178 Transaction*. 



Description of the Wellington Coastal Hymenanthera (= ? H. obvata T. Kirk 



in its restricted sense). 



A low shrub more or less flattened, to the substratum into which its 

 prostrate stems root, but its height varies with regard to degree of exposure 

 of the plant. 



Branches more or less divaricating and interlacing, with younger twigs 

 clad with pale bark covered with a fine pubescence, but older twigs having 

 grey bark dotted freely with lenticels. 



Leaves obovate or oblong-obovate, varying greatly in size according to 

 situation, but from 1 cm. long by 7 mm. wide to 3 cm. long by 1-6 cm. wide 

 are a fair average, though there are others both larger and even smaller, 

 very dark green above, whitish-green beneath, very thick and coriaceous, 

 obtuse, often emarginate, generally entire but occasionally there is a coarse 

 tooth on either side,* above veins obscure, beneath evident but not 

 numerous ; petiole short, about 3 mm. long. (In shade reversion-shoots 

 occur with leaves thinner, larger, more irregular in shape, sometimes 

 rhomboid, 1-2-toothed on either side.) 



Flowers numerous, about 4 mm. diam., mostly on the naked branches. 

 in the axils of former leaves, solitary or in fascicles of about 4, apparently 

 hermaphrodite, almost twice as large as those of H. crassifolia (see above, 

 No. 37), paler yellow, more urceolate, and margins of petals edged with a 

 bright-purple line ; pedicels about 4 mm. long, pale green, fleshy ; bract 

 broadly triangular, acute ; sepals 4-5 times shorter than petals, much 

 broader than long, green at base but strongly margined with purple, 

 rounded at apex which is fimbriate ; petals linear-oblong or narrow ovate- 

 oblong, about 5 mm. long and 2 mm. broad, pale yellow, obtuse, sometimes 

 emarginate, strongly recurved ; stamens with orange staminal process ; 

 scale (nectary) obovate, slightly praemorse at fimbriate apex, and abundance 

 of honey at base. 



Apart from the much greater size of the leaves, and, where not exposed 

 to the most powerful wind, the much more open character of growth, the 

 above species is distinguished at once from H. crassifolia by the flowers, 

 which are twice as large, the sepals not half length of petals but only one- 

 third or one-fourth as long, the narrower, longer, pale-yellow not lemon- 

 yellow petals. 



With regard to Nelson specimens of undoubted Hymenanthera obovala 

 (in the restricted sense), Aston's specimens are from two sources. The 

 first grows " in crevices of limestone rock at from 2,500 ft. to 2,700 ft. on 

 the Riwaka Hill, and 1-3 ft. high " (fide Aston). Specimens of this plant 

 show (as described for the Wellington plant) the leaves linear-obovate to 

 occasionally almost linear, very numerous, alternate or fascicled, from more 

 than 4 cm. long to 1-5 cm. or even less, not thick, probably rather dark 

 green above, pale beneath, tapering into a short petiole, entire, rounded 

 at apex. The second was taken from one plant growing at Golden Bay, 

 near the cement-works. It was a " shrub with trunk about 10 ft. high 

 and pendulous branches growing in shade on limestone country" (fide 

 Aston). This specimen has leaves up to 7-5 cm. long, some are 3 cm. broad, 

 cpiite small leaves are rare. They are bright green above, pale beneath, 

 entire, occasionally emarginate, not in fascicles. 



Although the two plants just noted differ so far as the leaf is concerned 

 in some particulars from the Wellington plant, such differences are probably 



*The Manual description reads, "quite entire," but even Kirk's type specimens 

 show some leaves not entire. 



