Colenso. — Newly-discovered Indigenous Plants. 283 



Obs. This is a very striking species of Polytrichum, from the 

 extreme length of its tortuous, thick, and richly coloured seta ; 

 its leaves, too, are much more of a pleasing green colour than is 

 usual in this genus ; while its capsule and calyptra also differ 

 from those of its New Zealand congeners. Its nearest ally 

 among our known southern Polytrkh®, is P. magellanicum, 

 Hedw., from which species, however, it differs considerably. It 

 might possibly fall under Polytrichadelphus, C. Muell. (Cyphoma, 

 Hook. fil. and Wilson). I have received several fruiting speci- 

 mens of this plant from Mr. Hill, in various stages of advance- 

 ment, yet all possessing the same peculiarly-formed seta. 



Genus 71. Hookeria, Smith. 

 § Pterygophyllum. 

 1. H. macroneura, sp. nov. 



Plant 3-4 inches high, of very close growth, erect, creeping 

 below, much branched, especially at top; stems thick, dark, 

 somewhat woody, densely matted with dark-brown hairs and 

 rootlets ; branches flat, forked, spreading, decurved, f-l-J inches 

 long, 5-7 lines wide ; stalks thickish above and very hairy to 

 tips ; hairs patent, pellucid, white, jointed. Leaves pale-dusky- 

 green, quadnfarious (or somewhat sexfariously disposed), imbri- 

 cated, large, thin, very obtuse, not margined, the upper half 

 finely serrate, the lower entire ; lateral spreading, orbicular- 

 ovate or broadly elliptic, 2 lines long, dimidiate ; dorsal and 

 ventral orbicular, 2 lines diameter; nerve very stout, extending 

 throughout f ths of leaf, forked near tip, and sometimes shortly 

 3-branched there ; cells large, oblong-orbicular, much longer at 

 the basal portion, and very much smaller at the margins, 

 strikingly possessing a minute triangular cellule in every angular 

 junction. Perichastial small, sub -linear- ovate -oblong, rather 

 suddenly acuminate, margin entire, tips truncate with 2-3 teeth, 

 and also 2-3 small teeth near apex ; cells linear-oblong, mostly 

 4-sided. Fruit-stalk 12-14 lines long, erect, flexuous ; wiry, 

 twisted, glabrous, dark-brown, thickened at top, very slightly 

 muricated. or rougbish towards top beneath, thickened at base. 

 Capsule oblong, l£ lines long, dark red-brown, horizontal (much 

 drooping when dry), largely tubercled at base, base thickened 

 but not strumous ; teeth, external, dark-brown, very acuminate, 

 incurved, with two prominent dark distant dorsal ridges, and 

 closely transversely barred throughout with denticulate margins, 

 giving their long filiform tips a knotted appearance ; internal, 

 pale, acuminate, distantly barred, without intervening cilise. 



Hab, On the ground, and on rotten sticks, edges of mud 

 swamp ; low dark woods near Norsewood, County of Waipawa ; 

 1885: W.C. 



Obs. A very fine species, having some affinity with H. 

 quadrifaria, Smith ; also H. luteo-virem, and H. petrophila, Col., 



