362 Transactions. — Botany. 



scarious bracteole near its top ; 2^ecluncle stout, piibesceBt, 6-20 lines long, 

 pedicels slender, pubescent, 1-2 lines long, always opposite on rbachis, 

 bracteolate, eacli witb one or two small scarious obtuse bracteoles and several 

 very minute acute ones at base, and often with a pair of large leafy broadly 

 ovate punctate bracts pilose and ciliate immediately below the base of the 

 pedicels. 



Hah. — Forests at the head of the Eiver Manawatu, where it cHmbs lofty 

 trees; 1876-79. 



This species, which has been long known to me in its non-flowering 

 state, will rank near to M. hyperid/olia, A. Cunn., which in some respects it 

 resembles ; differing, however, in its more upright manner of growth, not 

 being so divaricate ; in its leaves being petiolate, broader, piibescent, and 

 ciliate, and not so acute ; in the colour of its flowers ; in its stamens being 

 always very diffuse — not erect ; in its style being much longer than its 

 stamens ; in its longer and more dilated calyx tube which is also persis- 

 tent ; and in its leafy panicles. 



A good characteristic drawing of M. hypericifoUa is given in the " Flora 

 Nova Zelandia " (such as I have seen that handsome plant m the Northern 

 woods), its flowers are ivJiolly "scarlet" and very striking; but in this 

 species its living flowers mostly appear pure white in its forests, owing to 

 the early faUing-off of its very small fugacious petals and its white spreadmg 

 stamens; 



Olearia coloeata. 

 A large shrub 8-12 feet high, of erect sub-pyramidal growth ; bark thin, 

 pale ; branchlets striated. 



Leaves broadly lanceolate, 3-5^ inches long, 1-2 inches broad, mucro- 

 nate, grossly and irregularly toothed at ends of lateral veins, teeth long 

 subulate pointed, sub-membranaceous, rather dry, alternate, spreading, 

 colour light-green, thickly covered above when J'oung with long strigose 

 loose woolly hairs, — hairs white, hoary, translucent, irregular in size and 

 shape, branched, linear-lanceolate, broadest in middle, and tapering 

 gradually to both ends, — and leaves densely covered below with closely- 

 pressed white-brown cottony tomentum, which on the mid-rib and principal 

 lateral veins is of a very much darker colour ; lateral veins alternate at 

 right-angles to mid-rib, conniving and coalescing within the margin ; whole 

 leaf closely filled with minute reticulated compound anastomosing veins ; 

 petioles 6-9 lines long, canaHculated, rather slender. Floivers axillary and 

 sub-terminal in diffuse branching heads of loose corymbose panicles ; heads 

 numeroiTS, small, crowded, 5-7 hnes diameter, flowers of ray 8-14, white, 

 patent, slightly recurved ; involucre sub-campanulate, its scales in about 

 three rows, lanceolate acute and densely woolly and tipped with black, each 



