616 THYMELHACE. [Drapetes.. 
empty, on shorter filaments. Ovary large, densely villous at the 
tip; style long; stigma capitate, exserted. Fruit small, ovoid.— 
Fiaoul, Choix, 42; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 222; Handb. N.Z. FI. 
245. D. macrantha, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxii. (1890) 487. 
Kelleria Dieffenbachii, Endl. Gen. Suppl. iv. 61; Meisn. in D.C. 
Prodr. xiv. 566. 
Var. laxa.—Pale-green, more laxly branched. Leaves larger, spreading or 
ascending, 4-1tin. long, linear-oblong, obtuse, rather thin, almost flat, con- 
spicuously nerved, ciliate on the margins and back. Heads 3-8-flowered. 
Perianth-lobes almost equalling the tube; scales 8, small. Perhaps a distinct 
species. 
NortH anp SoutH Isnanps, STEWART ISLAND: Common in mountain dis- 
tricts from Moehau (Cape Colville) and Hikurangi southwards. Var. laxa: 
Ruahine Mountains, H. Tryon! Nelson—Mountains flanking the Wairau 
Valley, T. #. C.; Mount Murchison, Townson ! 2000-4500 ft. December-— 
March. 
A very variable plant, which does not seem to be separated by any definite 
characters from the following species. The var. lawa may prove distinct, but it 
requires further study with a larger suite of specimens than has yet been 
obtained. 
2. D. villosa, Cheesem.—Very similar in most of its characters 
to D. Dieffenbachu, but usually a more robust plant, with the 
‘branchlets more or less villous with greyish hairs, and with slightly 
larger leaves that are somewhat broader at the base, and have the 
margins and frequently the back ciliate to the base. Flowers in 
3-4-flowered heads at the tips of the branches, similar to those 
of D. Dieffenbachi, but the glands always 8.—Kelleria villosa, 
Berggren in Minnesk. Fisiog. Sallsk. Lund. (1877) 18, t. 5, f. 1-15. 
Var. multiflora.—Leaves longer, strict, ascending, 4-+in. long, narrow 
linear-lanceolate, tapering from the base to an obtuse tip, slightly convex on the 
back, conspicuously 5-nerved; margins ciliate with long straight hairs and 
with a pencil of hairs at the apex. Flowers in 5-12-flowered heads at the tips 
of the branches. Glands 8, very small. 
SourH Istanp: Mountain districts in Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago, ap- 
parently not uncommon. Var. multiflora: Nelson—Mount Arthur Plateau, 
T. F. C.; Mount Faraday, Townson! Canterbury—Candlestick Mountains, 
Cockayne! Mount Torlesse, T. F. C. Westland — Kelly’s Hill, Petrie! 
2500-4500 ft. December—March. 
Not at all a satisfactory species. The var. multiflora agrees in the villous 
branches, but differs in a marked degree in the longer, strict, strongly nerved 
leaves, and more numerous flowers. All the forms of villosa and Dieffenbachit 
are much in need of a careful revision. 
3. D. Lyallii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1. 336.—A compactly 
branched moss-like plant, usually forming dense patches 1—4in. 
diam. ; branches short, erect or ascending. Leaves very densely 
imbricate, usually erect, ,,-;,in. long, narrow-ovate or ovate- 
oblong or ovate-subulate, broadest at the base and then tapering 
gradually to an acute or subacute tip, convex and smooth on the 
