292 Transactions. — Botany. 



male flowers, and after the pollen which is green has been shed, they 

 wither rapidly away. A few days later, and the scapes coming up have 

 often both kinds of flowers mixed, which gives the fruit- spike when ripe a 

 ragged or interrupted appearance very common in some species, from the 

 places of the male flowers remaining vacant. Later still the scapes (which 

 come up in succession all the summer) have nothing but female flowers, 

 and these have the finest fruit. The scapes which bear both kinds of 

 flowers are generally barren, unless the female flowers predominate, in 

 which case a few drupes come to maturity, but are shy, small and half- 

 withered looking. 



The male scapes attain their full length before flowering, which they do 

 in a few days ; the female lengthen after flowering, and indeed till the fruit 

 is mature. The female flowers are developed as soon as the scape appears 

 in the axil of the leaves, and are in full flower at, or even under, the surface, 

 the long hairy or papillose styles spreading like rootlets among the debris of 

 withered leaves, as if in search of the pollen grains which had been shed in 

 spring, and are probably still remaining in a fertile condition among the 

 moist foliage. 



Gunner a hamiltonii, Kirk, n. sp. 



Mr. Kirk has not yet sent me the description of this handsome and 

 unique species. It is extremely local, occurring in patches on the hills near 

 the New Eiver Heads. It completely excludes every other kind of vegeta- 

 tion, and from its graceful cuneate-deltoid deeply and sharply dentate 

 foliage gives the surface a peculiarly crisp appearance. The extremely 

 coriaceous strongly-ribbed leaves tufted densely together support the foot, 

 and spreading from a hollow centre give the ground a bird-nested appear- 

 ance. The succulent leaves are extremely rich in lime and silica and give 

 off, when old, the epidermis as a grey paper. The flowers of this species are 

 spiked, the anthers sessile on very stout scapes, not crowded ; the drupes on 

 still stouter peduncles, as thick as a goose-quill and two to four inches long, 

 bright red, and with the drupes almost sunk in the fleshy peduncle, not 

 crowded, but occupying an inch or more of the top of the scape. 

 Tillcea hamiltonii, Kirk, n. sp. 



This Tillaa, occurring on the flats of the Makarewa, also takes to the 

 river-bed, and, along with other species of aquatic or, rather, semi-amphi- 

 bious plants, carpets the river-bottom to a very considerable depth. This is 

 a remarkable feature of the Makarewa, and, whatever be its cause, is a very 

 strange peculiarity. 



Lindsaa linearis, Swartz. 



This fern occurs plentifully in the Seaward Moss, but still in a very local 

 way. It occurs in strips across the plains, as if following the outcrop of 



