348 Transactions. — Botany. 



for the phenomena shown m Veronica and other variable genera. I have 

 therefore been induced to accept it until some better one is proposed. 



It may be mentioned as corroborative of this theory that many culti- 

 vated plants exhibit in this colony a remarkable tendency to produce sports, 

 and that these sports in very many cases reproduce themselves. The same 

 tendency also occurs in many naturalized i^lants, the great majority of 

 which are self-fertile. My space, however, does not admit of any further 

 reference to this interesting subject, but I hope to return to it at some future 

 time. 



Since my ideas on this subject were first written out, my attention has 

 been called to a paper on the same subject by Mr. W. T. L. Travers.* The 

 conclusions arrived at by that author are almost precisely similar to my own, 

 but are probably much better expressed. 



In this synopsis sixty species are included, being eighteen more than 

 were included in Sir J. D. Hooker's " Handbook." These are, however, 

 not all new discoveries, four or five of them being separations from species 

 with which they had previously been confounded. 



On the distribution of the species it is scarcely possible in the present 

 state of our knowledge to give any precise information, as the flora of several 

 of the districts has not yet been properly worked up. It, however, seems 

 certain that the South Island has many more species of Veronica than the 

 North Island, and that the Canterbury and Otago districts have more than 

 any other part of the colony. Lists of species have been published of the 

 Aucldand, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago districts only ; of these 

 Canterbury is the richest in species, having 46, whilst Otago has 35 or 36, 

 Wellington 17, and Auckland 15. In the Otago district, however, there 

 are many extensive tracts, which have not been thoroughly explored, and 

 no doubt many of the Canterbury species will eventually be found there. 



Considering what has been done during the last ten years, I think we 

 may reasonably assume that at least some new species will be discovered, 

 and my own opinion is that these new forms will be very numerous, 

 especially on the western slopes of the Alps, the plants of which have been 

 scarcely at all collected. 



In drawing up this synopsis, I have found it impossible to place the 

 species in a natural linear series, and the arrangement is therefore to some 

 extent artificial. I recognize three distinct groups, which I have classed as 

 sub-genera, and divided them into sections and series as seemed most 

 convenient. In arranging species according to this synopsis, I should 

 advise the student to discard all slight variations, and not to attempt to 

 name any of the species of sub-genera II. until the greater majority of 



* " Trans, N.Z. Inst.," Vol. I., p. 89. 



