386 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



3,500 to 6,000 feet, the leaves are thickly coriaceous, and only 

 J in.-J in. in length, whilst Ourisia glandulosa, found at the 

 height of 5,000 feet in the Otago lake district, has become 

 reduced to a patch-plant. 



Genus Ewplirasia. 



Herbs, with opposite leaves. Calyx 4-lobed, rarely 6. Corolla 2-lipped, 

 5-cleft. Stamens 4. Capsiile oblong, 2-valved. A small genus, chiefly found in 

 Australia and New Zealand. The European species are j)artially parasitic. 

 (Name from the Greek iorjoy, in allusion to its reputed virtue). 8 sp. 



Euphrasia antarctica {The Antarctic Eyebright). 



A small herb, lin.-2 in. high. Leaves ^i^yin.-Jin. long ; margins recurved. 

 Flowers ^ in. -J in, across. Both islands : in alpine situations. PI. Jan. -March. 



The genus Euphrasia belongs to a group of plants which 

 are nearly all root-parasites, (v. Dactijlanthus, p. 150.) The 

 New Zealand species are also doubtless parasitic, though 

 they have not as yet received any close investigation. The 

 Euphrasia seedlings develop first of all normally, but, on the 

 secondary rootlets, there are produced small round nodules- — 

 not unlike those on the roots of a leguminous plant. Their 

 function, however, is completely different. When they come 

 in contact with the root of another species, they put out short 

 absorption-cells, which penetrate the tissues of the host. 



They are mostly little known alpine plants ; often tufted, or 

 moss-like. The genus owes its English name to the once 

 prevalent belief that the juices of one of the species removed 

 blindness, or at least improved the sight of the eyes. 



Gesneriaceae. 



The Gloxinia Family. 



Distribution. — A large, chiefly tropical family, possessing no important 

 properties, but much cultivated for the beauty of its flowers. Some of the South 

 American species are epiphytic. Gloxinia is one of the best-known stove-plants. 

 The Calabash tree of N. America, Crescentia Cujete, has edible fruits. The 

 family is represented in New Zealand by a genus of a single species. 



