PLATE 38.—GEUM UNIFLORUM. 
Famity ROSACEA] [Genus GEUM, Linn. 
Geum uniflorum, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ii (1870), 88; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 128. 
The genus Gewm has six representatives in New Zealand, and of these the 
subject of this plate is by far the most attractive, from its large white flowers and 
curious reddish-brown leaves ciliated with orange-yellow hairs. It was first 
discovered by Mr. H. H. Travers in 1868 in the Upper Waiau Valley, Nelson, and 
has since been found to be plentiful in many localities along the central chain of 
the Southern Alps, more especially on the western side. In 1880 I observed it in 
great abundance on the steep, rocky, and grassy slopes overlooking Arthur’s Pass 
and the Otira Gorge, and a year or two later in similar situations near the 
Waimakariri Glacier. Dr. Cockayne (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxvii (1905), 365) says that 
it is “an extremely common plant of subalpine and alpine meadows and moist 
shady rocky places in Westland.” Its northern limit appears to be on the mountains 
between Collingwood and Mount Arthur (north-west Nelson), where it was recently 
detected by Mr. F. G. Gibbs. Turning to the south, in January, 1909, the late 
Mr. H. J. Matthews and Mr. F. G. Gibbs gathered it on McKinnon’s Pass, south- 
west Otago, and about the same time Mr. Crosby-Smith collected it on the Takitimo 
Ranges, Southland, which is the furthest-south station known. I have not seen 
it at a lower elevation than 3,000 ft., but it ascends to considerably over 5,000 ft. 
in one or two localities known to me. 
The genus Gewm is one of those which are found in the temperate and frigid 
zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. One Species advances as 
far north as Melville Island, far within the Arctic Circle, and quite a number of species 
are found in arctic Asia, Europe, and America. In the tropics the genus is not 
known in lowland stations, but it reappears on the higher mountain ranges, such 
as the Andes and Himalayas; and in South America, South Africa, and Australasia 
once more comes down to sea-level in the southern portions of the three countries. 
PLate 38. Geum wniflorwm, drawn from specimens gathered on the mountains above Arthur's 
Pass, Canterbury Alps; alt. 4,000 ft. Fig. 1, petal (x 2): 2 and 3, different views of stamens (x 6) ; 
4, carpel (x 6); 5, fruit (x 2); 6, ripe carpel (x 8): 7, section of ripe carpel, showing seed (x 8). 
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