354 Transactions. — Botany. 



Art. L. — Notice of the Occurrence of LiparoxDbyllum gunnii, Loh., in New 



Zealand. By D. Petkie, M.A. 



{Read before the Otago Institute, 10th February, 1880.] 



The following is the generic character of Liparophyllum, translated from 



Hooker's Flora of Tasmania : — 



Calyx deeply 5-fid. Corolla snbrotate, limb patent 5-partite, lobes hair- 

 less, disc even thick, margins undulated. Stamens five, filaments short ; 

 hypogynous glands none. Ovary one-celled, placentas two, parietal, ovules 

 numerous. Fruit indehiscent, subbaccate. Seeds very numerous, suborbi- 

 cular, compressed (my specimens immature) ; test® rather hard and thick. 



A very small marshy herb ; rhizome creeping, giving off stout fibres ; 

 branches ascending, short, leafy ; leaves linear-elongate, fleshy, somewhat 

 sheathing at the base. Peduncles termmal, solitary, short, one-flowered ; 

 flowers white. 



The specific description of L. gunnii is given as follows : — A very small 

 herb, 1-2 inches high, resembling a dwarf state of Claytonia australasica. 

 Rhizomes long, cylindric, branching, sending do^^m long, very thick, simple 

 fibres; stems short ; leaves linear, one inch long, ^ broad, subacute, fleshy, 

 quite entire. Peduncle shorter than the leaves, terminal, erect, one- 

 flowered. Flowers about ^-inch in diameter. Calyx lobes five, acute. 

 Corolla, short; lobes five, oblong, blunt, with a thick fleshy disc, and undu.- 

 lated, broad, membranous margins. Fruit globose ; seeds numerous, com- 

 pressed, nearly orbicular, bright yellow. 



This remarkable plant belongs to the natural order Gentianece, and is 

 extremely unlike the other New Zealand representatives of the same order. 

 It is a member of the tribe MenyantJiece, Griesbach. It occm's abundantly 

 in marshy ground at the head of Paterson's Inlet, Stewart Island, and more 

 sparingly in similar situations at Port Pegasus. In Tasmania it grows in 

 wet sandy soil on the margin of alpine lakes, but in Stewart Island its 

 habitat is little above sea-level. I am indebted to Thomas Kirk, Esq., 

 F.L.S., of Wellington, for the first hint that the plant was Liparopkylhmi 

 gunnii. It has not, so far as I know, been gathered here in flower, or by 

 any one else than Mr. Thomson and myself. The other characters agree so 

 well with Hooker's description, that I entertain no doubt as to the accuracy 

 of Mr. Kirk's identification. 



