526 SCROPHULARINES. [ Veronica. 
imbricating, spreading or erecto-patent, sessile, +-?in. long, 4-4 in. 
broad, broad or narrow obovate-oblong to broadly oblong or sub- 
orbicular, obtuse, narrowed to a broad base, concave above, rounded 
at the back, very coriaceous or almost fleshy, quite glabrous, nerve- 
less, glaucous, margins often edged with red. Spikes crowded 
near the tips of the branches, short, stout, dense-flowered, ex- 
ceeding the leaves; peduncle and rhachis pubescent; bracts 
oblong, concave, as long as the calyx. Flowers white, ++in. 
diam., sessile. Calyx 4-partite ; segments erect, oblong, obtuse, 
puberulous, margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube short, not exceeding 
the calyx; limb 4-lobed; lobes ovate-oblong or broadly oblong, ob- 
tuse, the anterior one narrower than the others. Ovary pubescent ; 
style usually villous towards the base. Capsule oblong or obovate, 
obtuse, rounded at the tip, pubescent, from half as long again to 
nearly twice as long as the calyx.—Bot. Mag. t. 6147; Armstr. in 
Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 350. V. carnosula, Hook. f. im Bot. 
Mag. t. 6587 (not of Handb. N.Z. Fl. 210). 
Sout Isuanp: Mountains of Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago, 
abundant. 2500-4500 ft. December-February. 
A very variable plant, especially in size and mode of growth, and in the size, 
shape, and colour of the leaves. Its nearest allies are V. carnosula and 
V. amplexicaulis, the first of which differs in the glabrous ovary and acute 
capsule, the latter in the larger leaves subcordate at the base, and larger 
often branched spikes. Small states, with smaller and narrower and more 
rigid leaves, approach var. major of V. Buchanani. From the other species 
of the section it is at once removed by the deeply concave obtuse leaves 
rounded (not keeled) at the back. 
44. V. Buchanani, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 211.—A small 
woody shrub 4-12in. high, much branched from the base ; branches 
stout, terete, spreading or decumbent, sometimes tortuous, closely 
ringed with the scars of the fallen leaves; bark black; branch- 
lets usually pubescent at the tips. Leaves decussate, closely 
imbricate, sessile by a broad base, suberect or spreading, rarely 
deflexed, 4+ in. long and almost as broad, broadly oblong or alinost 
orbicular, obtuse or more rarely subacute, very thick and coriaceous, 
concave, rarely obscurely keeled, nerveless, quite glabrous. Spikes 
2-4 near the tips of the branches, short and stout but much 
longer than the leaves, oblong, dense-flowered, shortly peduacled ; 
peduncle and rhachis villous-pubescent; bracts large, concave, 
ciliate, equalling the calyx or exceeding it. Flowers #in. diam., 
white, sessile. Calyx 4-partite; segments erect, oblong, obtuse, 
ciliolate. Corolla-tube short, included in the calyx or barely equal- 
ling it; limb 4-lobed; lobes broadly oblong, obtuse. Ovary and 
style pubescent. Capsule nearly twice as long as the calyx, oblong 
or oblong-obovate, obtuse, pubescent.—Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 
xiii. (1881) 350; Kirk, l.c. xxviii. (1896) 523. 
