THE ABT ALBUM OF NEW ZEALAND FLOllA. 



1. RANUNCULUS LYALLI {Rook., F.) Mr. Lyall's Ranunculus. 



Specific C'n\u\crEE. — Leaves peltate, on long, stout 

 petioles, glabrous ; limb orbicular, very concave, thick and 

 coriaceous, 15 in. diam. ; simply crenate ; veins reticulated ; 

 cauline, sessile, lobed and crenate ; seedling leaves not peltate, 

 broadly rhomboid, with cuneate bases. Peduncles very nu- 

 merous, villous, stout, erect, vrith linear-oblong bracts. 



Flowers waxy-white, -1 in. diani. ; Sepals, 5, broad, pilose. 

 Petals, broadly euneate, with an obscure oblong basilar gland. 

 Stamens, small, short; anthers oblong. Torus, cylindric, 

 hairy, lengthening after flowering. Aclienes, villous, oblique ; 

 style ilesuose, subulate ; edges compressed, not margined. — 

 Handbook of New Zealand Flora, p. 4. 



Description, etc., Plate No. 3.— Tlie " SHEPHERDS' OR MOUNTAIN LILY." 

 — An erect, very handsome, coriaceous (leathery) plant, 2 to 4 ft. high, with a paniculately 

 branched many-flowered stem. The flowers are white, and from 3 to 4 inches in diameter. 

 It is indigenous to the Middle Island, in the vicinity of Milford Sound, and in moist 

 places on the Southern Alps, at an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, and in Otago 

 at from 1,000 to 4,000 feet on the ranges. It is the noblest species of the Genus, and . 

 possibly the largest and handsomest Ranunculus in the Avorld. It has been named by the 

 shepherds of Otago the " Water Lily," on account of its fancied resemblance to that plant. 

 Tliis queenly plant as seen in its native home, lining the shady banks of mountain 

 streams, and skirting the rushing cascades that dash imjietuously doAra the steep ravines, 

 is very striking. We learn from those who have sought out this Airline gem in its 

 fastnesses, that it is often found displaying as many as fifty lilossoms at the same time — 

 a truly magnificent sight. The most graphic descri2:)tion Avould fail to give any adequate 

 idea (says Mr. P. N. Adams, of Christchurch, a very energetic botanical explorer of tlie 

 snow regions of Canterbury) of the ])uvity and charm of these Al2)ine flowers growing 

 in vast numbers on the broken ground, amidst rocks and boulders deposited by the floods 

 and glaciers, side by side with the yellow Mountain Lily {B. Godleyamis), and inter- 

 sjjcrsed with the Alpine Marygolds fSoieciosJ, and the little star-like Mont las. This 

 truly beautiful Ranunculus is named in honour of INIr. Lyall, P.L.S., an ardent botanist 

 of distinction, whose name and work is closely allied Avith the Plora of New Zealand, 

 The plant is in cultivation amongst the settlers of the Middle Island, but like all Alpines, 

 demands peculiar attention ; requiring in su.mmer the greatest sun-Avarmth jiossible, and 

 in winter the fullest exposure to cold. This, and the B. Traversii, are the only knoAvn 

 Ranunculi with peltate leaves. OAving to the large size of this jilant, it AA'as necessary 

 to reduce its outlines from the original, a lovely specimen especially gathered for this 

 Avork, from the Alpine region, midway between Christchurch and Hokitika. The plate 

 conveys to our readers a correct representation of the plant; noAV no longer 



' . . . . Born to blush unseen, 

 And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 



