■350 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



Key to the Genera. 



1. Corolla 2-lipped. 2 

 Corolla regular. 3 



2. Trees. Leaves 3-5 foliolate. Flowers pink or 



red. Vitex, p. 350. 



Shrubs. Leaves simple. Flowers white. Teucridium, p. 350. 



3. Maritime trees. Leaves opposite. Flowers 



yellow-brown. Avicennia, p. 351. 



Leaves alternate, pellucid-dotted. Flowers 



white, lilac-spotted. Myoporum, p. 362. 



Genus Vitex. 



Shrubs or trees. Leaves .3-5-foliolate. Flowers in axillary, or terminal and 

 j)aniculate cymes. Calyx and corolla 5-lobed, corolla 2-lipped. Stamens 4. 

 Drupe 4-celled. 1 sp. 



Vitex lucens {The Puriri). 



A fine tree, from 50ft. to 60ft. in height, often called the New 

 Zealand Oak, on account of the strength and durability of its 

 timber. It is not injured by damp or exposure, and is 

 therefore extremely valuable for ship-building purposes. The 

 logs are often perforated with large holes, but these do not 

 affect the timber, except in so far as it has sometimes to be 

 cut to disadvantage. These holes are made by a soft-bodied 

 grub, which develops into the puriri moth. The leaves of the 

 puriri are handsome, being of a bright, glossy green, the 

 leaflets 3in.-4in. long. The flowers are in axillary panicles, 

 4-8 together, pink or red, irregular in shape, and with exserted 

 stamens. The roots of the puriri never penetrate deeply into 

 the ground, but lie near the surface, so that the tree is easily 

 blown over in a gale of wind. It is endemic in New Zealand, 

 and is restricted to the northern part of the North Island. It 

 is easily cultivated, and flowers more or less all the year 

 round. 



Genus Teucridium. 



Shrubs, stem 4-angled, slender. Leaves opposite, entire. Flowers solitary, 

 axillary. Corolla 2-lipped ; stamens exserted. Ovary 4-lobed, 2-celled. Fruit a 

 small, rough, 4-lobed nut, consisting of 4 1-seeded acheiies. (Name in allusion 

 to its resemblance to Teucritcm, the Wood-sage or Germander). 1 sp. 



