SAINSBURY.—Notes on Pittosporum obcordatum. 573 
forest situated i in Ae Wairoa River flats, about half a mile from the river's 
Wt ank : is now reserved, and appears to be the remnant of a 
Pisces obcordatum appears to be exclusively a swamp plant, as 
it has never been found in a hilly or dry locality. The trees with which 
it is associated in the Wairoa habitat consist principally of Podocarpus 
dacrydioides and Hoheria populnea var. angustifolia; whilst the under- 
owth, which is all of a twiggy, divaricating type, includes Coprosma 
рч апа C. rigida, Myrsine divaricata, Myrtus ратну tus 
icranthus, and Melicope simplex. The resemblance to Myrsine Mese 
is речине 6 close, and the two shrubs, when neither in flower пог 
fruit, are indistinguishable at a distance of a few paces. 
ittosporum obcordatum bears a heavy crop of flowers and seed-capsules, 
and its appearance is then sufficiently striking to prevent it being over- 
looked by any ordinarily careful observer. The fragrant flowers are of a 
light-saffron colour, and are often edged on both sides of the petals, at the 
ovaries. I have found that the seeds germinate quickly and freely, the 
seedling plant appearing above ground about eight weeks after planting. 
The seed-leaves are three in number, rarely four, and are oblong-lanceolate 
in shape. The succeeding leaves have a very curious s C'era being 
from 1 in. to 1 in. long, in shape narrow-linear with a bro urren ; 
and with the tips slightly widened out into three more or p regular lobes. 
The upper surface of some of the earliest leaves appears to be covered with 
colourless cells which give the leaf a shining scaly appearance. My seedlings 
linear and adult leaves. Mr. H. B. Matthews, who has raised plants from 
Kaitaia seed, informs me that the — € are four in number, and that 
the linear leaves are not produce e have no information as to the 
shape of the juvenile leaves of the дЕ nt. 
The other species of the genus Pittosporum found by me in the Wairoa 
district are P. tenuifolium, P. eugenioides, P. Ralphii, ‘and P. cornifolium, 
whilst P. rigidum has also been reported by the late Mr. Colenso. This 
list is probably not exhaustive. As all attempts to rediscover the plant 
at Akaroa have failed, Kaitaia and Wairoa remain at present the only 
known habitats. The portion of swampy forest mentioned above as its 
habitat in Wairoa contains, so far as І know, the only similar association 
of divaricating shrubs in the district. Other portions of swampy bush 
bearing a spa eosin to it have been visited by me, but a 
bush in which it was found, that it seeds ый, and that - iens 
germinate freelv, it is somewhat surprising that it appears to ed 
to the one locality. The explanation may be that in such a si tantion the 
seeds could only be distributed by birds, and that they are not relished 
by them 
