III.— BOTANY. 



Art. XLIII. — A Description of some newly-discovered Cryptogamic 

 Plants, being a further Contribution towards the making known 

 the Botany of New Zealand. By W. Colenso, F.L.S. 



'Rend before the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, 14th September, 1885.] 



Introduction. 



In my again coming before you with my usual annual tribute, a 

 little baskel of gleanings of simples, a small collection of plants 

 gathered in the secluded shades and deep glens of the interior 

 mountain forests, I would beg permission to preface my list of 

 the same with a few remarks ad rem. 



On this occasion, all that I have to bring belong to the 

 third great botanical division- — the class < 'ryptogamia, as it was 

 named by Linnaeus. Three of the Orders of this class will be 

 found here represented, though not alike — viz., Filices, Musci, 

 and Hepatiar. Of the first, or Ferns, I have however only two 

 novelties : one a tree fern of the genus Hemitelia, and one a 

 species of Botrychium. For this latter we are again indebted to 

 the kindness, mindfulness, and assiduity of one of our members. 

 Mr. H. Hill. Specimens of these two ferns I shall exhibit. 



Unfortunately, I shall" not be able to show you specimens of 

 the smaller cryptogams, these being all more or less micro- 

 scopical, so that without a microscope, proper previous prepara- 

 tion of the objects, and patient attention, nothing worthy of 

 notice could be seen. 



Of the second Order, or Mosses, there are specimens of 

 three genera — viz., of Mnium, of Cyathophorum, and of Hookeria ; 

 one each of the first two genera, and no less than twelve new 

 species of the last-named, Hookeria. 



Of the third Order mentioned, viz., Hepaticce, or Liverworts, 

 and of the first division, or foliaceous genera, there are 26 

 species belonging to six different genera ; and of the second, or 

 frondose division of that Order, there are also 17 species per- 

 taining to seven genera, making in all a gross total of 59 new 

 species of cryptogamous plants described in this paper. 



Those several genera differ greatly, both in size and in their 

 known homes ; some of the genera are exceedingly small and 

 rare ; in a few instances, until now, only a single known species 

 constituted the genus, as in Cyathophorum* (a remarkably fine 



