APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1914. 83 



38049 to 38052— Continued. 



38049. Gaya ltallii (Hook, f.) Baker. Malvaceae. 



(Plagianthus lyallii Hook f.) Large-flowered ribbon wood. 



"A very fine small tree of the order Malvaceae, with fine clusters of 

 cherrylike flowers, and it is hardy here." (Petrie.) 



"A beautiful shrub, found only in the mountainous districts of the 

 South Island. This is one of the very few New Zealand trees which 

 shed their leaves in the winter and show autumnal tints. The leaves 

 are clothed with stellate hairs, and are deeply notched. This plant is 

 one of the many surprises of the New Zealand forest. The traveler, who 

 sees for the first time its cherrylike blossoms amidst the greenery of 

 the bush, usually regards it as an escape* from some garden. Its soft, 

 tender, deciduous leaves are in strong contrast to the normal, hard, 

 glossy leaf of the typical trees of the New Zealand forest, whilst its 

 flowers are equally different from the typical, minute, greenish clusters 

 of Nothopanax, etc." (Laing and Blackwell, Plants of New Zealand.) 

 38050. Fuchsia procumbens R. Cunningh. Onagracese. Fuchsia. 



"A spreading slender shrub with sweet flowers. Good for rockery if 

 climate is mild." (Petrie.) 



"A slender, prostrate plant 6 to 18 inches long. Leaves ovate or 

 cordate, one-fourth to one-half an inch long. Flowers one-half to three- 

 fourths inch long, solitary, axillary, erect. Petals none. Berry shining, 

 pale red. In sandy or rocky places. It lacks the graceful, pendulous 

 flower stalks which enhance so much the beauty of the cultivated forms, 

 but it is a very dainty little species. The sharp contrast between the 

 beautiful waxy yellow of the calyx and the intense pure blue of the 

 pollen would make it noticeable anywhere. Any other color but yellow 

 is rare in pollen, and such a bright blue as this has probably some definite 

 though unknown significance. It is of the same color in the two other 

 New Zealand species. It is also extremely viscid. This no doubt enables 

 it to cling readily to any insect which may enter the flower. The vis- 

 cidity is due to the development by the pollen grains of structureless 

 drops of a glutinous fluid that very readily draws out into long fine 

 threads. In each of the three New Zealand species of Fuchsia there are 

 three forms of flower, and in some cases, also, intermediate forms. In 

 F. procumbens there is a long-, short-, and mid-styled form, but the 

 stamens are of the same length in each case." (Adapted from Laing and 

 Blackwell, Plants of New Zealand.) 



38051. Meteosideros diffusa Smith. Myrtacese. 



"A fine low-branching shrub, crimson flowers. North Island, Now 

 Zealand." (Petrie.) 



38052. Pittosporum eugenioides Cunningh. Pittosporacea*. Tarata. 

 " South and North Islands, New Zealand." (Petrie.) 



"A tree sometimes 40 feet in height, glabrous, with large corymbs of 

 fragrant flowers of a greenish yellow hue. Leaves 2 to 3 inches long, 

 broadly oblong, usually waved at the margins. Bark white. Capsules 

 2 to 3 valved. A beautiful tree whose pale-green loaves with undulating 

 margins emit, when bruised, a lemonlike odor. The delicate venation 

 and light-colored, almost white, midrib add to the beauty of the leaf. 

 The Maoris mixed the resinous exudation from the bark with the juice 

 of the sow thistle and worked it into a ball, which they chewed. In 

 October the tree produces masses of yellowish green flowers, whose heavy 



