190 Transactions. — Botany. 



stigma, and in its much larger and differently shaped berry. I 

 was too early for mature fruit in February, for while there were 

 plenty of flowers, only a very few young berries were detected. 

 Eipe fruit, however, were obtained early in May from the same 

 tree ; which, though adhering firmly, and not beginning to 

 shrivel, were but few in number, and much scattered ; only in 

 one instance did I detect two growing together. 



Order XXVIL— HALOKAGE.E. 

 Genus 4. Callitriche, Linn. 



1. C. microphylla, sp. nov. 



Plant prostrate, tender, delicate, light-green. Stems very 

 slender, 6-12 inches long, branched, rooting at nodes. Leaves 

 opposite rhomboidal, ^-1-J lines long, usually broader than long, 

 obtuse with a slight point, the larger and upper leaves with a 

 single tooth at lateral angle (sub-ivy-leaf-shaped) ; veins 3-5 

 (tri-sub-quintupli-nerved), but returning circularly to midrib and 

 not running to tip ; petioles length of leaves. Flowers : Male 

 and female together in axil, solitary ; peduncle very short, 

 bracts 0. Male: stamen short, much shorter than fruit ; anther 

 minute, sub-trilobed, brown. Female : style short ; stigmas 2, 

 short, obtuse. Fruit rather large, light-brown, obcordate, 

 emarginate, sinus deep, base truncate, double-winged all round 

 margins ; wings crisped, shining, very membranous, whitish ; 

 style persistent ; seeds narrow, oblong, turgid. 



Hab. On the ground in forests, forming thickish beds ; and 

 also in watercourses, in open lands near Danneverke, County 

 ofWaipawa; 1887: W.C. 



Obs. I. This plant appears to be very distinct from the 

 known published New Zealand species of this very small genus, 

 (C. verna, Linn., and 0. verna, /3, Linn., or C. stagnalis, Scopoli,) 

 also from those other British and European species, C. pedun- 

 culate, and ( '. autumnaKs, which, with one other North Ameri- 

 can species, C. terrestris, compose the genus. From Sir J. D. 

 Hooker's remarks on ( '. verna and its varieties, as severally and 

 exhaustively given by him in his " Botany, Antarctic Voyage," 1 

 this plant, as a species, seems to be wholly separate. I know it 

 is from C. verna and its var. /3, as found here in New Zealand, 

 as I myself had early collected and sent specimens of those 

 plants to Kew. 



II. All the described species and varieties of Callitriche have 

 their two stigmas very long acuminate and acute,! without a 



* Vol. i., p. 11 ; vol. ii., p. 272 ; vol. iii., p. 64 ; and vol. v., p. 124. 

 t " Half-inch long and upwards ;" teste Hooker, I.e., vol. i., p. 12. 



