KiBK. — 0)1 the Genus Abrotanella. 419 



the genera Trineuron and Ceratella for the reception of two 

 plants from the Auckland and Campbell Islands, and pointed 

 out their close relationship to the original Abrotanella emar- 

 ginata of Cassini, in Hooker's London Journal of Botany, v., 

 437 : he also formed the genus Sclerolcvma for the reception of 

 another closely-related plant from the summit of Table Moun- 

 tain, Tasmania. A few years later Professor Asa Gray, in 

 Proceedings of the American Academy, v., 137, showed the 

 propriety of reducing all these genera to Abrotanella : his views 

 were adopted by Hooker in the "Handbook of the New Zealand 

 Flora," 139, and by Bentham in " Flora Australiensis," iii., 

 553. As now constituted the genus comprises about a dozen 

 species, of \Yhich one, or possibly two, are found in South 

 Chili, the Magellan Straits and Falkland Islands, &c. ; one in 

 the mountains of Victoria ; two in Tasmania; and six or seven 

 in New Zealand and the Antarctic Islands. 



Most of these plants are inconspicuous moss-like herbs, 

 forming small patches, with stems from Jin. to iin. high, re- 

 sembling a large-leaved Tortilla, or a Bryum. A. spathidata. 

 Hook, f., however, sometimes attains the height of 3in., with 

 an erect stem and crowded fiower-heads, so that the moss-like 

 appearance is completely lost. .4. linearis, Bergg., occasionally 

 developes leaves upwards of 2in. in length, but even under the 

 most favourable conditions they are neither conspicuous nor 

 attractive ; the flower-heads are terminal, and are usually 

 more or less concealed by the apical leaves, but A. spatliulata 

 and A. linearis are marked exceptions in this particular. The 

 flower-heads may be solitary or numerous. The involucre is 

 cylindrical or cup-shaped, and consists of from 5 to 12 linear- 

 oblong scales, arranged in 2 series : usually they exhibit 

 3-5 translucent veins, and are broadly obtuse : the receptacle 

 is very small, naked, slightly convex, and papillose : the florets 

 vary in number from 5 to 20, those of the disc being j with a 

 truncate style and 4 stamens, and those of the ray, which are 

 more numerous, being female with a shortly bifid style : the 

 corolla is always tubular, and very slender ; in the disc-florets 

 rather deeply 4-cleft, with incurved apices ; in the ray-florets 

 4-toothed, the teeth usually spreading. Anthers partially co- 

 herent. Achenes either somewhat compressed, or tetragonous, 

 narrowed below, with 4, rarely 3 or 2, prominent ridges, gla- 

 brous or rarely setose ; pappus reduced to a slightly-raised 

 annulus. In one species the ridge is produced into a short 

 horn-like process at each angle, in another into a spine as long 

 as the achene. 



It is hoped that the following descriptions of the known 

 New Zealand species will be found useful to students of the 

 genus. 



