270 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



Pi me lea prostrata {The Prostrate Pimelea). 



A very variable species, often with erect, ascending branches. Stems 

 2 in. -10 in. long, hairy. Leaves variable, x's in --J in. long ; floral leaves slightly 

 larger. Flowers ^ in. -J in. long, hairy or silky; the lobes of the perianth 

 shorter than the tube. Fruit usually fleshy. Both islands: abundant. Fl. 

 Oct. -March. 



Pimelea virgata (The Ttviggrj Pimelea). 



A small erect shrub, 1 ft. -2 ft. in height. Leaves spreading Jin. -1 in. long, 

 narrow, oblong, sUky or shining. Floral leaves similar. Flowers in a small 

 head, 8-10 together, \ in. long, silky ; lobes broad. Nut dry or piilpy. Both 

 islands : common. 



The genus Pimelea is exclusively Australasian. It consists 

 of a number of Veronica-like shrubs. The species are very 

 variable, and pass into each other. P. arenaria is a halophyte 

 (v. p. 42) of the sand-dunes, which has a clothing of wool and 

 sunk stomata, for the purpose of hindering transpiration. The 

 cell-structure is similar on both sides of the leaf, which hangs 

 down more or less vertically. A similar arrangement of leaf- 

 cells is found in other plants of the sand-hills. In such 

 situations they are exposed to much wind, fierce and long- 

 continued sunshine, and extremes of drought. Special 

 adaptations are clearly required in order to enable a plant to 

 exist under such conditions. P. arenaria, like most of the 

 sand-dune plants, has long roots. Other species are found in 

 the heaths, and some reach sub-alpine elevations. 



Myrtaceae. 



The Myrtle Family. 



Distribution. — A large family of about 2000 species, chiefly tropical. 

 Many of them abound in aromatic oils, while others furnish gums. 



The flowers of this family are very similar to those of the Rosaceae, the 

 main distinction between them being that the carpels are more or less free, 

 particularly in the stigmatic region, in the Rosaceae ; whilst in IMyrtaceae, the 

 carpels are completely united, the union extending to the stigmas. Many of the 



