Petrie. — Netr Native Species of Phanerogams. 181 



Inflorescence broadly oblong, 30 cm. long or less ; bracts numerous, 

 crowded, with rather long thin flaccid narrow-obcuneate sheaths, sur- 

 mounted by two short linear lateral spines and continued into a 1-2-pinnate 

 leaf-like prolongation greatly exceeding the sheath and bearing 2-3 pairs 

 of leaflets besides the terminal one. 



Principal peduncles of the branched umbel crowded, slender, grooved, 

 about as long as the bracts. 



Fruit linear- oblong, 5-winged on either face. 



Hah. — Mounts Hector and Holdsworth, Tararua Range. Wellington : on 

 the alpine meadow, from 3,500 ft. upwards. 



I am indebted to Mr. B. C. Aston for specimens of this species, which 

 is intermediate between A. Colensoi Hook. f. and A. Monroi Hook, f., with 

 closer affinity with the latter. It is the plant referred to under the name 

 Aciphylla Monroi Hook. f. in my list of the plants observed on Mount 

 Hector (Transactions, vol. 40), and probably also the plant so named in 

 Mr. Aston's list of the plants of the Wellington district (Transactions, 

 vol. 42). The longer more flaccid leaves, the stout tall stem, and especially 

 the dense broad elongated inflorescence mark it off from A. Monroi. The 

 male inflorescence has not so far been seen. The plant is of infrequent 

 occurrence on the Tararuas, where, however, A. Colensoi is most abundant. 



Coprosma Astoni sp. nov. 



Frutex subhumilis, gracilis, ramosus, + 2 m. altus. 



Rami divaricantes, graciles, foliosi ; cortice + rugoso, cinereo-incano : 

 ramulis dense breviterque incano-pubescentibus. 



Folia plerumque fasciculata, anguste linearia, 6-10 mm. longa, H mm. 

 lata, leviter retusa vel truncata, tenuia, glaberrima, plana, basim versus 

 subattenuata, supra enervia, in siccitate leviter recur va. 



Flores sessiles, ramulos laterales valde abbreviates terminantes ; 

 masculi solitarii vel 2-4-fasciculati ; feminei solitarii. 



Drupae globosae, magnitudine mediocres, clare rubrae. 



A rather low slender branched shrub, 2 m. high, or less. 



Branches divaricating more or less, slender, leafy ; bark dull grey, 

 more or less rough and wrinkled ; branchlets brownish-grey, closely clothed 

 with short stiff greyish pubescence. 



Leaves in small fascicles on the arrested side shoots, on the youngest 

 twigs often in opposite pairs, narrow-linear, 6-10 mm. long, 1| mm. broad, 

 truncate or retuse, narrowed towards the base, thin, flat, glabrous, slightly 

 recurved when dry, nerveless above, below with evident midrib and 

 indistinct nerves. 



Stipules grey, bluntly triangular, long-ciliate. 



Male flowers terminating the short side shoots, sessile, solitary or in 

 fascicles of 2-4 ; female similarly placed, solitary. 



Drupes globose, rather small, bright red. 



Hob. — Whisky Gully, near Tapanui, B. C. Aston and L. Cockayne ; 

 the Hump, between Lake Hauroko and the sea, J. Crosby Smith ; Route- 

 burn Valley, in shady beech forest, D. P. 



The present species has its nearest ally in my Coprosma Banksii ; its 

 leaves are smaller and shorter, very uniform in size and shape, and more 

 freely fascicled ; the branchlets are uniformly grey-pubescent ; and the 

 drupes are smaller, globose, and bright red. It is a very distinct plant, 

 and the leaves are quite characteristic. 



