proverb amongst the Natives, suggestive of lasting endurance, " Ake, Ake, Ake," signify- 

 ing "for ever and ever." This species is likewise a native of Australia, the Pacific 

 Islands, and the tropical regions of the Old and New World. 



GENUS II. 

 ALECTRYON. {Goirtiier.) The Alectryon. 



Geneeic Character. — A lofty tree, with tomentoae 



branclilets. Leaves alternate, unequally pinnate, exstipulate. 

 Panicles branched, axillary and terminal, many-flowered. 

 Flowers small, almost regular, unisexual. Calyx i or 5-lobed ; 

 lobes villous witliin, rather unequal, imbricate. Petals 0. 

 Disk small, 8-lobed. Stamens 5-S, inserted between the lobes 



of the disk. Anthers large, almost sessile. Ovary obliquely 

 obeordate, compressed, one celled ; style short, stigma simple 

 or 2-3-fid ; cell 1-ovuled. Fruit gibbous, pubescent, t\imid 

 or globose, witli a compressed prominence on one side, rather 

 woolly, indehiscent. Seed sub-globose, arillate ; cotyledons 

 spirally twisted. — HanAhnol- of the New Zealand Flora, p. 45. 



Description, etc. 

 representative species 



—This genus is confined to New Zealand, which has only one 

 {Alectryon excelsiuu), a very beautiful and valuable tree, 



resembling in foliage the English Ash. 



1. ALECTRYON EXCELSUM. {B.C.) The Lofty Alectryon. 



Specific Character. — Leaves 4-10 in. long; leaflets 

 alternate, the young ones lobed and cut, serrate in young 

 plants, petiolate, 2-3 in. long, obliquely ovate -lanceolate, 

 acuminate, obscurely crenate, tomentose below, as are the 

 petioles. Panicles 6-8 in. long, much branclied, branches 



stout and spreading, densely tomentose, as are the flowers. 

 Calyx pilo.w. Anthers deep red. Ovary hairy, hidden by the 

 copious liairs at the base of the calyx. Capsule 3 in. long. 

 Seed globose, in a large scarlet aril. — Handbook of the New 

 Zealand Flora, p. 43. 



Description, etc.— Plate No. 23. The "TITOKI," or "TITONGI." This very 

 beautiful and valuable tree is indigenous to both Islands, but is most plentiful in the forests 

 of the North Island. The trunk generally attains a height of fifty or sixty feet, and often 

 measures three feet in diameter, but is usually smaller. It affords a fine-grained compact 

 timber of great toughness and elasticity, similar to Ash, and is well adapted for the 

 purposes of the machinist and the shipwright. It is very valuable for coach-building, 

 and in the construction of wlieels, 1)ut is not durable when exposed to the weather, unless 

 protected by paint or varnish. It is, however, very suitable for the handles of 

 carpenters' tools. The tree blossoms in September and October, when it is covei-ed with 

 large panicles of small dark crimson flowers. When the fruit matui-es in the succeeding 

 month of January, the Titoki becomes brilliant with luscious looking crimson arils, 

 tipped with their coal-black globular seeds, having somewhat the appearance of 

 raspberries, seated in dainty nut-brown cups or capsules. The fruit is not pleasant to 

 the taste, possessing a strong astringent flavour, but tlie native children eat it with a 

 relish. Formerly the Maoris extracted an oil from the seeds, which was used for 

 anointing the hair and persons of their chiefs. Every fourth year the Titoki is said by 



