Cockayne. — Development of Seedlings. 371 



hairy than the seedhng leaves, but in other respects almost 

 identical ; so far, however, I have not succeeded in getting a 

 shoot to revert to the actual seedling condition. 0. depressus 

 is one of the most extraordinary-looking plants in New 

 Zeala,nd ; even a most healthy plant, with its stunted, rigid, 

 naked branches and small scale-like hoary adpressed leaves, 

 seems to the eye hardly to possess life. It grows on dry 

 river-beds m subalpine or even in quite low regions, ascending 

 sometimes, but rarely to the alpine zone, where it occupies 

 the most arid and barren regions, forming in the former 

 situation considerable colonies. I have never observed wild 

 seedlings, but that must be more from my not having known 

 the seedling form than from their scarcity. The plate in the 

 " Flora Novae. Zelandias " gives very little idea of the habit or 

 appearance, and represents an altogether more natural looking 

 plant. I have never seen plants of anything like the size — 

 5ft. — of that mentioned in the "Handbook of the New 

 Zealand Flora" (page 146). 



No. 435. Rubus australis, Forst., var. glaber, Hook. f. 



Plate XXXIL, fig. 21, and Plate XXXIV., figs. 67 and 68. 



Seed collected from plant growing at the base of Mount 

 Earnslaw, Lake Wakatipu, at altitude of 340 m. 



Description of Seedling. 



Koot fibi'ous, descending, sparingly branched. 



Hypocotyle 4 mm. or 5 mm. long, pale, terete, fleshy, 

 glabrous or very slightly hairy. 



Cotyledons narrow-oblong, 4 mm. x 2 mm., acute with 

 slightly swollen tip, ciliated with transparent white glandular 

 hairs; petiole very short, erect, with lamina at right angles. 



Stem terete, reddish ; internodes at first very short, 

 lengthening as development proceeds, furnished with very 

 slender white or brownish hairs and numerous glands with 

 red swollen tips (Plate XXXIV., figs. 67 and 68). 



Leaves alternate, extremely membranous. 



1st leaf ovate-cuneate, rotund or broadly oblong in outline, 

 8mm. X 4-5 mm.; margins wavy or entire on lower and 

 deeply toothed on upper half, with glandular swollen red 

 teeth ; lamina sparsely hairy with glandular hairs, as on 

 stem ; venation distinct, reticulated ; petiole subterete, chan- 

 nelled above, three-fifths length of lamina. 



2nd leaf very similar to first, but with venation more 

 marked. 



3rd leaf ovate, deeply toothed except at rounded base, 

 almost glabrous except on under-surface ; midrib and nerves 

 swollen below, purplish, especially midrib ; petiole channelled, 

 sheathing at base. 



