Plate 123.— GA-ULTHERIA OPPOSITIFOLIA. 



Family ERICACE/R.] [Genus UAULTHERIA, Kahn. 



Gaultheria oppositifolia, Hook. /. Fl. Nov. Zel. i, 162, t. 43 ; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 407. 



I believe that this handsome phmt was first collected by Mr. J. C. Bidwill in 

 the interior of the North Island in 1839. The exact locality I am not acquainted 

 with ; but in all probability it was somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Taupo, where 

 it is known to occur on cliffs and steep declivities. In the following year it was 

 gathered by Dr. DiefEenbach, and in 1847 Mr. Colenso obtained specimens from 

 a cliff overhanging a stream near Tarawera, between Napier and Taupo. He says 

 (" Journeys to the Ruahine Range," 34), " Strange to say, I have never found 

 another plant of this species, although from its size, large green leaves, and unique 

 appearance it is not easily overlooked. In subsequent years in passing this way 

 I often obtained good specimens from it." With our present knowledge of the 

 distribution of the species this statement is somewhat unexpected. In 1853 .Sir 

 J. D. Hooker described the species in the " Flora Novee Zelandise " under the name 

 it still bears. 



G. oppositifolia is usually (but not invariably) found on the faces of cliffs 

 overhanging water, or on steep rocky slopes. The most northern localities known 

 to me are the banks of the Upper Thames River, between Okoroire and Matamata, 

 and on cliffs fringing the Waikato River a few miles below Cambridge. From 

 these two stations it extends along the Waikato to Lake Taupo, and by way of the 

 Patetere Plateau to Rotorua, where it is abundant. Mr. T. Kirk gathered it at an 

 elevation of 3,200 ft. on Mount Tarawera, but in that locality it was destroyed by 

 the eruption of 1886. I have collected it on Mount Kakaramea (near Waiotapu) 

 and on the Paeroa Range, and abundantly on the Karangahake Cliffs, on the western 

 side of Lake Taupo. Mr. Field and others have observed it in the Wanganui 

 district, which is the most western locality of which I have any certain knowledge, 

 for although it is recorded in the "Handbook" from Mount Egmont no recent 

 botanist has seen it thereon. Both Mr. Buchanan and myself searched for it in 

 vain. Its extreme eastern locality is in the East Cape district, where many years 

 ago Bishop Williams gathered it between Whangaparaoa and Hicks Bay. 



G. oppositifolia is readily distinguished from the other New Zealand species 

 of the genus by the large opposite leaves, which are sessile and cordate at the 

 base, and by the racemes usually forming broad terminal panicles. It is easy of 

 cultivation, and if the branches are judiciously cut back after the flowering 

 season it forms a compact shrub presenting a handsome appearance when the 

 next season comes round. 



Plate 123. Gaultheria oppositifolia, drawn from specimens collected at Waiotajsii, between 

 Rotorua and Taupo. Fig. 1, expanded flower and bud (x 4) ; 2, flower, with the corolla and stamens 

 removed ( x 6) ; 3, corolla laid open ( x 6) ; 4 and 5, front and back view of anthers ( x 9) ; 6, trans- 

 verse section of ovary (x 6) ; 7, fruit (x 6). 



