Stellaria. | CARYOPHYLLEA. 65 
stout terminal peduncles. Sepals very large, almost foliaceous, 
lanceolate, acuminate, with 3 stout nerves. Petals much shorter 
than the sepals, cleft almost to the base. Stamens 10. Styles 3. 
Capsule about half as long as the sepals, 6-valved to the base. 
Seeds 12-20, red-brown, covered with large projecting papille.— 
Kurk, Students’ Fl. 58. 
SourH Istanp: Nelson—Dun Mountain, Rough! T.F.C.; Wairau 
Gorge, Travers; Mount Captain, Kirk! Clarence Valley and Lake Tennyson, 
T. F.C. Canterbury—Mount Torlesse, Haast, Petrie, 7'. F. C.; Broken River 
and Upper Waimakariri, Hnys! Kirk! T. F.C. Altitudinal range 3000 to 
6000 ft. December—February. 
One of the most distinct species of the genus, remarkable for its fleshy 
glaucous habit, large green flowers, and the large papille on the seeds. It 
appears to be confined to bare shingle-slopes on the mountains. 
6. S. gracilenta, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1. 326.—A loosely 
tufted rigid and wiry yellow-green herb 1-din. high; stems sub- 
erect, slightly scabrid, often matted and interlaced. Leaves oppo- 
site, glabrous, 4—+1in. long, linear-subulate, curved, concave above, 
smooth and convex below when moist, when dry grooved on each 
side of the stout midrib ; tip rigid, terete, acute ; margins thickened, 
slightly ciliate at the base, not revolute; each stem-leaf with a 
small fascicle of leaves in its axil. Peduncles springing from the 
axils of the uppermost leaves, 1—3in. long, solitary, strict, erect, 
1-flowered, 2-bracteolate about the middle. Flowers tin. diam., 
greenish-white. Sepals oblong, acute, with broad membranous 
margins. Petals 5, rather longer than the sepals, 2-cleft almost 
to the base. Stamens 5-10. Styles 3. Capsule ovate-oblong, 
6-valved ; seeds pale-brown, papillose.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 24; Kirk, 
Students’ Fi. 58. 
Soury Isnanp : Not uncommon in mountain districts, ascending to 5000 ft. 
Descends to sea-level at the mouth of the Waitaki River. November—Feb- 
ruary. 
Easily recognised by the strict wiry habit, subulate leaves, and very long 
erect peduncles. 
3. COLOBANTHUS, Bartling. 
Small densely tufted usually rigid glabrous herbs. Leaves 
opposite, narrow-linear or subulate, usually imbricate, rigid, cartil- 
aginous, rarely fleshy. Flowers green, solitary, on short or long 
peduncles. Sepals 4-5, coriaceous, erect. Petals wanting. 
Stamens 4-5, alternating with the sepals, slightly perigynous. 
Capsule ovoid or oblong, opening by as many valves as sepals. 
A small genus of about 15 species, most numerous in New Zealand, but 
found also on the mountains of South America, in Australia and Tasmania, and 
in the Antarctic islands. Of the 9 species found in New Zealand, all but 3 are 
endemic. The species are highly variable, and most of them extremely difficult 
of discrimination. 
3—FI. 
