Colenso. — On Phaenogams. 385 



&' 



small obovate-spathulate, 3-4 lines long, 1 line broad ; on 

 stem, 4-5 pairs, opposite, linear-oblong, 7 lines long, 2 lines 

 broad, sessile, margins entire slightly sinuous, ciliate ; hairs 

 jointed acute ; tip subacute ; midrib wavy ; veins largely 

 reticulated ; hairs on surface strigose, muricatulate, white, 

 shining. Flowers few, 7 on each plant ; in one specimen 

 single throughout on main stem, alternate, fin.-lin. distant 

 (and 2 flowers together lowest on stem, 1 of them smaller 

 on shorter pedicel and nodding) ; in another specimen none 

 on main stem but on forked peduncles at top, 3 on each 

 peduncle with a single flower in fork at their bases ; pedicels 

 •Jin. long, suberect, springing from a pair of leafy bracts with 

 membranous margins. Sepals rough, green, subovate, much 

 acuminate, with a strong central nerve, and very broad white 

 shining membranous margins, with tips rounded and pro- 

 duced beyond sepals. Styles 5, long, penicillate, flexuous. 

 Capsule subcylindrical, more than twice the length of calyx, 

 whitish, smooth, shining, curved, 10-nerved longitudinally, 

 nerves straight prominent, ending in the notches between 

 the teeth ; teeth truncate, their lateral margins regularly 

 recurved ; capsule before opening greenish, tip subacute. 

 Seeds broadly obcordate, subturbinate, with a notch at the 

 narrow end, brown, tuberculate, tubercles numerous, minute, 

 black. 



Bab. On Tongariro Mountain, County East Taupo ; 1893 : 

 Mr. H. Hill. 



Obs. A rather curious though humble plant ; it sprang 

 from turfs (see Sagina, the following plant), and was for some 

 time overlooked by me (supposing it to be one of our cos- 

 mopolite British species, very common here) until after flower- 

 ing, when it showed its extra-long shining white capsules ; 

 then, on examining it, I found several grave and peculiar 

 characters, mentioned in description, particularly its strongly- 

 nerved capsule, truncate teeth with recurved lateral margins, 

 and curiously veined leaves with midrib deflexed. This very 

 peculiar character is found in all its leaves. Its petals (if any) 

 had fallen away, also stamens, but on one unripe capsule the 

 five styles were perfect. In all the drawings with dissections 

 (and descriptions) I possess of many species of Cerastium 

 (Sowerby's, Hooker's, &c.) the teeth are always shown to be 

 very acute, aud the capsule cylindrical and nerveless. It may 

 not be amiss for me to call the attention of the botanical 

 student and scientific reader of this description to another 

 and somewhat similar indigenous species — C. truncatulum — 

 also having peculiar broad truncate teeth, which, however, are 

 cloven, described by me in a former volume of Trans. N.Z. 

 Inst. (vol. xxv., p. 327). 



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