JBhipogonum.] LILIACES. | 703 
Smal alpine herb. Rhizome creeping. Leaves dis- 
tichous. Flowers large, solitary, sessile. Style fili- 
9. H®mRPOLIRION. 
form. ep ae as a Ae 
“Small herbs. Rootstock a tunicate corm. Leaves few. 
Flower small. Styles 3. Bs dc ae .. 10. IPHIGENIA. 
1. RHIPOGONUM, Forst. 
‘Tall climbing shrubs, much branched above. Leaves opposite 
or nearly so, 3-5-nerved with transverse reticulated veins between ; 
petioles without tendrils. Flowers hermaphrodite, small, shortly 
pedicelled, racemose; racemes axillary or terminal, simple or 
compound, sometimes forming a terminal panicle. Perianth deci- 
duous; segments 6, all equal or the outer ones shorter. Sta- 
mens 6, hypogynous; filaments very short, flattened; anthers 
erect, longer or shorter than the perianth. Ovary superior, ses- 
‘sile, 3-celled; style short, stout; stigmas 3, thick, recurved; ovules 
solitary or geminate in each cell. Fruit a globose berry, usually 
1-seeded by abortion, rarely 2-3-seeded. Seeds globose; testa 
thin, appressed ; embryo small, remote from the hilum. 
In addition to the single species found in New Zealand, there are four 
-others in Australia. 
1. R. seandens, Forst. Char. Gen. 50.—A tall glabrous 
climber. Stems slender, knotted at the joints, often forming inter- 
‘woven masses difficult to penetrate. Leaves opposite or very rarely 
alternate, petiolate, 3-5in. long, narrow ovate-oblong to oblong- 
lanceolate, acute or acuminate, coriaceous, 3- or 5-nerved, the inter- 
‘mediate veinlets copiously reticulated. Racemes axillary, simple 
or branched, 3-6in. long, the upper ones sometimes forming a 
terminal panicle. Flowers small, greenish, about 4in. diam. ; 
pedicels slender, spreading. Perianth-segments very small, oblong- 
lanceolate, acute. Stamens 6, much longer than the perianth ; fila- 
ments short, thick; anthers very large, linear-lanceolate. Ovary 
ovoid-globose; ovules geminate in each cell; style short, thick ; 
stigma large, obsoletely 3-lobed. Berry globose, $in. diam., bright- 
red.—A. Rich. Fl. Nowv. Zel. i. 151; Raoul, Choix, 41; Hook. f. 
Fl. Nov., Zel..i. 253; Handb. N.Z., Fl. 281; Benth. in Hook. 
Ic. Plant. t. 1395. RB. parviflorum, &. Br. Prodr. 293; A. Cunn. 
Precur. n. 305. Similax Ripogonum, Forst. Prodr. nu. 372. 
NortH anp SoutH Istanps, Stewart IsuaAnD, CHaTHAm IsLANDS: Low- 
land forests from the North Cape southwards, abundant. Sea-leve! to 2000 ft. 
Supplejack ; Kareao; Pirita. November—December. 
A familiar plant to all bushmen, especially in the northern part of the 
‘colony. In the South Island it is mainly found near the coasts. The long, 
tough, and elastic stems have been used for baskets, hurdles, &c.; and an 
extract from the root has been employed in the place of sarsaparilla. 
