474 Transactions. — Botany. 



about 1 line long, turgid, black, containing 7 seeds (in one 

 only 4) ; seeds orbicular (sometimes irregularly shaped), semi- 

 compressed, slightly convex on one side ; margined, pale, 

 shining. 



Hab. Swampv ground at Eangij)o, eastern base of Mount 

 Tongarii'o, County of East Taupo ; 1«89 : Mr. H. Hill. 



Obs. I. An interesting little plant, received by me in a 

 small turfy lump of earth, cut out of the ground ; its leaves 

 and few flowers closely appressed to the soil, and forming a 

 dense leafy mat, making it a difficult matter to extricate a 

 fair specimen. The small capsules were old (of last year?), 

 broken off from the plants, and more or less injured, but still 

 containing their seeds, which were perfect. 



II. This species has evidently pretty close affinitj- with 

 S. exigua, F. Mueller (Benth., " Flora Australiensis," vol. iv., 

 p. 82), another small species from Western Axistralia ; but 

 differs from that plant in several characters. 



Order XLII. Ekice^. 

 Genus 1. Gaultheria, Lhm. 



1. G. cpiphyta, sp. no v. 



Plant a graceful open shrub 3ft. high ; trunk Ifin. circum- 

 ference ; 9 main branches, distant, leafy, each about 2ft. 

 long, slender, and drooping, with 8-10 branchlets radiat- 

 ing at top ; bark light-brown, rather smooth ; branchlets 

 very hairy ; hairs long, appressed, springing from muricated 

 dots. Leaves green, alternate, pretty regularly disposed, 

 distant, spreading, sub - membranaceous or very slightly 

 coriaceous, petiolate, narrow oblong, apiculate, 5-7 lines 

 long, margin thickened, recurved, serrate with a long slender 

 mucro "svithin the blunt tooth at tip of a lateral vein ; 

 veins much and closely reticulate ; young leaves very mem- 

 branous, flaccid, brownish. Flowers small, rather distant, 

 single, axillary at tops of branchlets ; peduncle stout, curved, 

 1\ lines long, with a few scattered minute narrow patent 

 scales, and 3-4 sub-orbicular or broadly ovate bracts at base, 

 amplexicaul and imbricate (somethnes one single one close 

 under calyx), their apical margins uneven sliglitl>- jagged- 

 toothed ; tips apicular. Calyx 5-lobed ; lobes ovate, sub- 

 acute, entire, cut nearly to base, 1-nerved, pale. Corolla 

 white, sub-urceolate, scarcely 1 Hne long, lobes 1-nerved, very 

 obtuse, incurved, margins sub-granular-crenulate. Stamens 

 short, muricated ; filaments 1-nerved, broadly dilated upwards 

 one-tliird length from base, margin sub-angular, narrow acumi- 

 nate above two-thirds length towards anther ; anthers orange- 

 red, sub-orbicular urceolate, turgid, 2-awned : awns short, 

 stoutish, incurved, part of and rising inmiediately and gradually 



