tufts of leaves arises a scape, in the present instance “ twelve 
feet in height and bearing thirteen branches, of which the 
lower ones contain about twenty flowers, and diminish 
gradually in number as they arise on the scape.’ These 
flowers are panicled and secund, ascending or pointing up- 
wards, the peduncles and pedicels rounded, glabrous, often 
tinged with purple and sheathed with scales or bractee, 
margined with red. Perianth of six pieces or leaflets, ap- 
proaching so as to forma tube, three outer and three inner, 
all united at the base, and of a lanceolate form, concave ; 
the outer a dull brownish-orange, the inner a full yellow, a_ 
little longer than the outer, with their extremities patent. 
Stamens six, inserted each at the middle of the base of 
the segment of the perianth, and much exceeding it in 
length, three a little shorter than the other three. Filaments 
red above, yellow below. Anthers oblong, yellow, fixed by 
the centre of the back to the summit of the filament. 
Germen oval-oblong, greenish-brown, attenuated into a 
slender, triquetrous, red style. Stigma a mere point. The 
lower flowers of the branches seem to be very generally 
abortive and deciduous, breaking off at an apparent joint: 
the upper ones bear almost ripened capsules while many 
of the former are still in full flower: and these capsules 
are oblong, triquetrous, brown, and wrinkled, attenuated 
slightly at the base, and surrounded by the withered sta- 
mens and floral coverings, acuminated at the extremity, and 
terminated by the persistent but withered style, somewhat 
fleshy, three-celled ; each cell bearing numerous, compress- 
ed, imbricated, and erect seeds, inserted upon the inner 
angle of each cell. 
This highly useful plant is one of the many important 
discoveries, for which we are indebted to the late Sir JosEr# 
Banks; who says, in Coox’s first Voyage, when speaking of 
the productions of New Zealand: “ But among all the 
trees, shrubs, and plants of this country, there is not one 
that produces fruit, except a berry, which has neither sweet- 
ness nor flavour, and which none but the boys took pains 
to ea should be honoured with that appellation. There 
is, however, a plant that serves the inhabitants instead of 
Hemp and Flax, which excels all that are put to the same 
purposes in other countries. Of this plant there are two 
sorts; the leaves of both resemble those of Flags, but the 
owers are smaller, and their clusters more numerous; 1D 
one kind they are yellow, and in the other a deep red. 
From the leaves of these plants, with very little preparation, 
the natives make all their common apparel ; and they also 
: 3 manufacture 
