IV. — BOTANY. 



AiiT. LII. — Descriptions of Nciu Native Plants. 



By D. Petrie, M.A., F.L.S. 



[Read before the Otago Institute, 11th June, 1889.] 



1. Bammculus areolatus, nov. sp. 



A small, slender, almost glabrous herb. Eadical leaves 

 on slender, glabrous, striate petioles that are lin.-2in. in 

 length ; blade -^^in. long, -|in. broad, thin, cut to the middle 

 into three oblong gently-rounded obtuse lobes (of which the 

 two lateral ones are often cut by a shallow, wide incision), 

 glabrous, or with a very few simple hairs on the margin and 

 under-surface ; veins evident below, forming large oval areoles 

 on the under-surface of each lobe. 



Scapes simple, slender, elongating considerably after 

 flowering, with two semi-amplexicaul cauline leaves, the 

 lower cut to the middle into three long linear lobes, the upper 

 broad and entire, sparsely clothed with delicate silky hairs at 

 and below the apex. 



Sepals not seen ; petals five, oblong, with a narrow claw 

 and three dark nerves, pubescent on the outer surface. 



Achenes forming a shortly-oblong head, very numerous, 

 small, turgid, sub-stipitate, rounded at the back ; beak short, 

 slender, at right angles to the axis of the achene. 



Hab. Head of Lake Wakatipu. The species was collected 

 by Mr. A. C. Purdie some years ago. 



2. Lepicliuni klrkii, nov. sp. 



A very small glabrous species, with entire linear leaves, 

 and long prostrate branching stems. 



Eootstock as thick as a crow-quill, subdivided at the crown. 

 Leaves rosulate, entire, narrow-linear, ^in. long or less, the 

 basal part broad, membranous, and sheathing ; cauline leaves 

 minute, linear, ^in. long. 



Stems several, slender, prostrate, flexuous, branched, 

 sparingly leafy, 2in.-4in. in length. 



