138 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND 



The stinging sensation produced by this jslant will sometimes hist for three 

 or four days. 



Genus Parietaria 



Weak herbs, rarely small shrubs. Leaves entire, opposite, often downy. 

 Flowers in axillary cymes. Male flowers with 4-partite perianth. Stamens, 4. 

 Female flowers tubular ; perianth, 4-partite. Ovary ovoid ; ovule erect. Nut 

 minute. A small but widely distributed genus ; found in waste places. The 

 Pellitory is a well-known English plant of the genus. (Ancient Latin name 

 referring to the growth of some species on walls). 1 sp. 



Parietaria debilis. (The Weak-stemmed Parietaria). 



Slender annual. Stem, 6 in. -24 in. long. Leaves, J in. -2 in. long, ovate, 

 acute. Female flowers in dense clusters. Both islands, common. Fl. 

 Nov. -Dec. 



Genus Elatostema. 



Succulent herbs, rarely shrubs. Leaves unequal-sided, bronzed or brown- 

 red. Flowers often inconspicuous, surrounded by fleshy involucres. ]\Iale flower 

 with a perianth of 2 or 4 pointed leaflets. Female flowers with a small, im- 

 perfect perianth. Fruit a small compressed nut. A large tropical genus. 1 sp. 



Elatostema rugosa. {The Wrinkled Elatostema). 



A robust herb, shining or downy. Stem, 1ft. - 2 ft. in height. Leaves, 

 4in. -lOin. long, alternate, sessile, acute, toothed, auricled at the base. 

 Flowers, dioecious. Male flowers, with fleshy receptacles ^in. across, surrounded 

 by bracts. Female flowers with smaller, more hairy receptacles. North Island : 

 damp bush, or by the sides of creeks. 



Loranthaceae. 



The Mistletoe Family. 



Distribution. — The jjlants of the Mistletoe Family belong chiefly to the 

 hotter parts of Asia and America, though a few are found in Europe, Africa, and 

 New Zealand. In the genus Lorantlms, a cup-like expansion of the flower-stalk 

 just below the perianth is considered by some botanists to be a calyx, and the 

 4-8 lobes of the perianth are regarded as petals. The members of this family are 

 all partially parasitic, and grow on trees and shrubs. 



A plant, which can get the whole or part of its 

 carbonaceous food by robbing another, will require either no 



