Colenso. — Descriptions of new Indigenous Plants. 333 



so erect above and drooping below, and present a much more squarrose 

 and bulky appearance. Mr. Sturm very kindly brought me a large flower- 

 ing branch from his tree, that I might have good specimens for examina- 

 tion and drying ; I regret, however, that while it has some hundreds of 

 leaves (a perfect crown) there is not one sound unbroken leaf among them ! 

 The stem portion of this branch brought to me is 2 feet long, 5 inches in 

 circumference at the lower end, and 6 inches a little below the leaves ; it is 

 perfectly cylindrical and semi- succulent (something like a large and long 

 cabbage stump), not woody, and has a smooth mottled ring, as described 

 above ; this branch was taken from the trunk lower down. Mr. Sturm 

 further informs me that the said parent tree has annually for several years 

 past produced one erect flowering panicle similar to this one (supra), only a 

 little larger, and that the tree is now giving out several young branches 

 (shoots) from above under its leaves, and also shoots from its trunk in 

 various places ; much after the manner of the other arboreous species of 

 our New Zealand Cordylines. 



I have very great pleasure in naming this plant after Mr. F. W. C. 

 Sturm, its discoverer and fortunate raiser, who honourably deserves it ; Mr. 

 Sturm is a well-known botanist and very early energetic settler here on the 

 East Coast and at Hawke's Bay. 



Order VII. LILIAGE^l. 

 Genus 5. Astelia, Banks and Solander. 

 Astelia fragrans, sp. nov. 



Plant terrestrial, large, robust, bushy, spreading, suberect, and slightly 

 drooping at tops. Leaves linear-lanceolate, very acuminate, 6£ feet long, 

 2 inches broad about the middle, margins flat, entire, keeled, thickish 

 (particularly at the main nerves), subrigid, glabrous on both surfaces, with 

 a slight adpressed white scurf below, and some long loose white hairs at 

 the bases, many-nerved, with 2 strong and thick equidistant red nerves or 

 ribs more than 1 line wide running throughout, very stout, and largely 

 prominent on both sides ; colour light-green (and in age yellow-green), soon 

 splitting and decaying at tips. Flowers in a panicle, dark green shining 

 with purple segments, very fragrant, completely hidden among the leaves. 

 Male : scape 2 feet long, very stout, triquetrous, 3 inches in circumference, 

 erect, 9 inches to first branch of panicle, shaggy at base, with loose white 

 hairs, f inch long, flat, membranaceous and longitudinally veined, clothed 

 above with adpressed matted hairs ; panicle stout, open, subpanicles alter- 

 nate, lowest with 7 branchlets, next 6, next 5, and so on, everywhere dotted 

 with minute purple dots, which extend to pedicels and perianth. Flowers 

 numerous, 6-7 lines diameter ; on short stout bracteolate pedicels, scattered 

 on angled and loosely- shaggy racemose spikes, 3-7 inches long ; bracteoles 



