Colenso. — Descriptions of new Indigenous Plants. 331 



and 8, 6, 4 inches apart, each with a large foliaceous bract at its base, 

 the lowermost bract being 2 feet 6 inches long. Floivers (unexpanded) on 

 very short pedicels almost sessile, scattered on the upper parts of the 

 simple and distant filiform and subflaccid branchlets, which are 3-7 inches 

 long, (no flowers on their lower portions save one, sometimes two, in the 

 axil of the branchlet), crowded towards the tips in spike form, apparently 

 small, three lines long, white tinged with blue on the outside of perianth at 

 tips, segments nearly equal, linear-oblong, concave, obtuse and incurved at 

 apices. Style one line long, stoutish, somewhat channelled towards apex ; 

 stigma trifid, spreading, each tip slightly bifid and papillose. Filaments 

 stout, short. Anthers yellow, long linear obtuse. Three scariose bracteoles 

 at base of pedicel, the lowermost two lines long, nearly the length of the 

 unexpanded flower, deltoid-acuminate, strongly one-nerved, the inter- 

 mediate one small and often nerveless, and the upper one also small and 

 one-nerved, nerves brown ; sometimes the middle and upper bracteoles are 

 united, and then they form one broad bicuspidate bracteole. Ovary (imma- 

 ture) glabrous, subrotund, slightly angled, many-seeded. 



Hab. On cliffy exposed edges, dry hilly forests between Norsewood and 

 Danneverke, Hawke's Bay district, North Island, 1881-1882 ; flowering in 

 November : W.C. 



Obs. — This plant grows in large clumps, much like the larger terrestrial 

 Astelia (e.g. A. fragrans, mihi, infra), aud the narrow-leaved species of 

 Phormium (P. colensoi). It seems to have close affinity with C. banksii, 

 (originally detected by me in the neighbouring forests), but is not arboreous 

 like that species ; as well as with C. pumilio, in the free disposition of its 

 panicle and its herbaceous habit, 

 Cordyline sturmii, sp. nov. 



Plant arboreous, 14-15 feet high, diameter of trunk at base 8 inches ; 

 bark — of lower trunk brownish and slightly rough and cracked, — of branches 

 grey, smoothish, with darker regular markings from scars of fallen leaves, 

 but not rough ; branched at top in 3 long erect branches. Leaves very 

 closely set and numerous, squarrose, broadly-lanceolate, acute, sessile, 2 feet 

 6 inches long, 4 inches broad at the middle, sub-membranaceous, tender, 

 easily broken and torn by the winds, etc., margins entire, flat, slightly sub- 

 revolute, apices of young leaves tightly rolled upwards (in-curved), wholly 

 green on both surfaces, obliquely closely and regularly nerved, midrib 0, 

 nerved over the place of midrib on the upper surface by fine longitudinal 

 nerves, finely sub-striate, the blade decurrent gradually to the base, with no 

 apparent petiole, and there 1 inch wide at the narrowest, and l£ inch at the 

 extreme base, which is dilated, thick, half-clasping and sub-articulated. 

 Flowers in a sub-terminal compact thyrsoid-panicle, 20 inches long, 9 inches 



