I. EANUNCULACEAE. 



[ Clematis . 



Tribe IV. HELLEBOEEAB.— Sepals imbricate, petaloid. Carpels usually dehiscing along the 

 inner face. Ovules or seeds, 2 or more, erect. 

 4. Caltha. Sepals 5-7, petaloid. Petals 0. 



* Aquilegia. Sepals 5-6, petaloid. Petals spurred. 



* NiGELLA. Sepals 5, petaloid. Petals small. 



1. CLEMATIS, Linn. 

 Climbing shrubs^ with slender flexuous branches and opposite compound 

 leaves. Flowers in few- or many-flowered axillary panicles, dioecious in the 

 New Zealand species. Sepals 4— 8, petaloid, valvate. Petals 0. Stamens 4—70. 

 Cai'pels numerous, each with 1 pendulous ovule. Achenes in dense heads, the 

 elongated and persistent style forming a long plumose awn. 



Etym. Prom the Greek, signifying a vine-shoot,- in reference to the habit of growth. 



The genus comprises upwards of 100 species, generally diffased throughout the temperate 

 regions, but rare in the tropics. Many exotic species have showy flowers, a few have minute petals, 

 others have erect or herbaceous stems, a few have entire leaves. All tlie New Zealand species are 

 endemic, and have unisexual flowers, although the female flowers usually contain a few abortive 

 stamens, and more rarely one or two abortive carpels are produced in the male flowers. The species 

 are remarkably variable, and in some oases seem to pass one into the other in the mature state. 



Key to the Species. 



Sepals white. 

 Leaflets usually entire. Flowers 2in.-4in. diam. 

 Leaflets toothed or lobed. Flowers lin.-l|in. diam. 

 Leaflets pinnate or pinnatifid 



1. C. indivisa. 



2. G. hexasepala. 



3. C. australis. 



yellow or gri 



yellow; purplish in 7. 



Stems leafless. Sepals i 



Leaflets toothed or lobed. Sepals 5-7, silky 



Leaflets 2-ternate or pinnatifid 



Leaflets small, entire or lobed. Sepals 4 



Leaflets small, linear. Sepals 4, purplish 



Leaflets large, lin.-ljin. long. Sepals 6-8, tomentose 



Leaflets Jin.-lin. long. Sepals 6-8, linear. Anthers ovate 



4. C afoliata. 



5. G. Golensoi. 



5. var. rutaefolia. 



6. C. marata. 



7. 0. quadribracteolata. 



8. G. foetida. 



9. G. parviflora. 



1. C. indivisa, IVilld., Sp. Plant, ii. 1291. A stout woody climber. 

 Leaves 3-foliolate, coriaceous, glabrous, lin.— 4in. long, petiolulate, oblong- 

 ovate or ovate-cordate, usually entire. Flowers 2in.-4in. in diameter, in large 

 axillary panicles, fragrant, white. Sepals 6—8, oblong. Anthers oblong. 

 Achenes downy. — Hook., Bot. Mag. t. 4398; DC, Prod. i. 5; A. Rich., 

 Fl. N.Z. 288 ; A. Cunn., Precurs. n. 635 ; Raoul, Enum. PI. N.Z. 47 ; Hook, f., 

 Fl. N.Z. i. 6, and Handbk. N.Z. Fl. 2. C. integrifolia, Forst., Prod. n. 231. 



Var. b. lobulata. Leaflets toothed or lobulate. Flowers smaller. 



Var. c. decomposlta. Leaflets 2-ternate. 



Var. d. linearis. Leaflets narrow-linear, 3in.-7in. long, Jin.-Jin. broad, entire or with two 

 lateral lobes at the base. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands : Common in lowland districts. THREE KINGS Islands. 

 STEWART Island ; Rare. Ascends to 2,500ft. Native name, Puawananga. Aug. to Nov. 



The varieties are very local, c and d being apparently confined to the North Island and 

 should perhaps be considered as temporary states rather than permanent forms : var. linearis occa- 

 sionally passes into decomposita, and that again into the typical form. 



