L. Cockayne. — Notes on New Zealand Floristic Botany, 173 



The above variety is described from a plant which has been in my 

 garden for only a few weeks, collected by Professor Wall as above. 



The plant forms matted patches. The leaves vary in size from less 

 than 3 mm. long up to about 5 mm. The reddish-purple stems, petioles, 

 and peduncles contrast with the bright-green leaves. The flowers are white ; 

 the calyx is pale brown tinged and margined with reddish-purple ; the 

 petals are white ; the slender petiole only increases from 2 cm. to 2-5 cm. 

 when the capsule is ripe. 



33. Epilobium pedunculare A. Cunn. var. viride Cockayne var. nov. 



Oaulibus teneris pallide viridibus ; foliis oblongis vel rotundatis remote 

 et obscure dentatis, laminis usque ad 7 mm. diam. ; floribus 6-5 mm. diam.. 

 pedunculis brevibus 5-11 mm. longis ; capsulis circ. 2-8 cm. longis ; 

 viridibus secundum suturam brunneo tinctis. 



North Island : North Auckland Botanical District — On river-bed near 

 Fairburn, Mangonui County. H. Carse ! 



This variety is readily distinguished from E. pedunculare var. brunnescens 

 by its green leaves and. stem and by the much shorter peduncle of the 

 flower, which does not elongate to nearly the same length as that of var. 

 brunnescens in the fruiting stage. The flowers and capsules are also smaller. 



The plants now growing in my garden, from which the above diagnosis 

 is drawn up, were collected specially for this paper by Mr. H. Carse as 

 an example of the form of Epilobium pedunculare in his neighbourhood. 

 Whether the above variety is identical with the plant originally described 

 by Allan Cunningham I cannot say, for the original description is quite 

 general and would fit almost any variety of the species. 



34. Gunnera densiflora Hook. f. 



In 1864 Hooker published his Gunnera densiflora, basing his description 

 on specimens collected by W. T. L. Travers at an altitude of 4,000 ft. in the 

 Acheron and Clarence Valleys — i.e., it must have been collected not far from 

 the sources of these rivers if the altitude as given is correct. For some 

 thirty-two years no Gunnera was discovered that could be referred to the 

 above species until, in 1896, I collected a species of Gunnera in the Craigie- 

 burn Mountains (Eastern Botanical District), at the headwaters of the 

 Hogsback Creek, at an altitude of rather more than 900 m. Specimens 

 were sent by me to Kirk, who referred them, apparently without hesitation, 

 in his Students' Flora (1899) to G. densiflora. Cheeseman, in the Manual, 

 working with the same material as Kirk, drew up a new diagnosis of the 

 species based partly upon Hooker's original brief description and partly 

 upon my not-too-well-prepared specimens. Regarding these latter Cheese- 

 man writes that they u are the only ones I have seen that can be referred 

 the species." 



So the matter remained until, in 1911, Mr. R. M. Laing, M.A., B.Sc, 

 during a botanical excursion towards the headwaters of the Rivers Clarence 

 and Waiau, discovered, in abundance, on the western side of Lake Tennyson 

 a species of Gunnera which, in my opinion, is equivalent to the plant on 

 which Hooker founded G. densiflora. 



Mr. Laing submitted his material first of all to Cheeseman, who sug- 

 gested that it might quite well be Gunnera cordifolia Hook, f., hitherto 

 thought to be confined to Tasmania. Later, Mr. Laing submitted specimens 

 for my opinion, telling me also what Cheeseman had said. G. cordifolia 



