Stellaria.] VI. OARYOPHYLLEAE. 57 



Minute. Leaves linear-oblong. Flowers solitary 



Leaves linear-lanceolate, spreading. Cymes terminal. Flowers paniculate 



Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, ascending. Cymes few-flowered, lateral 



Erect, dichotomously branched. Flowers terminal 



Leaves aoerose, with recurved margins. Peduncles long, 1-flowered, erect 



i. S. elatinoides, 



* S. graminea, 



* S. uUginosa. 



5. S. Boughii. 



6. S, graciUnta. 



1. S. parviflora, Banks and Sol. ex. Hook. /., Fl. N.Z. i. 25. Annual. 

 Stems capillary, 6in.— 12in. long, creeping, matted, weak, glabrous. Leaves 

 flaccid, nearly orbicular, acute, 3 to 6 lines long, exceeding the petioles. Pe- 

 duncles axillary, solitary or 2-flowered, with a pair of bracteoles at the base 

 of the pedicels and on one or both pedicels. Sepals 5, lanceolate or oblong- 

 acuminate or subacute, exceeding the petals. Petals or 5, 2-lobed nearly to 

 the base. Stamens 5—10. Styles 3. Capsule slightly exceeding the sepals or 

 twice as long, deeply 6-valved. Seeds few, deeply pitted. — Handbk. 23. 



Var. oligosperma (sp.), Colenso in Trans. N.Z.I, xvlii. (1885) 257! Peduncles usually 2- 

 flowered. Capsule twice as long as the sepals. Seeds finely marked, not pitted. 



Var. ^Ilucida (sp), Colenso I.e. xxvii. (1894) 383. Leaves minutely punctiform. Seeds 

 minutely muriculate. 



NORTH Island; SOUTH Island; STEWART Island; CHATHAM Islands: common in 

 lowland districts. Ascends to 5,000ft. on the Wairau Mountains. Travers. 



2. S. decipiens, Hook. /., Fl. Antarct. i. 7. Annual. Stems weak, 

 decumbent, much branched. Leaves orbicular or orbicular-ovate, acuminate or 

 apiculate, narrowed into a broad short petiole which is sometimes ciliate ; blade 

 with a callons point and slightly thickened margin. Peduncles axillary, 

 2-flowered, rarely 3-flowered or solitary, longer or shorter than the leaves, with 

 a pair of bracts at the base and another on one of the pedicels. Sepals 5, 

 oblong-ovate, obtuse or subacute, glabrous. Petals 5 or 0, shorter than the 

 sepals, deeply 2-fid. Stamens 5, 8, or 10. Styles 3. Capsule fully one-third 

 longer than the sepals, oblong-ovoid, 5-valved nearly to the base, scarcely 2-fid 

 at the tips. Seeds black, tuberculate. — Hook. f. in Hook. Ic. PI. t. 680, 

 and Handbk. 23. 



AUCKLAND and CAMPBELL Islands, Hooker f. MACQUARIE Island, A. Hamilton ! 



Var. angustata. Leaves narrow, linear-lanceolate, acute or acuminate. ANTIPODES 

 Island, T. K. 



3. S. minuta, n. s. Annual. Stems iin.— lin. high, narrowly winged, 



branched, glabrous, ciliate. Leaves ovate-acuminate or acute, narrowed into 



a short broad petiole ; apex callous. Peduncles axillary, 1- or 2-flowered, 



with a pair of bracts at the base of the naked pedicels, not diverging. Sepals 



broadly oblong, obtuse. Petals 5, shorter than the sepals, 2-fid nearly to the 



base. Stamens 8, rarely 10. Capsule not seen. 



SOUTH Island : Mount Stokes, 3,000ffc., J. Macmahon ! Westport, on the sea-beach, Dr. 

 Oaze (a scrap only). 



Distinguished from all forms of S. parviflora, S. decipiens, and S. elatinoides by the broadly 

 obtuse sepals, and from S. media by its solitary or geminate flowers and the absence of the hairy line 

 on the stems and branches. 



* S. media, CyriU. Char. Gomm. 36. A weak green decumbent annual. Stems 

 and branches with a pubescent line which changes its position between the nodes 

 8 



