44 Transactions. 



A. congesta Cheesem. n. sp. 



Species ad A. Spedeni arete accedit, sed differt caule majore, foliis 

 latioribus et evidenter pinnatis non flabellatis. 



Robusta, 15-32 cm. diam. Folia numerosissima, 40-50, omnia radi- 

 calia, dense conferta, 9-18 cm. longa ; laminis 5-10 cm. longis, breviter 

 pinnatis ; pinnis 2-4-jugis, 1 cm. latis, linearibus, rigidis et coriaceis, acu- 

 leato-acuminatis ; vaginae laminis longiores, ad basi 2-5 cm. latae, supernae 

 in duas spinas productae. Pedunculi robusti, foliis multo longiores. 

 Umbellae compositae in paniculam globosum 9-12 cm. diam. congestae. 

 Fructus 3 mm. longus, lineari-oblongus. 



Hab. — 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. Gibbs! 



Forming large hemispherical simple or branched masses 6-12 in. 

 diameter ; rootstock often as thick as the thumb, branched at the top. 

 Leaves very numerous, 40-50 or more, all radical and crowded round the 

 base of the flowering-stem, the inner erect, the outer spreading, 4-8 in. 

 in total length ; lamina 2-4 in. long, pinnately divided into 2-4 pairs of 

 leaflets with a terminal one, internodes short but evident ; leaflets |-£ in- 

 broad, linear, straight or curved, rigid and coriaceous, narrowed at the 

 apex into a short rigid and pungent point ; midrib stout ; margins thick 

 and cartilaginous ; veins parallel with the midrib, but connected by trans- 

 verse veinlets. Petiole or sheath usually longer than the blade, very 

 thick and coriaceous at the top, and there \ in. diameter, gradually 

 becoming membranous and broader at the base, where it is often 1-1£ in. 

 across ; stipules sometimes nearly as long as the leaf but usually much 

 shorter, adnate with the petiole to the top, and so placed as to be close 

 together on the inner face of the petiole. Peduncle or flowering-stem 

 stout, §-§ in. diameter, about 6-12 in. high, bearing at the top a globose 

 head 4—5 in. across of closely placed compound umbels. Lower bracts 

 l|—2 in. long ; sheathing portion broad and membranous, tipped by a 

 short pinnate leaflet. Primary umbels 6-12, secondary very numerous. 

 Fruit linear-oblong, |— i in. long ; carpels 4-5-winged. 



So nearly allied to A. Spedeni that I almost hesitate to distinguish it 

 as a species. It differs, however, in being more robust, and in the leaves 

 being pinnate with evident internodes between the pairs of leaflets, not 

 flabellate with the segments spreading from one level as in A. Spedeni. 

 The plant was first observed by Mr. Gibbs in 1909, but at that time barren 

 specimens were alone seen. In January, 1914, however, Mr. Gibbs 

 succeeded in obtaining both male and female inflorescence and mature 

 fruit, and has furnished me with an ample series, 'from which the above 

 description has been prepared. 



