Cheeseman. — On New Plants. 535 



curved, narrowed upwards into a beak, hoary -pubescent. 

 Seeds obovoid, testa minutely papillose. 



Hab. Mountain districts in Canterbury and Otago ; ap- 

 parently not uncommon. Upper Waimakariri, and shingly 

 beds of streams near Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, T. F. G. ; 

 near Naseby, Otago, D. Petrie ! 



A curious and distinct little species, whose nearest allies 

 are E. melanocaulon, Hook, f., and E. eriibescens, Hauss- 

 knecht. From these it is distinguished by its smaller size, 

 different habit, more coarsely toothed leaves, by the con- 

 spicuous uniform pubescence of the stem and branches, and 

 especially by the short, curved, sessile capsules, which are 

 narrowed at the tip so as to appear rostrate, thus presenting 

 a very different appearance from those of any other New 

 Zealand species. 



Epilobium vernicosum, n. sp. 



Eootstock stout, perennial, covered with the remains of 

 the old branches and leaves. Branches numerous, stout, some- 

 what rigid, decumbent or almost prostrate at the base, erect 

 at the tips, 4in.-6m. high, glabrous with the exception of 

 two lines of pubescence from the bases of the leaves, terete, 

 reddish or green. Leaves usually reddish, opposite except 

 towards the tips of the branches where they are alternate, 

 crowded, very glossy when fresh, coriaceous, usually oblong 

 but varying from linear- or lanceolate- oblong to elliptical or 

 ovate, iin.-fin. long, narrowed into very short petioles or 

 almost sessile, obtuse or subacute, lower faintly toothed or 

 nearly entire, upper sinuate-toothed, naidrib evident. Flowers 

 very "large, lin.-fin. long, pale-rose, crowded in the axils of 

 the upper leaves, erect. Calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, acute, 

 much shorter than the broad bilobed petals. Style slender, 

 stigma long, clavate. Immature capsules quite glabrous, 

 nearly sessile. 



Hab. Mountains of Nelson. Abundant on the Mount 

 Arthur plateau, 3, 000ft. -4,000ft. alt., and ascending to over 

 5,000ft. on Mount Arthur and Mount Peel. 



The shining leaves and large rose-coloured flowers, which 

 are produced in great abundance, make this a very charming 

 plant. The flowers are quite as large as those of E. chionan- 

 thum, Hausskn., and E. cjunnianum, Hausskn. Its nearest 

 relative appears to be E. brevipes, Hook, f., from which it 

 differs in not being so robust or so woody at the base, in the 

 smaller broader leaves on much shorter petioles, and par- 

 ticularly in the much larger flowers. Excellent figures of 

 E. brevipes are given in Barbey's Illustrations of Epilobium 

 (t. 19) and in Haussknecht's elaborate monograph of the 

 genus (t. 21, f. 89). Both these plates, which are based on 



