T. Kirk. — On some Plants from the Upper Waiviakariri. 319 



Art. XLII. — Descriptions of Neiu or Remarkable Plants 

 from the Upper Waimakariri. 



By T. Kirk, F.L.S. 



TRead before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 20th February, 



1895.-] 



Eanunculace^:. 



Ranunculus monroi, Hook. f. Fl. N.Z., ii.,323. 



Bhizorne short, stout, clothed with the ragged bases of old 

 petioles. Leaves all radical, subcoriaceous or almost fleshy, 

 2in.-6in. long or more, rounded reniform or nearly orbicular 

 or ovate, nearly glabrous or hairy or silky, coarsely crenate or 

 crenate-dentate, blade shorter than the sheathing petiole. 

 Scape 3iu.-12in. high, glabrous, simple or sparingly branched, 

 1-8-flowered, bracts entire or lobed. Flowers fin.-liin. in 

 diameter ; sepals linear - oblong obtuse, glabrous or silky ; 

 petals twice as loug as the sepals, five or more, broadly rounded 

 at the apex, and with a deep nectarial pit ; carpels forming a 

 small rounded head, usually glabrous, keeled at the back, with 

 a recurved filiform silky style. B. pinguis, Hook, f., in 

 Handbook N.Z. Fl., 5. B. muelleri, J. Buch., in Trans. N.Z. 

 Inst., xix. (1886), 215, t. 16. 



Hab. North Island; Tararua Eange; J. Buchanan. South 

 Island : Nelson — Wairau Mountains ; Tarndale ; Spencer 

 Mountains. Marlborough — Kaikoura Eange. Canterbury — 

 Mount Torlesse; Broken Eiver, &e. 2,000ft.-6,300ft. 



Var. sericeus. 



Carpels clothed with silky hairs. 

 Hab. Kaikoura Eange. 



Var. dentatus. 



Leaves broadly ovate or ovate-lanceolate, coarsely toothed 

 or dentate, clothed on both surfaces with strigose ferruginous 

 pubescence. 



Hab. Kaikoura Eange, Mount Torlesse, Broken Eiver, 

 &c. 



This species is closely allied to B. pinguis, Hook, f., with 

 which it was united by Sir Joseph Hooker in the Handbook of 

 the N.Z. Flora : that species is distinguished, however, by the 

 peduncles being thickened upwards, the sepals equalling the 

 .narrow petals, and especially by the short subulate beak with 

 three ridges at the base. There is, however, considerable re- 

 semblance between the immature carpels of both plants. 



