CoLENSo. — On neiv Plants. 359 



Art. LIV. — A Description of a few new Plants from our New Zealand Forests, 



ivith dried Specimens of the same. By W. Colenso, F.L.S. 



[Read before the Hawke's Bay Pliilosopliieal Institute^ 13(/i October, 1879.] 



During the last few years I have again turned my attention in spare time 

 to the elucidating a little more of the still unknown botany of our adopted 

 country ; being as strong a believer as ever in the great peculiarities and 

 narrow areas of not a few plants of our local Floras. And, from among 

 several plants which I have detected, which have pleased me, I now bring 

 you the following — all, I believe, being new species and hitherto undescribed, 

 if not totally unknown to science. Some of them, I think, will interest 

 you, particularly the Clematis, one of the two species of Metrosideros, and 

 the three ferns. But, alas ! between the most carefully prepared dried 

 specimens and living plants — in all their glory and beauty — there is " a 

 great gulph " of difference : — 



Clematis parkinsoniana. 



A diffuse slender climber ; branches striated. 



Leaves 3-foliolate, submembranaceous, various in size and outlme, mostly 

 (1) ovate acute, mucronate, entire, li inches long, 7-8 lines broad, (2) 

 sometimes deeply serrated and incised, having 1-4 incisions near apex, (3) 

 sometimes cordate acuminate, 2 niches long, with 6-8 very large and irreg- 

 ular serratures or incisions, and (4) sometimes (rarely) broadly elliptic, 

 almost orbicular, entire, and very obtuse ; obscurely trinerved, nerves red ; 

 both surfaces well covered with adpressed golden-yellow shining hairs ; 

 veiTis numerous, yellow-red and semi-translucent, very finely reticulated — 

 compound anastomosing having free veinlets terminating in areoles, as 

 obtains in some ferns — (e.g., Polypodium memhranaceum and our own P. bil- 

 lardierij ; common petiole 3 inches long, petiolules 8-10 lines long ; young 

 branches, petioles, peduncles, and pedicels densely villous with yellowish- 

 brown spreading woolly hairs. Floicers numerous, diameter 9-10 lines, 

 disposed in long loose axillary panicles 4 inches long ; sejyals (male), six, 

 yellow (brass colour), oblong-lanceolate, very obtuse or retuse, 4 lines long, 

 obscurely 3-5 nerved, nerves branching, very woolly on the outside, the 

 silky wool extending far beyond margins and apex, giving a subciliated ap- 

 pearance ; anthers elliptic, obtuse, pinkish ; filaments linear lanceolate, of 

 various lengths, but much shorter than sepals, not very numerous, under 

 thirty, often remaining after the sepals have fallen. Peduncles opposite, 

 springing from main rhachis, 1-2 inches long, and about 1 inch apart, 

 generally trichotomously bearing three flowers on pedicels 5-8 lines long, 

 the central pedicel always the longest ; peduncles and pedicels each having 

 a pair of oblong obtuse connate bracts at their bases, those of the pedicels 

 being the longest, thinnest, and simply veined. 



