166 Transactions. 



Petrie in his list of Otago plants (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 28, p. 546, 1896) 

 recorded C. juncea from various localities in what I now call the " North 

 Otago Botanical District." Shortly afterwards, Kirk in the Students' Flora 

 accepted Petrie's determinations, and, as will be seen, enlarged Hooker's 

 original conception of the species. Finally, Cheeseman, in the Manual, 

 followed Kirk, but gave a fuller description of the species than had been 

 published up to that time. 



Both Kirk and Cheeseman agree in considering that the Otago plant 

 may belong to an undescribed species, basing their opinions chiefly on the 

 size of the pod and position of its beak. 



On the 9th December, 1917, Mr. Christensen noted a Carmichaelia 

 growing on the bank of the River Clarence (North-eastern Botanical Dis- 

 trict), between the roads leading to Jack's and Jollie's Passes, which he 

 described as "' a bush 2 ft. to 3 ft. in height, with the branches drooping 

 over the water." He very kindly sent me specimens, one showing immature 

 flowers (for the most part) and the other abundance of leaves. Towards 

 the end of the month he again went in quest of fully opened flowers, and 

 sent me a large living specimen fully in bloom, which is now growing in 

 my garden. 



The above specimens I have been able to compare with Petrie's North 

 Otago plant and with Colenso's type specimens of the species. Below I 

 give a full description of the Clarence Valley plant. It appears to come 

 into the conception of the C. juncea of Cheeseman's Manual, but it differs 

 from both the type and the Otago plant in the racemes never being in 

 fascicles, the glabrous calyx, and the much longer calyx-teeth. I have not 

 yet seen the pod. 



As for the calyx-teeth, they are different in the three forms. In the 

 type they are so small as to be almost wanting ; in the Otago plant they 

 are small but quite distinct, and broad at the base ; in the Hanmer plant 

 they are comparatively long and narrow. Other distinctions between the 

 three forms may be noted on comparing the following description with 

 Hooker's, Kirk's and Cheeseman's diagnoses. 



Until fruiting specimens are received, and perhaps comparison made 

 with living material from Hawke's Bay and Otago, which I am hoping to 

 secure, it seems best to let the matter of Carmichaelia juncea remain as 

 Cheeseman has left it. But there seems little doubt that the species as 

 at present constituted is an aggregate, with distinct varieties of restricted 

 distribution. As regards the Akaroa and Canterbury Plains plant I know 

 nothing. 



Description of Carmichaelia juncea var. from the Upper Clarence Valley. 



A low shrub 60-90 cm. high, with abundant slender drooping branches 

 and numerous short racemes of small sweet-scented flowers. 



Branchlets numerous, close-set, passing from stem at a very narrow 

 angle, bright green, compressed, but oldest branches terete, 2-3 mm. 

 broad or rather broader but gradually tapering to an extremely narrow 

 apex, usually leafless, glabrous. Leaves on younger branches, 1-3-foliate, 

 + 16 mm. long, petioles up to 6 mm. long ; leaflets variable in shape and 

 size, frequently oblong or ovate-oblong but occasionally obovate, linear, &c, 

 retuse, bright green, glabrous above but somewhat hairy beneath with 

 short appressed hairs, lateral leaflets much smallest, terminal + 9 mm. 

 long. Racemes solitary, apparently never fascicled, + 6 mm. distant, 

 4-12-flowered but not dense, up to 12 mm. long ; pedicels and rhachis 



