Escalloniee. | FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. H 
Gen. II. TETRAGONIA, Z. 
Calycis tubus ovario 4-gono continuus; lobis 4, obtusis. Petala 0. Stamina 4-12. Styli breves, 
3-8. Fructus subdrupaceus, tetragonus v. prismaticus, angulis obtusis v. in cornua productis; endo- 
carpio osseo, 3-8-loculari; loculis 1-spermis. 
Procumbent, littoral, herbaceous plants, with alternate, petiolate, fleshy leaves, and axillary pedunculate flowers, 
of which the only New Zealand species is known as “native spinach.” Calyx of four blunt sepals, united below to 
the obconic, four-angled ovarium lobes. Petals none. Stamens four to twelve. Styles three to eight, very short. 
Fruit a terete or four-angled, obconic, hard, indehiscent nut, with a thin, green, fleshy coat; the angles often pro- 
duced into tubercles or horns, three- to eight-celled ; cells one-seeded.— This genus abounds at the Cape of Good 
Hope, and is confined to the Southern Hemisphere, a few species being found in South America and Australia. 
(Named from rerpa, four, and yoria, an angle ; from the four-angled calyx.) 
1. Tetragonia expansa, Sol.; pubescens v. glabrata, caule elongato prostrato ramoso, foliis ovato- 
tetragonis obtusis obscure sinuatis in petiolum angustatis, floribus axillaribus solitariis breve pedunculatis 
abortu unisexualibus? staminibus paucis numero variis, stylis 3—8 recurvis, fructu immaturo urceolari 
maturo tetragono v. tereti inermi v. tuberculato et cornuto 4-9-spermo. Sol. in Hort. Kew. DC. Prodr. 
v.9. p. 452. A. Rich. Flora. A. Cunn. Prodr. T. trigyna et cornuta, Banks et Sol. MSS. T. halimi- 
folia, Forst. 
Has. Northern and Middle Islands; abundant along the shore in many places, Banks and 
Solander, etc. 
A smooth or pubescent plant, very variable in size and shape of the fruit, which is either rounded, angled, 
or bears two to four short spines or horns. Leaves petioled, ovate, somewhat rhomboid, blunt, entire, obscurely 
sinuate, 2-2 inches long. Flowers on short peduncles, probably dicecious, inconspicuous, 2—4 lines broad. Stamens 
variable in number and insertion. Styles three to eight, recurved.—A common New Holland, Tasmanian, Norfolk 
Island, South Chilian, and Bonarian plant. Endlicher, in his < Norfolk Island Flora, remarks how variable the 
fruit is, and that sometimes flowers are borne on the tubercles or horns of the nut. The nuts vary from 2 lines to 
4 inch long, and are very bony inside. 
Nar. Ord. XXXIV. ESCALLONIEA, Br. 
Gen. 1. CARPODETUS, Forst. 
Calycis tubus ovario adnatus; limbus 5-dentatus. Petala 5, valvata. Stamina 5, sub disco lato 
epigyno inserta. Ovarium turbinatum, 4—5-loculare, multiovulatum, ovulis angulo interiori loculi suspensis, 
sub-2-seriatis, anatropis; stylus l, rectus; stigmate discoideo. Capsula indehiscens, coriaceo-carnosa, 
depresso-spheerica, medio calycis margine zonata, sub-5-loba, 4—5-locularis, polysperma ; semina ovoidea ; 
testa coriacea, foveolato-punctata; embryone minimo, brevi, tereti, axi albuminis dense carnosi; radicula 
hilo proxima. 
A small, branching, pubescent tree or large bush, with alternate, petiolate, exstipulate, serrate leaves, and ter- 
minal or axillary corymbose racemes of small flowers. Calyx tube broadly turbinate, united to the ovary; limb of 
five small teeth. Petals five, spreading, valvate. Stamens five, inserted under a broad disc. Ovary five-celled, with 
many ovules hanging from the inner upper angle of each cell. Style one, erect, terminated with a discoid stigma. 
Capsule rounded, coriaceous, almost fleshy, marked round the middle with the margin of the calyx, bursting irregu- 
larly, four- to five-celled ; cells many-seeded. Seeds small, red-brown, surface deeply pitted.—A curious plant, the 
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