T. Kirx,—On new Flowering Plants. 995 
with its base; the ale are almost equal to the vexillum in length, but rather 
narrow; the carina is sharply curved, both segments being coherent for 
their entire length. The flowers appear to be of a lurid red colour similar 
to those of C. nana. 
Iam indebted to the Venerable Archdeacon W. L. Williams for speci- 
mens of this and other rarities ; it affords me especial pleasure to associate 
his name with so fine a plant as a mark of appreciation of the unobtrusive 
services he has for many years rendered to botanical science in this colony. 
Composit. 
Senecio compactus. 
A much-branched compact shrub rarely more than 2 feet high. Branches 
stout, erect, and with the under-surface of the leaves, pedicels, and involu- 
cres densely covered with appressed white tomentum, forming a smooth 
surface. Leaves petioled, ascending, ł"-4" long, ovate or obovate, obtuse, 
minutely waved at the margin, erenulate. Flowers in leafy 4-8-flowered 
racemes, terminal and solitary, or axillary and crowded near the ends of 
the branches: less frequently the heads are solitary and terminal. Heads 
broadly ovate in bud, 2"-1' in diameter, broadly campanulate, pedicels i 
long, involueral leaves, linear, obtuse cottony ; receptacle flat, rays spread- 
ing broad. Achenes furrowed, silky, pappus white. 
Hab.—North Island: Castle Point, East Coast, on limestone rocks, 
descending to sea-level. This handsome species is remarkable for its dwarf 
compact habit, although rarely exceeding 2 feet in height it attains a dia- 
meter of from 8 to 6 feet, and as nearly all its crowded branchlets are 
terminated by flowers it presents a most attractive appearance. 
Its nearest ally is the alpine S. munroi, Hook. f., which is found at an 
elevation of from 1500 to 4000 feet in the north-eastern portion of the 
South Island ; in sheltered places attaining the height of from 6 to 10 feet. 
It differs from the present species in the very small receptacle, turbinate 
heads, slender pedicels, glandular paniculate inflorescence, narrow mem- 
ranous involucral scales, longer narrow spreading leaves, and slender 
abit. 
In S. compactus the inflorescence is never glandular, nor paniculate ; 
the receptacle is much larger than S. munroi, and the rays are twice the 
width. The tomentum, also, is much more copious, and milk white; at 
once attracting attention to the plant, which is not the case with S. munroi. 
The leaves of the latter are evidently reticulated beneath, which is not the 
case with S. compactus, in which the tomentum presents a smooth even 
surface, 
This species attains its maximum of flowering about the middle of 
February, but a few flowers are produced nearly all the year round, I first 
observed it during the winter of 1877. 
