Pison, a Dutch botanist and Brazilian
traveller.)
1. Sinclairii, R o o k . fA.-, arborea, foliis ampiis elliptico-oblongis obtusis glaberrimis, cymis
compositis puberuKs, fioribus 7-audris, periantliiis fructiferis costatis viscidis costis inermibus. P . g randis,
A . Cunn. Herb. N o r f. Is l. et Austral. Non B r . T a b . L .
H a b . N o rth e rn Islan d . Wan g arei H arb o u r, Sinclair. E a s t coast, Colenso. N a t. name, “ P ara-
p a ra ,” Col.
P late L. Pig. 1, flower; 2, perianth laid open; 3, ovarmm; 4, ripe fruit enclosed in the perianth; 5, u triculus,
ripe, removed from d itto ; 6, transverse section of perianth and ripe utriculus ; 7, embryo ; 8, part of the
same laid open, showing the crumpled cotyledons and radicle:— all hut fig. 1 magnified.
N a t . O r d . LXIX. POLYGONEyE, J u s s .
Gen. I . PO LY G O N UM , L .
petaloideum, 4 -5 -lo b um v. -p a rtitum . Stamina 4 - 9 . S ty lu s 2 -3 -p a rtitu s ; stigmata
capitata. N u x perianthio quandoque baccato te c ta . Embryo unilateralis.
Herbs or shrubs, erect or climbing, found in every quarter of the globe and in most latitudes; with alternate
leaves, whose petioles have stipules that form membranous tubular sheaths around the stem above them. Flowers
generally racemose, sometimes spiked, or sohtary and axillary. Peiianth petaloid, four- to five-lobed or -parted.
Stamens four to nine. Styles two to three, or tw o -to three-parted, each arm bearing a capitate stigma. Nu t
angled or compressed, with one erect seed, enclosed in the withered, dry, or fleshy perianth. Albumen mealy.
Embryo placed at one side of the albumen.—The species of this genus are very difficult of determinatdon, being extremely
variable in size, habit, fohage, and inflorescence. The fleshy calyx of the MuklenbecUa section is sometimes
white, transparent, and very large and ju icy ; at others in the same plant merely thickened and opake. (Name
from ttoKvs, many, and yow, a Jo in t; in allusion to the jointed stems.)
§ a. P e r s i c a r i a . Flowers hermaphrodite, spiked. Style bifid. Nu t lenticular, included in the withered
1. Polygonum pro stra tum, Px.', herbaceum, glabrum v. pilosum, caule prostrato, foliis lanceolatis
margine scaberuhs, ochreis cihatis, spicis axillaribus terminahbusque gracihbus longe pedunculatis laxifloris,
floribus glabris. B r . Prodr. A . Cunn. Prodr., etc.
H a b . N o rth e rn and Middle Is la n d s ; n o t uncommon, especially in grassy and cultivated places. N a t.
name, " Tutu-nawai,” Col.
Smooth or pilose, herbaceous. Stems prostrate, elongated, sparingly branched, a foot long. Leaves scattered,
linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 2 -8 inches long, scabrid at the margin, membranous; ochrem elongated, brown, with
long cilia at tbe mouth. Spikes on long peduncles, axillary or terminal, slender, 1 -2 inches long. Flowers small,
not crowded. Bracts truncate, ciliate or smooth at the mouth.—Abundant in the southern parts of Australia, and
in Tasmania.