180 FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. [ Apocinee. 
Nat. Og». LVI. APOCINEA, Juss. 
Gen. I. PARSONSIA, Br. 
“ Corolla infundibuliformis ; fauce tuboque esquamatis; limbo 5-partito recurvo, laciniis zequilateris. 
Stamina exserta (v. inclusa). Filamenta medio v. juxta basin tubi inserta, simplicia. Anthere sagittate, 
medio stigmate coheerentes, lobis posticis polline destitutis. Ovaria 2, v. ovarium 1 biloculare; stylus 1; 
stigma dilatatum. Sguama hypogyne 5, distinctes v. connate. Follieuli 2, distincti v. coherentes.” 
Br. Prodr. 
Climbing shrubs, with slender rounded branches, milky juice, opposite leaves, extraordinarily variable in form 
on the same plant, and terminal or lateral cymes of small flowers. Calya five-cleft. Corolla funnel-shaped, with a 
broad tube and five-parted recurved limb. Stamens with short filaments and sagittate anthers, cohering with the 
middle part of the dilated stigma. Ovaries two, cohering in the New Zealand species, with five hypogynous glands 
at their base. —A genus of shrubby climbing plants, which may be readily recognized by the curious long terete 
capsule, grooved down either side, and full of feathery seeds. The other species are found chiefly in Australia and 
the East Indies. (Named in honour of Dr. Parsons, author of * The Microscopical Theatre of Seeds.") 
1. Parsonsia capsularis, Raoul; ramulis subincanis, foliis lanceolatis oblongo-lanceolatis v. angustis- 
sime ligulatis breve petiolatis, corymbis paucifloris, calycis lobis lanceolatis acutis tubum brevem corollæ 
superantibus, antheris 3-exsertis basi Q-aristatis. Raoul, Ohoix de Plantes, p. 11. Periploca capsularis, 
Forst. Prodr. et Herb. Mus. Paris, non Herb. Mus. Brit. 
Haz. Northern and Middle Islands. Dusky Bay? Forster. East coast and interior, Colenso. Ma- 
nukau forest, Sinclair. (Cultivated in England.) 
A very slender plant, according to my specimens from Mr. Colenso, which have all very long, narrow, strap- 
shaped leaves, 3-5 inches long, and 1 line broad, waved at the margins. Branches puberulous. Racemes axillary 
and terminal, 1 inch long, very few- (four- to eight-) flowered. Peduncles and pedicels very slender. Flowers yellow, 
or tinged with red, 14 line long; calyx lobes as long as the very short tube of the corolla; lobes of the latter 
reflexed ; anthers exserted for three-fourths of their length, having slender tails half their own length.—M. Raoul 
describes this plant from Forster’s specimens in Mus. Paris, which agree with the description in his * Prodromus,’ 
and with my specimens, except that M. Raoul describes the appendices of the anthers as short, which are long in my 
plant, and the leaves as oblong or lanceolate-oblong, the latter a character of no importance. 
2. Parsonsia rosea, Raoul; ramulis puberulis, foliis adultis longe linearibus rarius lineari-lanceolatis 
margine sinuatis obtusis mucronatisve, lobis calycinis lanceolatis tubum corolle subeeguantibus, corolle 
lobis lineari-lanceolatis subacutis, antheris paulo exsertis 2-aristatis. Raoul, Choim de Plantes, p. 16. 
non t. 12. 
Haz. Southern parts of the Northern Island ; more abundant on the Middle Island. Akaroa, Raoul. 
East coast, Colenso. Port Cooper and Nicholson, Zyall. (Cultivated in England.) 
Tntermediate in all characters between the last species and the following, but on the whole I think distinct. 
Stem robust. Leaves extremely variable; sometimes one is broadly spathulate whilst that opposite it is almost linear ; 
the spathulate ones are sometimes two- and three-lobed, the linear are waved along the margins. The best characters 
are afforded by the length of the calyx lobes, which equal the tube of the corolla, and by the long lobes of the latter. 
The flowers are more numerous, larger and longer than those of P. capsularis, but variable in these respects, and 
rose-coloured.—M. Raoul’s description of this plant does not agree with his plate, the flower having the calyx lobes 
