368 Transactions. 



collected by Waitt in the northern part of North Canterbury, but it is now 

 almost certain that the species does not extend even so far south as the 

 Clarence Valley. 



N. torulosum T. Kirk is, I think, a valid species. It has the widest 

 distribution of all the species of the genus, extending from Amuri County 

 and Mason River to Mount Peel in the Canterbury Alps. In this species 

 the inflorescence is quite glabrous, the petals are purple, and the pods long, 

 narrow, strongly torulose, almost square in cross-section, and produced 

 into a fairly long slender apical bristle. The seeds are larger than those 

 of N. Carmichaeliae. This is doubtless the plant of which, in its flowering 

 state, Dr. Cockayne has given a minute description in Trans. N.Z. Inst., 

 vol. 49, p. 59, 1917. 



The third species, N. glabrescens, is more distinct from the two others 

 than these are one from another. So far as is at present known, it occurs 

 only in the Clarence basin, coming down almost to sea-level at the Clarence 

 mouth. It reaches the dimensions of a small tree, and has much thicker 

 trunks than its congeners. Some specimens are as much as 30 ft. high, 

 with trunks 8 in. in diameter. The inflorescence is glabrous, the petals 

 are purplish, the pods are not torulose and are much stouter than those 

 of the allied species. In order to make it easier to obtain further material, 

 and especially flowers and fruit from the very same plants, the places from 

 which the specimens in my herbarium came are set out below : — 



N. Carmichaeliae. — Awatere Valley (J. Stevenson); Upper Awatere 

 Valley (T. Kirk) ; Avondale, near Renwicktown (H. J. Matthews) ; Omaka 

 River, near Blenheim (B. C. Aston) ; Avon River, tributary of Waihopai 

 (Mr. Teschemaker). 



N. torulosum. — Mason River, south-east Nelson (L. Cockayne) ; Whale- 

 back, Amuri County (H. J. Matthews) ; Mount Kautu (back of), Waipara 

 watershed (R. M. Laing) ; The Point, Rakaia Gorge (A. Wall) ; river- 

 terrace scrub, Mount Peel (H. H. Allan) ; Lynn Stream, Mount Peel 

 (R. M. Laing). 



N. glabrescens n. sp. — Clarence mouth (G. Stevenson) ; Swale River, 

 Clarence Valley (B. C. Aston) ; Nidd Valley, Clarence Valley (B. C. Aston) ; 

 Dee River, Clarence Valley (B. C. Aston) ; Mead Valley, Clarence Valley 

 (T. Kirk — this specimen was sent me named " V. Carmichaeliae") ; Mead 

 Gorge, Clarence Valley (B. C. Aston) ; Ure River, Clarence Valley (B. C. 

 Aston). 



All the species of the genus flower late in December or early in January, 

 according to the altitude of the station ; the pods are not ripe till well on 

 in the following year. 



Since this paper was written Mr. James Stevenson has sent me flowers 

 and pods of N. Carmichaelia from the same plant. These pods exactly 

 match that shown in Plate LVni, fig. 3. 



4. Coriaria thymifolia var. undulata var. nov. 



A typo differt foliis tenuioribus ac secundum margines emorso-undulatis, 

 floribus minoribus. 



Hab. — Both flanks of the Kaimanawa Range : B. C. Aston ! Te Whaiti 

 (Whakatane County), c. 1,500 ft. 



Mr. Aston writes me that this is the only form of the species that grows 

 on the Kaimanawa Mountains. The edges of the leaves look as if a small 

 insect had made a regular series of closely-placed bites all round. 



