no 



THE ART ALBUM OF NEW ZEALAND FLORA. 



and fruit. Soinotimes the branches arc prostrate, hearing a close resemblance to C. 

 jKiiccfi, at others, erect or spreading ; leafless and foliaceous specimens may be found 

 growing side by side. The branches may be round and extremely slender, or excessively 

 flattened, and broad, while the inflorescence may vary from a few scattered fascicles, to 

 dense whorls, or many-flowered racemes, and not infrequently all the variations may be 

 I'ound in the same plant. The subject of our plate is a remarkably pretty foliaceous 

 variety, with racemes of many jiarti-coloured flowers. The shrub is much prized in 

 cultivation for its form, and the prodigal display of its flowers. In the North Island it 

 blossoms in December, and matures its fruit about March, the pods containing two or 

 three small seeds. It owes its name to the supposition that its flowers possess an odovu*, 

 but the report is perhaps not reliable. If they do exhale a perfume it is but faintly. 



8. CARMICH.ELIA FLAGELLIFORMIS (Col.) The Whip-like Carmicha>lia. 



Specific Cuaeacter. — A much-branched shrub, witli 

 almost fastigiate, numerous, very slender, compressed, rarely 

 plano-convex grooved branchlets, xir~i\! '"■ broad. Leaves not 

 seen. Flowers, minute, y,i-^ in. long, in pubescent, lax, 3-6- 

 0owered fascicles, or open racemes ; pedicels Tery slender ; 



bracteoles above the middle, or below the calyx. Pods, oblong 

 or obliquely orbicular, about 3 in. long, with a stout, subulate, 

 straight beak -f'j in. long. Seeds, mottled with yellow or red, 

 brown or black. — Handbook of the Nem Zealand Flora, p. 50. 



Description, etc., Fig. 2, Plate No. 26.— The " NATIVE BROOM."— This species, 

 which is well known by its long whiji-like branches, is found along the East Coast of 

 the Northern, and in many parts of the Middle, Island, from Nelson down to Otago. 

 It is the most common species in Southland. On Banks Peninsula, the branchlets are 

 sometimes thread-like and pendulous, presenting a very elegant appearance ; but in this 

 state the flowers are produced sparingly. The leaves, which are not described by the 

 editor of the "Handbook," in his description of the plant, have since been determined by 

 Professor Kirk, F.L.S., who states that they are 3-5-foliolate, with leaflets emarginate. 

 The plant blossoms in the North Island in October and November, and the seed reaches 

 maturity in February, when the valves become separated from the replum, and display 

 the seed attached to its membranous attachlnent. Our jjlate clearly indicates the 

 presence of the seed thus sui^ported. The "Kaka2)o," or "Ground-parrot" of the South 

 Island, delights to chew the Broom into a ball, to extract the juice ; by this, the Natives 

 know the haunts of the bird. The European Broom, Fkmta genista, allied to our 

 Carmichselias, is accepted as the emblem of humility, and has given its name to a race 

 of English kings. It was assumed by GeofPrey, Earl of Anjou, the father of the first 

 Plantagenet king — Henry the Second — as a floral badge. According to tradition, the 

 Earl, when encamjjed on a heath just before a battle, plucked a golden spray, and placed 

 it in his helmet. The flower gleamed everywhere, amid the swaying storm of battle, 

 and the triumphant victor adopted his chance badge as his future device. 



