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28 FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. | Malvacez. 
Nar. Orb. IX. LINEA, DC. 
Gen. I. LINUM, Linn. 
Flores pentameri. Sepala integra. Styli 3-5. 
The species of Flax are very numerous in all the southern parts of Europe, eighty-five being enumerated by 
M. Planchon (who has lately monographed the whole genus, Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot. vol. vii. p. 165, eto.). Very 
few are natives of the Southern hemisphere; only two of Australia and "Tasmania, of which one is the following 
New Zealand species. The latter has five sepals, and five white or bluish deciduous petals. Stamens five. Ovary 
five-celled, with five styles united into one, their apices alone being free and recurved. (Name from Lin, thread, 
in Celtic.) 
1. Linum monogynum, Forst.; perenne, caule erecto v. decumbente folioso, foliis linearibus lanceolatis 
oblongisve, stylis 5 coalitis apice liberis recurvis. Forst. Prodr. DC. Prodr. A. Rich. Flora. A. Cunn. 
Prodr. Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 3574. 
Var. a. grandiflorum, Banks et Sol.; erectum, corymboso-ramosum, multiflorum, floribus magnis. 
Var. B. diffusum; minus, decumbens v. ascendens, ramis 1-floris, floribus parvis. 
Has. Coasts of the Northern, Middle, and Southern Islands, abundant, Banks and Solander, etc. 
Nat. name, “ Rauhuia,” Colenso; “Kaho,” Cunn.; “Nao,” D Urville. (Cult. in England.) 
This common and beautiful plant sometimes forms a shrub a foot high, at others a small herb of only a 
few inches; in its common state, it resembles an English flax-plant in its habit and stature, its white or pale blue 
fugacious flowers, and tough bark; but differs in being perennial. The Zeaves are three-nerved, and vary much in 
form, from narrow and linear to oblong, and the flowers in size from one-fourth to nearly an inch across. Tam not 
aware that the experiment of cultivating it for its fibre has ever been made. The var. a is an exceedingly handsome, 
erect, woody, branching, large-flowered plant; whereas var. 6 is a small, often simple-stemmed herb, 3-6 inches 
high: between these all intermediate states may be found. 
Nar. On». X. MALVACEA, Juss. 
Gen. I. HIBISCUS, Linn. 
Calyx involucello polyphyllo cinctus. Petala qualia. Stigmata 5. Carpella 5, in capsulam 5-locu- 
larem coalita, loculicide dehiscentia; valvis intus medio septiferis; loculis polyspermis. 
A very large genus of chiefly tropical plants, but of which a few species inhabit either temperate zone ; of these 
the New Zealander is a conspicuous and widely diffused example, being found in Europe (Italy, Carniola, and the 
Caucasus), the Cape of Good Hope, Affghanistan, and the Himalaya Mountains, and also in tropical India. It is 
possibly introduced into these islands; but I have no good reason for supposing so. (Name ¿Burros in Greek.) 
1. Hibiscus Trionum, L.; erectus, suffrutescens, hispido-pilosus, foliis petiolatis palmato-3-5-lobatis 
basi cordatis, lobis oblongis linearibusve crenato-serratis v. sinuato-lobatis obtusis inferioribus seepe indi- 
visis, lobo intermedio foliis superioribus precipue elongato, involucelli foliolis setaceo-linearibus, calyce 
membranaceo suburceolato inflato 5-lobo hispido venoso, floribus mediocribus flavis, capsula submembra- 
nacea hispida. Linn-Sp-Pl. DC. Prodr. Bot. Mag.t.209. Tl. vesicarius, "Lim; A. Cunn. Prodr. 
Has. Northern parts of the Northern Island; on both coasts, Cunningham, Colenso. Middle Island, 
South Wanganui, Lyall. 
