Cheeseman. — Xofe* on Aciphylla. 43 



placed more at right angles to the primary rhachis of the leaf ; in the 

 stouter peduncle or flowering-stem ; and in the more highly developed 

 and broader sheathing-bases of the bracts. I have been acquainted with 

 it for many years, my first specimens having been gathered on Arthur's 

 Pass as far back as 1880. In subsequent visits I have again observed it 

 in the same locality, and also in the vicinity of the Waimakariri Glacier. 



A. multisecta Cheesem. n. sp. 



A. Monroi Hook. f. affinis, sed dift'ert caule multo robustiore, foliis 

 numerosioribus tripinnatisectrs, segmentis anguste linearibus. 



Planta dense caespitosa. rigida, robusta, 20-30 cm. alta. Folia nume- 

 rosa, 20-40, dense conferta, suberecta, 15-22 cm. longa ; laminae 6-5-10 cm. 

 longae, obovato-cuneatae, rigidae, coriaceae, tripinnatisectae ; ultimis 

 segmentis anguste linearibus, 2-5-3-75 cm. longis, 1 mm. latis, apice 

 acuminatis et pungentibus. Petioli robusti, rigidi, dorso convexi, facie 

 concavi, marginibus valde inerassatis. Vaginae 3-75-5 cm. longae, L75- 

 2-5 cm. latae, superne in duas spinas laterales productae. Pedunculi robusti, 

 foliis longiores. Umbellae compositae, in paniculam latam congestae, 

 8-10 cm. diam. 



Hah. — South Island : Rocky places on the lower slopes of Mount 

 Balloon, between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound, alt, 3.500-4,500 ft. ; 

 F. G. Gibbsf 



Densely tufted, stout and rigid, forming clumps 9 in. diameter and 

 9-14 in. high. Rootstock stout, sometimes divided above, clothed at the 

 top with the remains of the old leaves. Leaves very numerous, 20-40 

 or even more, densely crowded, suberect, 5-9 in. in total length ; lamina 

 2J-4 in. long, obovate-cuneate when spread out, rigid and coriaceous, 

 tripinnatisect ; primary divisions 4—6 pairs, suberect, closely placed and 

 partly overlapping ; secondary similar but smaller and fewer ; ultimate 

 divisions very narrowdinear, 1-H in. long, 3^ in. broad, coriaceous, striate, 

 narrowed into a short pungent point, Petiole as long or longer than the 

 lamina, very stout and rigid, smooth and convex on the back, deeply 

 concave in front, with the margins much thickened and rounded. Sheaths 

 1^-2 in. long, f-1 in. broad at the base, ^ in. broad at the top, rigid and 

 •coriaceous above, gradually becoming thin and membranous towards the 

 base, on each side at the top produced into a stiff and rigid pungent- 

 pointed spine 1-lf in. long. Female inflorescence alone seen. Peduncle 

 exceeding the leaves, very thick and stout, |— \ in. diameter, grooved, 

 bearing towards the top numerous compound umbels forming a dense 

 globose panicle 3-3-J in. diameter. Lower bracts 2-2| in. long, composed 

 of a broad and thin membranous sheath \ in. across tipped with a pin- 

 natisect leaflet 1 in. long or more. Primary umbels 6-8, peduncles 1-1J in. 

 long ; secondary umbels 6-10, bracteoles linear, undivided. Fruit 

 \-\ in. long, linear-oblong ; carpels equally 5-winged or one 4-winged and 

 the other 5-winged. 



This falls naturally into the neighbourhood of A. Monroi, but is easily 

 separated from the typical form of that plant by its stouter and more 

 rigid and coriaceous habit, by the much more finely divided leaves, with 

 stouter rigid petioles, by the stouter peduncle and much more compact 

 panicle. But my variety divisa of A. Monroi, described above, approaches 

 it to some extent, although it is much less robust, and the leaves not 

 nearly so finely divided. 



