352 Transactiona . — Botany. 



G. cheesemanii. The upper sepai is also much narrower. 

 Except for the great difference in the size of the lateral 

 sepals and petals the structure of the flower is much nearer 

 that of G. oblonga. But the flowers are larger than in that 

 species, the lip is not coarsely fringed at the apex, and the 

 upper sepal is narrower at the base and much more hood- 

 shaped at the tip. 



Abt. XXXI. — Botanical Notes. 



By D. Petrie, M.A. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 10th October, 1898.] 



Plates XXV.-XXVII. 



1. Ranunculus kirkii, Petrie. Plate XXV. 



This plant seems to have escaped notice since 1 gathered 

 it a good many years ago on the low lands skirting the head 

 of Paterson's Inlet. As it is still so imperfectly known, I 

 think it desirable to submit for publication the accompanying 

 drawing of it, which was kindly executed for me at the time 

 of its discovery by the late Mr. John Buchanan, F.L.S. The 

 specimen here depicted is now in the Herbarium at Kew. 

 The habit of the plant as here shown is not quite characteristic, 

 but the material at the artist's disposal was too limited to 

 allow of his recognising this. The scapes elongate consider- 

 ably after flowering. I transcribe the following report on it 

 by Mr. N. E. Brown, one of the botanists on the staff at 

 Kew : — 



" No. 50. Bammcukis kirkii, Petrie.— Nothing like this at 

 Kew from the Southern Hemisphere. It is near B. acaulis 

 and B. biternatus, but differs from both by its thick roots, 

 leaves, and fruits, and from B. trilobatits, Kirk, by its long 

 peduncles and glabrous leaves." 



The B. trilobatus here referred to is, I suppose, B. terjiati- 

 folius, of T. Kirk. 



2. Ranunculus berggreni, Petrie. Plate XXVI. 



I submit for publication a drawing of this plant, also made 

 by Mr. John Buchanan, F.L.S., from the good suite of speci- 

 mens originally collected by me on the Carrick Eange, in 

 Central Otago. The drawings are most faithful, and show 

 very distinctly the peculiar leaves that mark it off from 

 the other native species. These it will be noticed present 

 considerable variety of outline, but in most of my specimens 



