Colenso. — On Phaenogains. 397 



O" 



very slightly and distantly scaberulous with small dark-brown 

 spots, margins somewhat revolute. Flowering-stems erect, 

 slender, dark-green, terete, smooth, 18in. high, a single thin 

 leafy bract l-J-in.-2in. long near base ; panicle loose, 10in.— 12in. 

 long; subpanicles few, 2^m.-3in. long, branched, spreading, 

 l£in.— 2in, distant on stem, alternate ; bract at base lin. long, 

 sessile, membranous, subulate acuminate, green ; branchlets 

 very slender, 3-4 flowers on compound capillary pedicels, each 

 5-9 lines long, with a minute bracteole at base. Flowers : 

 Buds (alabastron) linear, 2 lines long ; perianth expanded 4-| 

 lines diameter, segments membranous, glabrous, recurved, 

 unequal ; 3 outer narrow-oblong, tips obtuse tufted with short 

 hairs, outside purplish, sides white, margins purple, many 

 (5-6) nerved, nerves black ; 3 inner broadly oblong, white, 

 shining, tips emarginate, 3-nerved, nerves greenish. Filaments 

 erect, a little shorter than style, the basal two-fifths white, 

 the upper three-fifths bearded dark-orange thickening up- 

 wards close to anther, obovoid ; anther pale-yellow, linear, 

 narrower than filament, sessile. Style erect, stoutish ; stigma 

 simple, small. Ovary subglobose, glabrous, shining. 



Hab. Woods near East Cape ; 1893-94 : Mr. H. Rill. 



Obs. I. After a long and extra-careful examination I 

 believe this plant to be distinct fromD. intermedia, End!., and 

 also from D. nigra, mini (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xvi., p. 

 339). Of D. intermedia little is given as to specific characters 

 in Hooker's " Flora Novas Zealandiaa " and in the " Handbook 

 of New Zealand Flora," but fortunately I possess Endlicher's 

 " Floras Norfolkicae," in which he gives a very long and elaborate 

 description of D. intermedia, originally discovered in Norfolk 

 Island. A few of its prominent characters I here give, to show 

 its difference from this plant: "Folia marginibus carinaque 

 aculeato-serrulatis. Scapus basi tereti compressus, apice 

 angulatus. Hamuli arcuati pedicellique nutantes angulato- 

 tetragoni, quatuor lineas longi. Perigonium sex-partitum 

 sequante, substellato-patens. Foliolia tria exteriora oblonga 

 obtusa, extus virescentia ; . . . interiora conformia, medio 

 viridia. Filamentia, . . . apice in massam ovatam flavam. 

 Anfcherae viridi-flavescentes." (Loc. cit., p. 28.) 



II. 1 have mentioned D. nigra, mihi. This species, I find, 

 is disallowed in " Index Kewensis," stated therein to be = 

 D. intermedia, Endl. ; but this I cannot agree in, seeing that 

 it does not square with Endlicher's description, as shown by 

 me in my full description of my plant (I.e.). One thing, how- 

 ever, is pretty certain : that the species are difficult to deter- 

 mine. Hooker fil., in his " Floras Tasmaniae," says of this 

 genus, " About ten Australian and Tasmanian species are 

 known to me. They are very difficult to discriminate. . 

 The stamens appear to me to afford the best character" (I.e., 



