CoLENSO. — Description of new Plants. 333 



covered by the imbricated sheathing bases of the leaves : leaves, usually 4-5 

 to a plant at a time, thick, glabrous, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, acute and 

 pointletted, with a distinct mucro (almost hke a short awn, so that each 

 leaf has a vertical double-pointed apex), diminishing but slightly towards 

 base, 1, li— 2 inches long, 5-6 lines broad at middle, and 2-3 lines broad 

 at base, sessile, sheathing, jointed immediately above clasping sheath, 

 somewhat keeled, distichous, spreading, sub-falcate, dark-green spotted 

 with purple, mid-rib below purple, 8-nerved longitudinally, nerves parallel 

 and sparingly transversely netted, but only visible when leaf is dried : 

 scape, slender, axillary in lower leaves, 4-8 lines long, (and with rhachis) 

 green, closely spotted and blotched with purple ; two solitary sheathing 

 bracts, one at base, and one much larger and acuminate on one side in the 

 middle : rhachis, 6-12 lines long, thickened. 



Raceme 5-8-flowered, flowers not crowded: pedicels 2 lines long, alter- 

 nate and scattered, purple striped, each having a single broadly ovate acute 

 bract, embracing at base. Perianth conniving, not split quite to base, 3 

 lines diameter, light-green, striped and spotted with purple : sepals oblong- 

 ovate, obtuse, with a purple stripe down the centre on outside ; dorsal one 

 largest : petals oblong-lanceolate, subacute, smaller than sepals, margined 

 spotted and blotched with purple : labellum shorter than petals, greenish- 

 white minutely spotted with purple without, green within, gibbous at apes, 

 subcucuUate with a minute notch on each side of lip ; lateral lobes very 

 slightly produced, conniving, with two thick transverse opposite ridges {calli) 

 within. Capsule oblong-linear, pointletted, stout, turgid, 7-8 lines long, 

 light-greenish, striped longitudinally with purple; densely woolly within: 

 seeds minute, lanceolate, and with their wool light-brown. 



Hub. — High up in forks of large pine trees [Podocarpus dacrydioides and 

 P. totara), " Seventy Mile Bush" (1878-80), and at Glenross (1881, B. P. 

 Balfour), Hawke's Bay ; flowering in September. A species allied to some 

 of the smaller Australian species of this genus, and possessing close affinity 

 with S. adversus, Hook, fil., but very distinct. 



Oedeb 7. LILIACEiE. 

 Genus 5. Astelia, Banks and Solander. 

 Astelia polyneuron, n. sp. 



A middle-sized species, few-leaved and not bushy ; epiphytical. 



Male Plant : Leaves spreading drooping sub-coriaceous, 4*9-5 feet 

 long, linear-lanceolate very acuminate acute, 1^ inch wide at middle, largely 

 sub-recurved, dark green, glabrous on upper surface, canescent-tomentose 

 below with fine white closely adpressed hairs, possessing (under a lens) 

 a minutely and regularly dotted appearance, 1^ inch wide at base and 

 there densely clothed with long straight white hair, deeply furrowed on 



