KiEK. — Botany of Great Barrier Island. 93 



tlie chiefs. Native name on the Great Barrier, mil, — a favourite food of 

 pigeons. 



Olea [n.s. ?] apetala, Vahl. — A very handsome umbrageous shrub or small 

 tree, 12 to 25 feet high ; branches spreading, often tortuous ; bark brown, 

 sometimes deeply furrowed and corky ; leaves opposite, 3 to 4 inches long, 

 1 to 2 1 inches wide, ovate, acute, or acuminate, very coriaceous and glossy, 

 midrib prominent, and with veins distinct beneath ; racemes of female flowers 

 stout, 1 to li inch long, spreading, 12- to 18-flowered, flov^ers on rather long 

 pedicels ; male flowers not seen. The foliage of this fine species greatly 

 resembles that of Camellia japonica, and differs widely from its nearest ally, 

 Olea Gunningliaviii. 



Utricularia ? — A small species, allied to TI. novis-zealandice, hut diKev- 

 ing in the 3-nerved linear, spathulate, entire leaves, and in the 1- or rarely 2- 

 flowered scapes, which have four minute bracteoles, arranged cross-wise at 

 the base of the peduncle ; sepals very broad, inflated, entire, upper lip of 

 corolla rounded, vfaved, lower tip fan-shaped, but the margin flattened in the 

 middle, entire ; seeds rugose. 



Veronica ? — This is a fine shrub, apparently intermediate between 

 V. rtgustrifolia and V. parvijlora, sometimes attaining the height of 15 feet 

 or more, with the stem measuring 2 feet 8 inches in circumference, and pro- 

 ducing its small dense-flowered racemes in the greatest profusion ; leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, sessile, flat or keeled ; racemes scarcely longer than the 

 leaves ; sepals small, acute, with membranous margins ; corolla small, white ; 

 capsules more than twice the length of the calyx. 



Astelia ^'' grandis,^^ H.f., n.s. — A noble plant, imperfectly described, and 

 referred to " A. nervosa, or a near ally," in the " Handbook of the New 

 Zealand Eiora," p. 744. 



Astelia [n.s.] trinervia, n.s. — Allied to A. hanlcsii, but readily dis- 

 tinguished by the triple nerve on each side of the leaf, and by the crimson fruit. 



Dacrydium, n.s. — A dioecious tree, 40 to 60 feet high or more, 2 to 3 feet 

 in diameter ; bai-k reddish brown, slightly flaky ; wood red, durable ; branches 

 spreading below, f astigiate above. Leaves of two kinds : on immature trees, 

 and frequently on the lowest branches of old trees, up to 40 feet high, 

 linear-lanceolate, 1 to 1\ inch long, distichous or scattered, narrowed into 

 a very short petiole ; costa slender, acute, not pungent. SmaE leaves broad, 

 rhomboidal, membranous on the upper edge, densely imbricated, and appressed 

 to the terete branchlets, tV to \ inch long. Male catkins sessile, terminal, 

 solitary, •§- to J inch long, of minute, loosely imbricated scales ; anthers not 

 seen. Pemale catkins terminal, solitary, ^ io^ inch long, of few tumid green 

 scales, idtimately bearing 2 to 5 faintly-ribbed compressed nuts, with rounded 

 edges. 



