T. Kirk — On Hymen anthera. 513 



portunity of examining the female flowers of the New Zea- 

 land plant. 



Var. alpina. 



Depressed, 1ft. -2ft. high, branches very short, rigid, stout, 

 usually terminating in stout spine. Bark whitish, lenticel- 

 late. Leaves less than -jin. long, usually fascicled, very cori- 

 aceous, oblong-obovate, petiole vei-y short. Flowers on very 

 short straight peduncles. Sepals erosulate-ciliate. Petals 

 broad, recurved. Anthers very broad, connective, much pro- 

 duced, nearly entire, dorsal scale broadly cuneate. Style 

 slender, stigmas 2, spreading. Berry white, 1-2-seeded ; the 

 former ovoid with a minute discoid strophiole ; the latter 

 with the inner faces flattened at the base but not angled. 



South Island. — Alps of Canterbury and Otago ; 2,000ft.- 

 4,000ft. A remarkable plant, forming a mass of very short 

 stout spinous branches. Possibly a distinct species. Decem- 

 ber, Januar3\ 



3. H. obovata, T. Kirk ; in Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxvii. (1894), 

 350. 



An erect glabrous shrub, 4ft. -8tt. high, branches few, 

 slender, ascending ; bark pale. Leaves in the young state 

 obovate-cuneate, 3-lobed or -toothed, membranous, mature, 

 very coriaceous, lin.-2in. long, obovate or oblong, narrowed 

 into a slender petiole below, rounded or retuse above, rarely 

 apiculate, margins slightly recurved, rarely entire. Flowers, 

 male not seen. Female sepals broadly ovate, rounded at 

 apes. Ovary 2-celled ; stigmas 2. Fruit solitary or twin, 

 on very short curved peduncles ; ovoid, purple, 2-seeded. 

 Seeds nearly ovate, slightly concave on the inner face, con- 

 vex on the outer; strophiole cupular, thin. 



South Island. — /. Buclianan ! Nelson : Graham River, 

 Mount Owen, T. F. Cheeseman ! between Takaka and Ri- 

 waka, T. Kirk. Marlborough : Queen Charlotte Sound, J. H. 

 MacmaJion ! Canterbury : Broken Eiver basin, /. D. Enys 

 and T. Kirk (1876) ; Ashburton Mountains, T. H. Potts ! 

 Chiefly on limestone rocks, 2,000ft.-4,000ft. 



The rather slender branches and the strict habit dis- 

 tinguish this species from all others at sight. 



4. H. traversii, J. Buchanan; in Trans. N.Z. Inst., xv. (1882), 

 339, t. 28. 



A spreading shrub, 1ft. -2ft. high, twigs with reddish longi- 

 tudinal rugose bark, viscid when fresh. Leaves rather 

 crowded, coriaceous, oblong-obovate or oblong- spathulate, 

 about lin. long, narrowed into a rather stout appressed 

 petiole, obtuse or sub - acute, margins recurved, nerves 

 33 



