162 MYRTACER. [Metrosideros. 
versatile. Ovary inferior or half-superior, 3-celled; style filiform ; 
stigma small; ovules numerous in each cell. Capsule coriaceous, - 
altogether enclosed in the persistent calyx-tube or protruding be- 
yond it, 3-celled, loculicidally 38-valved or irregularly dehiscent. 
Seeds numerous, densely packed, linear; testa membranous. 
In addition to the 11 species found in New Zealand, all but one of which are 
endemic, there are a few scattered through Polynesia, New Caledonia, Australia, 
and the Malay Archipelago, together with an aberrant species in South Africa. 
New Zealand is the only country which possesses climbing species. 
* Capsule coriaceous or woody, wholly enclosed in the calyx-tube, which is 
produced far beyond it, dehiscing irregularly or by 3 apical valves. 
Climbing. Leavesobtuse. Calyx glabrous. Capsule large, 
4-2 in. ge ae a cs -» JL. M. florida, 
Hrect, 30-60 ft. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, acute or acu- 
minate. Calyx silky. Capsule 4in. vs 2. Me tuerda. 
Amuch-branched shrub. Leaves ovate- lanceolate, acute. 
Cymes usually on the old wood below the leaves .. 3. M. Parkinsonit. 
** Capsule hardly coriaceous, wholly enclosed in the calyx-tube, which is 
produced far beyond it, dehiscing to the base. All climbers. 
Leaves decussate, large, 14-3in., acute or acuminate. 
Flowers large, white, terminal be .. 4. M. albiflora. 
Leaves decussate, smaller, ?-14in., “obtuse. Flowers 
crimson .. Ae : te .. 5. M. diffusa. 
Leaves distichous, subacute. Branchlets glabrescent. 
Flowers always lateral : 3¢ ae .. 6. M. hypericifolia. 
Leaves distichous, acuminate. Branchlets pubescent. 
Flowers usually terminal .. a ote .. 7. M. Colensoi. 
*** Capsule exserted beyond the calyx-tube, the free portion 3-valved. 
Erect. Leaves decussate, glabrous, obtuse, 1-14 in. long 8. M. robusta. 
Erect. Leaves decussate, white with appressed tomentum 
beneath, 2-4 in. long 9. M. tomentosa. 
Erect. Leaves decussate, white with appressed tomentum 
beneath, 3-2 in. long : .. 10. M. villosa. 
Climbing. Leaves distichous, 4-3 in. long. ” Flowers 
white At MG ai itd Oo. .. ll. M. scandens. 
1. M. florida, Sm. in Trans. Linn. Soc. ii. (1797) 269.— 
Usually a tall woody climber, reaching the tops of lofty trees ; 
stems long, cable-like, often 3-6in. diam. ; bark loose, separating 
in large flakes. Leaves 14-3 in. long, shortly petioled, elliptic- 
oblong, obtuse, coriaceous, olabrous ; midrib stout. Flowers 
orange-red, in few- or many-flowered terminal simple or branched 
cymes. Calyx obconic or turbinate, glabrous, produced beyond 
the ovary. Petals orbicular, yellowish-red. Stamens scarlet, very 
numerous, }-1 in. long. Ovary completely adnate with the base of 
the calyx-tube, 3- celled. Capsule deeply sunk within the persistent 
calyx, and with it forming a woody urceolate 5-ribbed fruit 3-2 in. 
long, usually dehiscing by 3 valves ae the calyx.— 4. ” Rich. 
Fl. Now. Zel. 333; A. Cunn. Precur. 599; Raoul, Choir, 49; 
Hook. f. Fl. Nov. 7p {. 60, #, to” Handb NZ. Fil. TO: Rirk: Forest 
