Petrie. — On the Occuirrence of a Species of Hemipliues in N.Z, 355 



Art. LI. — Notice of the Occurrence of a Species of Hemiphues in New 



Zealand, By D. Petrie, M.A. 



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



The following is the generic character of Hemiphues, Hook, fil., translated 



from Hooker's Flora of Tasmania : — 



Fruit ovate, oblique, swollen, one-celled, the mericarps cemented 

 together, or one wholly suppressed, crowned by five unequal, deciduous, 

 lobes of the calyx limb, without vittse, five-ribbed, the ribs inconspicuous 

 and placed opposite the calyx lobes. Petals five linear, sometimes none ? 

 Stamens five. Stylopodia connate, divided into two short erect styles. 



Alpine herbs, densely cffispitose, scapigerous, more or less pilose or 

 woolly ; the leaves all radical, petiolate, spathulate, quite entire or toothed ; 

 scapes short, stout ; the umbel simple ; the leaves of the involucre adhering 

 and forming a many-toothed cup ; flowers sessile, inconspicuous. 



The plant which I refer to this genus was found in Stewart Island, in 

 low boggy situations, in the open land at the head of Paterson's Inlet, and 

 in open moist situations ranging in altitude from sea-level to 1,500 feet, to 

 the west of Port Pegasus. The character of the habitat agrees entirely with 

 that of its Tasmanian congener, Hemiphues bellidioides, Hook. fil. The Tas- 

 manian species flowers in October and November, and the New Zealand one 

 probably flowers in November and December, as the specimens gathered by 

 Mr. Thomson and myself, in the middle of January, had the fruit ripe and 

 ready to fall off. 



We had the good fortune to meet with one imperfect and withered flower, 

 which exhibited on dissection anomalous characters alHed to the Umbelliferse. 

 The habit and general appearance of the plant agree very closely with the 

 generic description, the only points of divergence being that the leaves are 

 not radical but arranged along the stem, while the involucral leaves are not 

 adherent except at the base. In Tasmania, H. bellidioides occurs at an 

 elevation of 4,000 feet, but the Stewart Island species descends to sea-level, 

 as might be expected from the difference in latitude. I propose to designate 

 this highly interesting addition to the flora of New Zealand, Hemiphues novce- 

 zealandia. The foUowing description is necessarily very incomplete, as the 

 plants were long past flowering when gathered : — 



Hemiphues nov^-zealandle, n. s. 



A densely tufted prostrate perennial herb with short very slender stems. 

 Leaves alternate exstipulate spathulate rather fleshy, glabrous save for a few 

 hairs on the margin at and near the tips, base sheathing silky. Scapes 

 axiUary, :^-inch high, with four or five oblong involucral leaves enclosing 

 five or fewer flowers, Stylopodia connate conical, at length divided into 



