500 SCROPHULARINES. [ Veronica. 
Var. brevifolia, Cheesem.—Leaves smaller and narrower, 1-24 in. long by 
4-}in. broad, oblong-obovate to linear-oblong, obtuse or subacute. Racemes 
and flowers smaller. : 
Nortu Istanp: North Cape (var. brevifolia), T. fF. C.; south head of 
Hokianga Harbour, R. Cunningham, Kirk! Maunganui Bluff, Petrie! Urenui 
(Taranaki), 7. #. C.; Port Nicholson, Lyall. SoutH Istanp: Marlborough— 
Ship Cove, Lyall; Pelorus Sound, J. Rutland ! November—March. 
A remarkably rare and local species, confined to cliffs nxar the sea. All the 
wild specimens that I have seen have the flowers dark reddish-purple, but in 
cultivation they frequently become violet-purple. It hybridises freely with 
V. salicifolia, macrocarpa, elliptica, and probably other species, and several of 
the hybrids have become common garden-plants. 
2. V. Dieffenbachii, Benth. in D.C. Prodr. x. 459.—A robust 
much-branched shrub ; branches widely divaricating, 2-5 ft. long or 
more; branchlets stout, green, terete, 4-+in. diam., glabrous or 
puberulous. Leaves spreading, often recurved, sessile and semi- 
amplexicaul, 2-4in. long, 4-1 in. broad, linear-oblong, rarely broader 
and almost oblong, acute or subacute, coriaceous or almost fleshy, 
pale-green, midrib stout, prominent beneath, lateral veins very 
indistinct, margins slightly recurved when fresh. Racemes pedun- 
culate, suberect, exceeding the leaves, 24-5 in. long, #-lin. diam., 
dense-flowered; rhachis stout; pedicels spreading, ,-41in. long, 
with a minute subulate bract at the base. Flowers tin. diam., 
usually lilac-purple. Calyx small, 4-partite; segments ovate- 
oblong or ovate-lanceolate, acute, ciliolate. Corolla-tube funnel- 
shaped, exceeding the calyx ; limb 4-lobed; dorsal and lateral lobes 
broadly oblong, anterior narrower. Capsule 1-4in. long, ovate, 
acute, glabrous, about 24 times as long as the calyx.—Hook. f. Fl. 
Nov. Zel. i. 191; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 206; Bot. Mag. t. 7656; Armstr. 
in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 351; Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 
XXvili. (1896) 531 ; Gard. Chron. 11. (1898) p. 154, t.41. V. Forsteri, 
F. Muell. Veg. Chat. Is. 46 (im part). 
CHATHAM IsLANDS: Apparently not uncommon, Dieffenbach, H. H. Travers 
Enys! Cox and Cockayne ! 
In cultivation this puts out numerous stout almost horizontal branches close 
to the ground, so that a single plant occupies quite a large space without rising to 
a greater height than 3ft. or 4ft.; but Mr. Cockayne informs me that this pecu- 
liarity is not so noticeable in the wild state. I am also indebted to him for a 
series of specimens showing a considerable range of variation in the size and 
shape of the leaves and their texture, the length of the raceme, size of the 
flowers, &c., apparently accompanied by slight differences in the mode of growth. 
It seems doubtful whether the whole of these are referable to V. Dieffenbachi, 
but the question is one that cannot be settled without much more ample material 
than I possess. 
3. V. Barkeri, Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxi. (1899) 421. 
—A stout branching shrub; branches erect, not divaricating, terete, 
the younger ones brownish-purple. Leaves spreading, sessile, 2 in. 
