Petrie. — Descriptioiis of new Plants. 323 



Art. XXXIX. — Descriptions of new Native Plants. 



By D. Petrie, F.L.S. 

 [^Read before the Otago Institute, 11th November, 1886.] 



1. Eitnunculus kirkii, n. sp. 



A SMALL slender herb, very sparingly clothed with long soft 

 hairs, and sending down numerous stout and long roots. 



Eadical leaves ternate on slightly hairy petioles, 1-2^ inches 

 long ; leaflets small, coriaceous, 3-lobed (often to the middle), 

 glabrescent or with sparse hairs; the lobes entire or slightly 

 cut. 



Cauline leaves spathulate-oblong, on slender petioles of 

 variable length. 



Scapes very slender, 3-4J inches long, branched or un- 

 divided, sparsely clothed with long soft hairs. 



Flowers small, solitary, on the ends of the scapes, or of the 

 scape-branches. 



Sepals lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, glabrous or with a 

 few hairs. 



Petals 5, oblong, rounded, obtuse, twice as long as the 

 sepals, with a narrow claw and a distnict gland just above the 

 claw. 



Carpels few, flattened and discoid, smooth at the sides, with 

 a somewhat thickened ridge round the margin, and a subulate 

 terminal slightly hooked beak. 



Hab. Paterson's Inlet, Stewart Island. 

 This species is most closelyallied to R. ternatifolins, T. 

 Kkk. 



2. Lepidium matau, n. sp. 



A small, erect, sub-pilose dioecious herb. 



Boot stout, long, enlarged or subdivided at the crown, 

 perennial. 



Stems one or several, branched, leafy, 3-4 inches high. 



Lower leaves numerous, 1-1 i inches long, linear, pinuatisect, 

 the lobes rounded or cuneate, entire or incised (chiefly on the 

 upper edge), pilose or sub-pilose ; petioles short. 



Cauline leaves sessile, broadly oblong, sub-acute, usually 

 entire. 



Flowers imperfect ; petals, none. 



Male flowers in crowded racemes often 2 inches in length ; 

 pedicels slender, pilose, ^ inch long. 



Female flowers in shorter and laser racemes ; pedicels de- 

 curved. 



Pods ovate-elliptic, similar to those of L. kawarau (mihi). 



