THE ART ALBUM OF NEW ZEALAND FLORA. 



75 



1. PELARGONIUM AUSTRALE ( ?r///(/.) vnr. clandesHuiim. The Southern 



Pelargonium. 



Specific Character. — A more or less hairy, perennial 

 herb ; stem erect, simple or branched, -t in. -2 ft. Iiigh. Leaves 

 orbicular or ovate, dee]ilj cordate at the base, 3-5-lobed, lobes 

 coarsely or finely toothed, or serrate. Petioles slender, 2-6 

 in. long. Peduncles axillary, longer than the leaves, pubes- 

 cent, many-flowered. Flowers small, | in. broad, in 10-12- 

 flowered umbels, with whorled, ovate, acuminate bracts at the 



base. Pedicels, ^-.V in. long, pubescent, with scattered white 

 hairs. Sej.)als unequal, ovate, acuminate ; spur short, gibbous, 

 or none. Petals unequal, -[V'o i"- long, deep pink, longer 

 than the sepals, spathulate, notched. Stamens about 5, fertile, 

 tlie rest reduci'd to membranous scales, t'arpels very hairy, 

 their tails lined on the inner face with white silky hairs. Seeds 

 minutely dotted. — Handbook of the New Zealand Flora, p. 37. 



Description, etc. — Eig. 2, Plate No 16. — The " KOPATA." — This pretty perennial 

 herb is abundant throughout both Islands, especially near the sea coast. It is also 

 found in Tristan d'Acunha, South Africa, and Australia. It generally grows about a 

 foot in height, and displays numerous umbels of flowers. The flowers are pink, small, 

 but many together ; and, when minutely examined, are very pretty, resembling in 

 miniature some of the fancy garden varieties, the petals being marked in a manner 

 similar to the larger and well-known sorts. It blossoms in November, and continues so 

 nearly all the summer. Towards the latter part of the time, during the hotter and 

 dryer weather, its leaves turn from green into shades of red, yellow, and brown combined, 

 presenting a very pretty effect. The leaves sometimes attain a large size, measuring 

 from four and a-half to five inches in diameter. A lotion made from the leaves is used 

 by the Maoris to reduce inflammation in scalds and burns, whilst outsettlers find them 

 serviceable as a poultice to effect a speedy and certain cure for sores on the backs of 

 horses. Kopata springs up indigenously upon nearly all newly-cultivated soil, and 

 becomes a hardy weed. A prostrate variety of this ]>lant has been reported by Mr. W. S. 

 Hamilton as growing in the Southland District, which varies in height from two to eight 

 inches or more, with dark brownish-jjurjjle foliage, and a much-branched, prostrate, 

 almost creeping stem. The rootstock is fusiform, very short and stout. Its flowers are 

 small, slightly irregular, and pure white. This variety has been ndi,va.G,(\. prostrata, on 

 account of its recumbent habit. 



GENUS III. 

 OXALIS {Linn.) The Wood Sorrel. 



Geneeic Character. — Stemless or branching, usually 

 slender, perennial, acid herbs, with alternate or tufted, usually 

 stipulate, 3-foliolate, or pinnate leaves, and obcordate leaflets. 

 Flowers regular. Sepals, 5, imbricate. Petals, 5, contorted. 

 Disks and glands, none. Stamens, 10, all fertile. Ovary, 



5-lobed, 5-celled ; styles, 5 ; cells, 1-or more ovided. Capsule, 

 loculicidal ; valves more or less cohering together, and by the 

 septa to the axis. Seeds with an arilliform, fleshy coat, that 

 bursts elastically ; albumen fleshy. — Handbook of the New 

 Zealand Flora, p. 38. 



Description. — A very large genus, of which the greater number of species occur in 

 tropical America and at the Cape of Good Hope. They are herbs, or more rarely shrubs, 

 and one, OxciUs scandens, from Mount Quindiu, in South America, is a climber ; but Ijy 



