Zz 
In a native state Meryta Sinclairw is a much-branched small tree from 
12ft. to 20ft. in height, rarely more. It was introduced into cultivation by the 
late Mr. Justice Gillies and Mr. G. B. Owen about 1870, and is now com- 
paratively common in gardens in the vicinity of Auckland. It is easy of culti- 
vation, perfectly hardy in most parts of the North Island, will bear exposure 
to the strongest winds, and in good soil makes very rapid growth. A tree 
planted in my own garden attained a height of 20ft. in less than ten years, 
with a spreading crown of branches 16 ft. in diameter, and with a trunk 24 in. 
in circumference at the base. Many of the leaves (including the petiole) were 
quite 2 ft. 6in. in length. 
New Zealand is the southern limit of Meryta, which is otherwise a purely 
Melanesian and Polynesian genus. Its main home appears to be in New 
Caledonia, from whence no less than eleven species have been described. Two 
are known from Norfolk Island, one from Samoa and the Tongan Islands, 
one from Rarotonga, two or three from the Society Islands, one from the 
Caroline Islands, and one from New Guinea. 
Puate 73. Meryta Sinclairii, drawn from specimens cultivated at Remuera, Auckland, showing 
leaf and male and female inflorescence. Fig. 1, male flowers (x 4); 2 and 3, front and back view 
of anthers; 4, female flowers (x 4); 5 and 6, transverse and longitudinal sections of ovary (x 4) ; 
7 and 8, longitudinal and transverse sections of fruit (x 3); 9, longitudinal section of seed (x 6) ; 
10, embryo (x 10). 
