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FLORiV OF NEW ZEALAND. {Polyyonete.
5 b . A v i c u l a r e . lU w e n hermapltndUe. axillary. StyU trifid. N a t trigonom, surrounded by the withered
2. Polygonum aviculare, L . ; herbaceum, basi suffruticulosum, caulibus pro stratis flexuosis profunde
sulcatis, ramulis scaberulis, foliis parvis Hneari-lanceolatis, oclu-eis breviusculis scariosis albidis ad basin fere
laceris, floribus solitarus breve pedicellatis 6-andris, nuce calyce æquilonga. U n n . Sp. P l., etc. Engl. B o t.
t. 12 5 2 . P . plebeiiun, A . Cunn. Ee rb . A n B r . Prodr. ?
H ab. N o rth e rn and Middle Islands. Akaroa, Eaoul. Ahuriri, Colenso. (A native o f England.)
A rigid, very sparingly branched species, found iu many parts of the world, with prostrate, rather hard, bnt
scarcely woody, deeply-grooved, flexuous stems, and smooth or minntely scaberulous branches. Leaves scattered,
hnear-lanceolate, blunt or sharp, with recuiwed mai-gins, coriaceons, 4 -1 inch long. Ochreæ white, silvery, mem!
branous, split nearly to the base into ragged pieces, Plmvers small, solitary. Stamens eight.
3. Polygonum B rya n d ri, Spr. ; herbaceum, caule rigido diffuse ramoso prostrato ramisque sulcatis
scaberulis, fqliis patulis liu ean b u s lineari-oblongisve obtusis coriaceis marginibus recurvis, ochreis brevibus
scanosis albidis ad basin laceris, floribus hermaphroditis axillaribus solitariis 2 -3 -n isv e pedicellatis 6-andris,
stylo 3-fido, nuce trig o n a calyce inclusa v. exserta. Spr. Syst. Feg.
H ab. N o rth e rn Islan d . E a s t coast, Colenso. P o rt Cooper, L ya ll.
A smaUer species than the last, abundant in India and other parts of the world ; much branched from the base ■
branches 6-1 0 inches long, less rigid, the upper ones slightly scabendons. Uaves numerous, spreading, thick
4 inch long, linear-lanceolate or oblong, qnite entire, glabrous. Oehrem short, silvery, torn to the base scarious’
white. Z W a small, pediceUate. Stamens Afetemooth, as long as the perianth, or protruded beyond it.
§ c . M u h l e n b e c k i a . Mowers polygamous, solitary, spiked or panicled. Stamens eight. StyU trifid. Nut
trigonous. Perianth fleshy in fru it.
4 . Polygonum (Muldenbeckia) austraU, A. R ic h .; frutescens, caule elongato ramisque flexuosis
complexis profunde sulcatis, ramulis scaberuhs, foliis 4 -2 -u n c iah b u s petiolatis la te cordatis obtusis apiculatis
acuminatisve jun io rib u s 3-lobis glaberrimis, ocbreis (ramulis junioribus) elongatis ore integris spicis
paniculatis multifloris glaberrimis, bracteis obtusis 1-3-floris, floribus unisexualibus breve pedic’ellatis.
A . R ich . Flora. A . Cunn. Prodr. Coccoloba, Forst. Prodr. P . adpressum, Lab. Fl. Nov. Ho lt. p. 99.
t. 127. B r . Prodr. A . Cunn. Prodr.
H ab. Tb ro u g b o u t th e Is la n d s ; common, especially ou th e coasts. B a n k s and Solander, etc. N a t.
uame, " P u k a / ’ Col.
A large rambling bnsb or small tree, common also iu Norfolk Island and Tasmani.a. variable in foliage Everv-
where quite smooth. Branches long, flexuose, matted together, deeply grooved; the branchlets obscurely scaberulous,
leaves petiolate, cordate, blunt, apiculate or acuminate, quite smooth, i - 2 inches long ; young three-lobed.
Oehrece deciduous ; those on the young branches long, membranous, truncate and entire at the mouth,” Spikes paifi!
culate, quite smooth, axillai-y aud terminal. Bracts blunt.
5. Polygonum (MuhlenbeoHa) coMyifeii®, A. Cuun. ; fruticosum, polymorphum, ramis ramulistiue
implexis elongatis flexuosis sulcatis scabridis, foliis glaberrimis petiolatis late obovatis orbiculatis cordatisve
obtusis V . apiculatis infra 4-unciahbus integerrimis p unctatis impunetatisve jun io rib n s 3-lobis, ochreis
integris, spicis brevissimis v. elongatis simpUcibus paniculatisve pubescentibus tomentosisve, bra’cteis ob-
tusis. A . Cunn. Prodr.
H ab. Througliout th e Islands, ab u n d an t. B a n k s and Solander, etc. (Cultivated in England.)
One of the most variable plants-in New Zealand, of the same habit as P. australe, but much smaller in all its
parts, and with downy or tomentose spikes, which are seldom panicled. Stems and branches deeply grooved, scabrid
Leaves 3 lines to F inch long, petiolate, quite smooth, often dotted below, usually broadly obovate, cordate, or
rounded, rarely acute, sometimes almost as large as in P . australe. Spikes sometimes long and panicled, at others
reduced to axillary capitate masses of Ilowers.—Mr. Bidwill sends an alpine state of this plant, from an elevation of
6000 feet on the mountains above Nelson, with short, stout, woody stem, and branches 4 inches long, small, fleshy,
dotted leaves, and terminal clusters of flowers.
6. Polygonum (Muhlenbeckia) ephedroides, H o o k .f ll.; aphyllum v. sparse foliosum, fruticosum, difiuse
ramosum, ramis flexuosis in tertex tis profunde sulcatis ultimis scaberulis, foliis p etio la tis sessilibusve parvis
linearibus snbhastatisve basi obtuse d ilatatis subacutis, ochreis obhquc tru n c a tis brevibus, floribus spicatis
solitariis axillaribusque, spicis glaberrimis.
H ab. N o rth e rn Islan d . E a s t coast, nea r th e sea, Ahuriri, etc., Colenso,
A very curious species, closely allied to P . eomplexum, but with glabrous spikes ; also near P . australe, but
the spikes are not racemose; whilst in the n a n w small leaves it differs conspicuously from both.—Very variable
in habit, prostrate, 6 inches to several feet long, leafless, or with small scattered leaves i - 1 inch long ;
small plants resemble P. aviculare, large ones have rigid, wh-y, leafiess stems, and look like rushes scattered on
the beach (according to Mr. Colenso). Usually the male fiowers are in loose spikes, with one or two females
scattered on the same spikes ; when the latter predominate on a plant they are often solitary and axillary.
7. Polygonum axillare, Hook. fil. ; pusillum, cæspitosum, ramosissimum, ramulis striatis puberulis
gracilibus eonfertis, foliis parvis elliptico-oblongis obtusis petiolatis, oclireis oblique tru n c a tis integris,
floribus solitariis axillaribus pedicellatis. Lond. Journ. B o t. v. 9. p . 278.
H ab. N o rth e rn and Middle Islands. Mountains near th e ea st coast, Colenso. P o r t Cooper, M ilford
Sound, aud R u ap u k e Islan d , L ya ll.
A very small species, 1 -2 inches high, quite glabrous, except the branchlets, and sometimes petioles, which
are puberulous, with slender, tufted, very much branched stems, spreading on all sides from a small woody root.
Leaves petiolate, flat, elliptical-oblong, blunt, quite entii-e, glabrous, l | - 2 lines long. Ochreæ short, obliquely
truncate, entire. Plowei's solitai-y, axillary, pedicellate.—Found also on the Tasmanian mountains, where the species
straggles a good deal.
Gen. I I . R UM EX , L .
P e r ia n ih km 6-partitum, duplici serie. Stamina 6. S ty li 3. Stigmata multifi.da. N u x 3-quetra,
perianthii laciniis interioribus auctis valviformibus tecta.
Besides the English Dock, which is said to have been fraudulently introduced by Europeans into New Zealand,
in barter, as Tobacco seed, there is a ti-uly native species of Rumex in these islands, R.flexuosus, which forms an erect
or procumbent herbaceous branched plant, with grooved, zigzag, fiexuous and angular stems, 1 -2 feet long or high ;
everywhere qnite smooth. Leaves petiolate ; radical 4 -8 inches long, linear, obliquely cuneate, truncate or obtusely
two-lobed at the base, margins rather crisped or flat ; cauline smaller, on shorter petioles. Plowers green, 1 line
long, in axillary whorls, drooping, on pedicels 2 lines long. Perianth of six oblong acute pieces, in two rows, of
which the inner expand into triangular coriaceous veined valves 1-g- line long, enclosing a trigonous nut ; valves
with acuminate rccui-ve.d points, a keeled, sometimes spinous costa, and three to four long spines ou each margin.
Siamens six. Sigles three, with laciuiate stigmata.—The other species of Rumex, which are very numerous, are
scattered over aU parts of the world. (Name of imkuown origin.)
1. R u m e x B u n k s et S o l.; glaberrimus, caule profunde sulcato flexuoso diviuicatim ramoso
prostrato, foliis auguste linearibus margine crispatis v. planis, pedicellis fructiferis reflexis incrassatis, floribus
hermaplu-oditis, valvulis triangularibus apice acuminato recurvo dorso carinato sæpius arcuato, lateribus
spiuuloso-fimbriatis. R. Brownianus, Camp>d. Monog. A . Cunn. Prodr.