292 COMPOSITE. [Olearia. 
29. O. Forsteri, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 127.—A much- 
branched shrub or small tree 8-20 ft. high; branchlets grooved and 
angular, tomentose. Leaves alternate, 14-3in. long, oblong or 
ovate-oblong or broadly ovate, obtuse, shortly petiolate, coriaceous, 
glabrous above, clothed with thin closely appressed white tomentum 
beneath; veins finely reticulate; margins usually strongly un- 
dulate. Corymbs branched, peduncles usually shorter than the 
leaves. Heads sessile and fascicled on the branches of the corymb, 
small, narrow, 3-1in. long. Involucre cylindric; scales few, 
imbricate, glabrous or nearly so; outer small, broadly ovate; inner 
much longer, linear- oblong, obtuse. Florets always solitary, 
tubular, hermaphrodite. Pappus-hairs numerous, in one series. 
Achenes rather broad, pubescent.—Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 187. O. 
uniflora, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxii. (1888) 469. Eurybia 
Forsteri, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 119. Shawia paniculata, 
Forst. Char. Gen. 95, t. 48; A. Rich. Fl. Now. Zel. 2438; 
A. Cunn. Precur. n. 4384; Raoul, Choiz, 18, t. 13; Kirk, Students’ 
Fil, 277. 
Var. elliptica, Kirk, 1.c.—Leaves narrower, linear-oblong or elliptic-oblong. 
NortH anp SoutH Istanps: From the Kast Cape southwards to Oamaru 
and Greymouth; often local, usually near the coast. Sea-level to 1500 ft. 
Akiraho. April-May. 
The heads never contain more than one floret, which is invariably tubular 
and hermaphrodite. On account of the constancy of this character Mr. Kirk 
has proposed to revive Forster’s genus Shawia, but, I think, quite unnecessarily. 
In O. avicenniefolia the florets are sometimes reduced to 2, and occasionally 
there is no ray-floret, thus absolutely bridging over the gap between O. Forsteri 
and the remaining Olearie. 
30. O. fragrantissima, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxiii. (1891) 
398.—An erect much-branched shrub 6-15 ft. high or more; bark 
dark red-brown or almost black; branches rigid, flexuous or 
zigzag, finely grooved. Leaves distant, alternate, 3-14in. long, 
elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong or -ovate, acute, narrowed into 
a rather slender petiole, membranous, glabrous above, clothed with 
rather lax silky tomentum beneath; margins flat, quite entire. 
Inflorescence of alternate sessile glomerules 4—? in. diam., each con- 
taining 8-12 nearly sessile heads +in. long, each head with a 
woolly bract at its base. Involucral bracts in 2 or 3 series, 
oblong, obtuse, densely woolly. Florets 4-8, yellowish ; ray-florets. 
9-5, short and broad. Achenes grooved, silky.—Kirk, Students’ Fl. 
274. 
Soutu Isnranp: Canterbury—Lake Forsyth, Kirk! Otago—Otago Heads, 
Buchanan! Petrie! near Dunedin, Catlin’s River, Petrie! November— 
December. 
A very distinct species, remarkable for the heads being congested into. 
globose fascicles or glomerules. The flowers are deliciously fragrant, smelling 
like ripe peaches. 
