160 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND 



Mesembryanthemum australe (The Southern 



Mesembryanthemum) . 



Stems 1 ft. -2 ft. in length, prostrate, rooting at the nodes. Leaves united 

 at the base, 1 in. -3 in. long, thick, fleshy, shining. Flower-stems short, thick. 

 Flowers with spreading petals, in.-l in. across, white or pink. Petals 50-60. 

 Styles 5-8. Ovary 5-8 celled. Both islands : abundant on the sea-shore. Fl. 

 Nov.-March. Called by colonists, pigs' faces or ice-plant. 



Genus Tetragonia. 



Herbs, erect or trailing. Leaves succulent, alternate. Flowers axillary. 

 Calyx 3-5 lobed. Petals 0. Stamens few or many. Styles 2-8. Ovary 2-8- 

 celled. Cells 1-ovuled. Fruit round or angular, fleshy, sometimes homed. 

 (Name from the Greek, in reference to the angular calyx-tube.) 2 sp. 



Tetragonia expansa. 



An erect, branched, fleshy herb. Leaves 1 in. -3 in. long, glistening with 

 papillae. Flowers solitary or in pairs, sessile or with very short stalks. Calyx 

 4-lobed. Stamens 12-16. Styles 3-8. Ovary 3-8-ceUed. Fruit angular, 

 usually with 2-4 horns. - - .New Zealand Spinach. Kermadecs to Stewart 

 Island : on the seashore. Fl. Dec. to Feb. 



Ranunculaceae. 



BUTTERCUP, ANEMONE, AND CLEMATIS FAMILY. 



Distribution. A family of about 700 species, found chiefly in temperate and 

 colder regions. It includes about 50 New Zealand species. Most plants of the 

 order contain an acrid juice which is almost invariably poisonous. Some furnish 

 valuable drugs, e.g., Hellebore and Aconite. Others are cultivated on account 

 of their beauty, such as Ranunculus, Anemone, Christmas Rose, Columbine, 

 Larkspur, and Clematis. 



Key to the Genera. 



1. Climbing shrubs Clematis. 

 Herbs. 2 



2. Petals none. Caltha- 

 Petals present, Ranunculus. 



