Stellaria.] CARYOPHYLLES. 63 
quarie Island) that a beginner will be certain to consider it indigenous. It has 
flaccid procumbent much-branched stems 6in. to 2 ft. long, marked by an alter- 
nate pubescent line; ovate acuminate leaves, the lower on ‘long ciliate petioles ; 
and flowers both axillary and in terminal cymes. 
Creeping and matted. Leaves orbicular. Sepals subulate- 
lanceolate, acute 1. S. parviflora. 
Creeping and matted. Leaves ‘orbicular, ovate, obovate, or 
lanceolate. Sepals oblong-ovate, obtuse .. 2. S. decipiens. 
Small. Leaves soft, ovate. Sepals oblong, obtuse .. 3. S. minuta. 
Creeping or suberect. Leaves linear- oblong. Flowers 
almost sessile. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, acuminate .. 4. S. elatinoides. 
Glaucous, erect, dichotomously branched. Leaves linear. 
Flowers large, green, 3in. .. 5. S. Roughit. 
Tufted, suberect, rigid and wiry. Leaves acerose, linear- 
subulate .. a bac te ae .. 6. S. gracilenta. 
1. S. parviflora, Banks and Sol. ex Hook f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 25. 
—A slender pale-green flaccid herb with creeping stems rooting at 
the nodes, often much branched and forming broad matted patches 
6-12in. diam. or more, glabrous or with a few weak hairs on the 
petioles. Leaves membranous, +—}in. long, orbicular or broadly 
ovate, acute or mucronate, rarely cordate at the base ; blade usually 
longer than the petiole. Peduncles solitary, axillary, usually much 
longer than the leaves, 1—3-flowered; a pair of bracteoles at the 
fork of the peduncle, and another Da on one and sometimes on 
all the pedicels. Flowers minute, jin. diam. Sepals subulate- 
lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute, with white scarious margins. 
Petals wanting or 5, 2-cleft to nearly the base, shorter than the 
sepals. Styles 3. Capsule longer than the sepals, deeply 6-valved. 
Seeds 4-12, red-brown, deeply pitted.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 23; 
Kirk, Students’ Fl. 57. S. oligosperma, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 
xvi. (1886) 257. S. pellucida, Col. l.c. xxvii. (1895) 383. 
Nort AND SoutTH ISLANDS, STEWART IsLAND, CHATHAM IsnaANDS: Abundant 
throughout in both lowland and mountain districts, ascending to over 4000 ft. 
Mr. Colenso’s herbarium contains numerous examples of his S. oligosperma 
and S. pellucida, but I can find no characters to distinguish them from the 
ordinary form of the species, even as varieties. 
2. S. decipiens, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 7.—A pale-green much 
and loosely branched decumbent herb, forming matted patches. 
Leaves 4-2 in. long, orbicular or orbicular-ovate or broadly obovate, 
rather fleshy, acute or apiculate, with a callous tip, narrowed into 
a broad and slightly cillate petiole. Peduncles axillary, usually 
2-flowered, generally longer than the leaves; a pair of bracts at the 
fork of the peduncle and another on one of the pedicels. Flowers 
small, rather larger than those of S Peet viflora. Sepals 5, oblong- 
ovate, obtuse or subacute. Petals 5, 2-cleft to the base, sarhes 
than the sepals, often wanting. Capsules 4 longer than the sepals, 
oblong-ovoid, deeply 6- valved. Seeds dark red- brown, tuberculate. 
— Hook. f. Ic. Plant. t. 680; Handb. N.Z. Fi. 23: Kirk, Students’ 
Fl. 57. 
