362 Transactions. — Botany. 



and sun, the majority of plants from the drier regions of New 

 Zealand are growing mider much the same conditions, altitude 

 excepted, as the wild plants, and their organs cannot be very 

 different in appearance. 



No. 360. Pittosporum rigidum, Hook. f. Plate XXX., 

 fig. 4. 



Seed collected at Craigieburn, at altitude of 602 m., from a 

 shrub growing on a very dry stony slope, fully exposed to high 

 winds and sun. Sown 12th December, 1897 ; germinated 

 early in the spring of 1898. 



Description of Seedling. 



(Development not yet nearly concluded ; most mature plant 

 4-0 cm. high, and with eight leaves.) 



Root long, straight, deeply descending ; side rootlets few, 

 short. 



Hypocotyle 1-8 cm. or more long, straight, bent or twisted 

 towards base, terete, reddish, hairy with brownish short 

 glandular hairs. 



Cotvledons three in a whorl, almost sessile, articulate at 

 base; pulvinus dark-purple; lamina 8mm. x 3mm., hnear- 

 oblong to linear-lanceolate, with sides sometimes unsvmmetri- 

 cal, obtuse or acute, pale yellowish-green ; upper surface 

 concave where it merges into the short channelled petiole ; 

 midrib evident above and beneath ; veins of upper surface 

 often swollen ; margin entire, sometimes irregularly waved, 

 ciliated. 



Leaves cauline, alternate, cuneate at base, deeply toothed 

 or pinnatiiid, usually acute, almost glabrous except on the 

 slightly hairy petiole, or with one or two scattered hairs near 

 the base of leaf ; most recently developed leaves crowded to- 

 wards apex of stem. 



1st leaf rarely nearly opposite 2nd leaf, ovate or obovate, 

 8 mm. X 5 mm., thick, rather coriaceous, green, polished, pin- 

 natifid or very deeply and coarsely toothed with blunt teeth ; 

 segments unevenly serrate. 



2nd to 5th leaf similar to 1st leaf, but varying very con- 

 siderably in breadth and length ; largest 1-3 cm. x 5-5 mm, ; 

 petiole 3mm.; segments often subulate; later leaves often 

 conspicuously edged with reddish-brown, stained dark at base, 

 and of much duller darker green than earlier ; laminae usually 

 patent and horizontal, but sometimes semi-vertical. 



Stem terete, very dark-purple in oldest portions, lighter 

 purple above, covered rather thickly with coarse adpressed 

 white hairs; 1st internode 2mm. long, remainder varying in 

 length from 2 mm. to 4 mm. 



