PuiatE 80.—COPROSMA SERRULATA. 
Famity RUBIACE4.. ] [GENus COPROSMA, Forst. 
Coprosma serrulata, Hook. f. ex Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 11 (1871), 212; Cheesem. Man. 
N.Z. Fl. 247. 
C. serrulata was originally discovered by Mr. J. Buchanan on Mount Ida, 
in Central Otago, in the year 1865. Four years later it was collected by Sir 
James Hector on the mountains of north-west Nelson; and since then it has 
been observed in many localities along the chain of the Southern Alps, especially 
within the influence of the heavy westerly rainfall. Sir Julius von Haast and 
Mr. J. B. Armstrong gathered it in several places on the mountains of Canter- 
bury; I have seen it in at least a score of stations in north-west Nelson and 
Canterbury ; Mr. Townson found it plentiful on the western slopes of the coastal 
ranges near Westport; Mr. Petrie reports it as by no means rare on the 
mountains of Central and Western Otago; and Mr. Reischek gathered it on 
the mountains overlooking Dusky Sound. Its altitudinal range is from 2,000 ft. 
to 4,500 ft. 
_C. serrulata and in a smaller degree C. retusa are the only species of the 
genus in which the leaves are minutely serrulate. But the serrulations are 
more apparent than real, for on examination it will be found that they do not 
extend beyond the thickened and cartilaginous margin of the leaf. The young 
leaves of C. robusta are occasionally minutely incised, but the character does 
not persist in the mature foliage. 
The serrulate leaves render the species an easy one to distinguish, but it 
has other peculiarities of a marked character. The bark of the stems and old 
branches is loose, white, and papery, and can be detached in flakes of con- 
siderable size. The stipules are unusually large, and often form swollen connate 
sheaths surrounding the branch, as shown in the accompanying plate, the mouth 
of the sheath being toothed and ciliate. The whole plant is seldom more than 
3 ft. or 4 ft. in height, and sometimes does not exceed 2 ft.; and the branches are 
few and straggling. Although it technically falls into the same group of species 
as C. lucida and C. robusta, it differs widely in habit and general appearance, 
and must be regarded as one of the most distinct members of the genus. 
Pirate 80. Coprosma serrulata, male, female, and fruit, drawn from specimens collected in the 
Mount Cook district, at an altitude of 4,000 ft. Fig. 1, base of leaf and stipule (enlarged) ; 2, male 
flowers (x 3); 3, female flower (x 3); 4, the same with the corolla removed (x 5); 5, female corolla 
laid open, showing the barren stamens (x 5); 6, stamen (x 8) ; 7, longitudinal section of fruit (x 2) ; 
8 and 9, longitudinal and transverse sections of pyrene (x 4). 
