Veronica. | SCROPHULARINES. 543 
An exceedingly variable plant. Forster’s type, judging from the description 
given by A. Richard, is a rather small-leaved state, with lanceolate leaves 1-2 in. 
long; and according to Mr. N. EK. Brown corresponds to the var. minor of the 
“« Plora Novee-Zealandix.’’ But it passes insensibly into a much more luxuriant 
state, with leaves sometimes over 4in. long, and with longer racemes. This 
again varies into var. lanceolata, Mr. Kirk’s V. irrigans being about half-way 
between the two. Var. diffusa is also connected by numerous intermediates. 
75. V. Lyallii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 196.—Stems slender, 
prostrate and rooting, much and diffusely branched, 3-18 in. long, 
more rarely suberect from a prostrate base; branches terete, usually 
bifariously pubescent, sometimes conspicuously so, rarely almost 
glabrous. Leaves shortly petioled, spreading, +—4in. long, broadly 
ovate or almost orbicular to oblong-ovate, obtuse or subacute, with 
2 or 3 coarse blunt serratures on each side, thick and coriaceous, 
glabrous, often reddish on the midrib beneath and on the petiole. 
Racemes several, few- or many-flowered, on slender erect peduncles 
2-6 in. long usually springing from near the ends of the branches 
but sometimes lateral, glabrous or more or less pubescent ; pedicels 
slender, the lowest 4 in. long or more. Flowers 4in. diam., white 
with pink veins. Calyx deeply 4-partite ; segments ovate-oblong, 
acute, margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube very short; limb broad, 
spreading, with 4 rounded lobes. Stamens shorter than the corolla- 
lobes. Capsule broadly obovate-oblong, turgid, 2-lobed or emargin- 
ate, exceeding the calyx.—_Handb. N.Z. Fil. 215; Armstr. in Trans. 
N.Z. Inst, xiii. (1881) 349. 
Var. suberecta, Cheesem.—Stem woody at the base ; branches slender, wiry, 
erect or suberect. Leaves usually narrower, oblong or obovate-oblong, with 
coarser and more numerous teeth, sometimes almost lobed.--V. Lyallii var. B, 
Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 196. 
Norra Istanp: Ruahine and Tararua Mountains, apparently not common. 
Soutu Istanp: Hilly or mountainous districts, abundant, especially on the west 
side of the Island. Sea-level to 4500 ft. November—March. 
A very variable little plant, but on the whole recognised without much aifii- 
culty by the prostrate and diffusely branched mode of growth, small broad 
glabrous leaves, and slender many-flowered racemes of rather large flowers. 
V. catarracte is a much taller and more erect plant, with much longer and nar- 
rower leaves and Jarger flowers. V. Bidwiliii differs in its smaller leaves and 
longer strict racemes. V. Olseni is smaller and stouter, with more of the habit 
of V. Hookeriana, and has more pubescent racemes and fewer flowers; while 
V. Hookeriana is separated by the stouter and more rigid habit, pubescent leaves, 
and much stouter glandular-pubescent raceme with fewer white flowers. The 
V. Lyallai of the Botanical Magazine (t. 6456) seems to me to be quite 
different from the true Lyallii in the greater size, erect habit, larger ovate acute 
leaves, and larger flowers, and probably represents a distinct species intermediate 
between V. Lyallii and V. catarracte, but I have seen no specimens. 
76. V. Bidwillii, Hook. Ic. Plant. t. 814.—Stems slender, pro- 
strate and rooting, much branched, woody at the base, 3-12 in. long ; 
branches creeping, often matted, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves 
rather distant, shortly petioled or almost sessile, minute, #,—}in. 
