POLEMONIACE^E 443 



W. W. Smith; and from localities in Central Otago, Roxburgh and 

 Cardrona, by Petrie and Kirk. 



Gilia squarrosa, Hook, and Arn. Californian 



Stink-weed ; Digger's Weed 



First recorded by Kirk in 1 870 (as Navarettia squarrosd) as abun- 

 dant at Ngaruawahia in the Waikato. In 1885 it was abundant in 

 the valley of the Clutha River up to Lake Wanaka; and was also 

 reported as common in Marlborough. It is- borne about by carriers, 

 and by sheep all over the country, especially in dry districts, and 

 neither stock nor rabbits will eat it. Cheeseman in the Manual (1906) 

 reports it as occurring not uncommonly in dry pastures. The seeds 

 of species of Gilia become mucilaginous when wetted. 



Gilia ccerulea (Auct. ?) 

 Recorded by W. W. Smith in 1903 from Ashburton County. 



BORAGINE^) 



Amsinckia angustifolia, Lehm. 

 Recorded from Alexandra and Black's in Central Otago, by Petrie. 



Symphytum officinale, Linn. Comfrey 



J. B. Armstrong sent me a specimen from Mairehau near Christ- 

 church, where it is growing wild (1918). The species appears to have 

 been introduced somewhat recently into the country for fodder pur- 

 poses. L. D. Ay son of Rotorua, who has investigated the distribution 

 of this species, informs me (in 1919) that it was introduced into the 

 Rotorua district over 40 years ago as a fodder plant. It now grows 

 abundantly throughout all that district, and is now met with in 

 Wanganui and throughout Taranaki, at Opotiki, Matamata, Te Aroha 

 and in many parts round Auckland and up to Northern Wairoa. It 

 does not seem to be known in the South Island except near Christ- 

 church. 



Borago officinalis, Linn. Borage 



First recorded in 1877 from Otago Peninsula by the author. Kirk 

 reported it in the same year from Johnsonville, near Wellington. In 

 1882 Cheeseman reported it as occurring in waste places on the 

 Auckland Isthmus, "but rare." In 1896 the Agricultural Department 

 reported it as spreading in Marlborough. In the Manual (1906), 

 Cheeseman only reports it as "not uncommon in waste places from 

 Auckland to Wellington," but it also occurs locally in the South 

 Island. 



