298 Transactions.— Botany. 
not seen Mr. Blair's specimen from the Five Rivers, but, as he at once 
identified it with mine from the Dart Valley, I entertain no doubt of his 
correctness, and have great pleasure in connecting his name with the species. 
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVI. 
Fagus blairii. Natural size. 
2. Leaf enlarged. 
3. Involucre. 
4. Nut slightly enlarged. 
ArT. XXXVIII.—Notes on the New Zealand, Beeches. By T. Kx, F.L.8. 
(Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 1st October, 1884.] 
f 
Brown Birch, White Birch, Red Birch. 
Silver Birch, 
Autuovucs this species exhibits a considerable amount of variation in the 
shape, toothing and texture of the leaves, it is the most easily recognized of 
all the New Zealand beeches, especially when the fruit is fairly developed : 
the eurious glandular scales on the valves of the cupules at once distinguish 
it from the other species, while they show its close affinity to F. gunnii, 
Hk. f, of Tasmania, F. moorei, Muell of New South Wales, and F. 
betuloides, Mirb., of Cape Horn and South Chili. 
This forms a fine tree, 60/—80' feet high, with a trunk 2’-3’ in diameter, 
but larger specimens are by no means unfrequent. The twigs are clothed 
with a fine brown pubescence ; leaves glabrous, rigid, orbicular, or broadly 
ovate, or rhomboid ovate, shortly petioled, with the margins cut into very 
short blunt teeth, or more frequently crenate, each crenature bein g irregularly 
notched. In the young state the leaves are sometimes deeply toothed, 
stipules linear-oblong. The valves of the cupule are pubescent and clothed 
with from 5 to 7 horizontal scales, the margins of which carry a fringe of 
stalked glands. Nuts trigonous, 3-winged, the wings being divided or fringed 
at the apex. 
In common with all the local species, the bark varies considerably at 
different periods of growth. Before reaching maturity, the tree is charac- 
terized by a thin silvery whitish bark much resembling that of Betula alba, 
L. This becomes gradually thickened, and rugose, although patches of 
