Hibiscus.] X. MALVACEAE. 73 



'MODIOLA, Moench, 



Involucre of 3 bracts, free. Calyx 5-fid. Staminal column divided at the apex 

 into numerous filaments. Ovary oo-celled. Style-branches as many as cells. Car- 

 pels with 2 stout dorsal bristles, co, 2-valved, transversely septate. Herbs with 

 prostrate stems, divided leaves, and axillary flowers. 



''M. multifida, Moench., Meth. 620. A much-branched perennial with pros- 

 trate stems. Leaves on slender petioles, palmate or ovate-cordate, 3-5-lobed ; seg- 

 ments coarsely toothed or incised, glabrate. Flowers axillary, on slender 1-fiowered 

 pedicels. Segments of involucre ovate-lanceolate, short. Calyx segments ovate, 

 hirsute. Petals slightly exceeding the calyx, red. Carpels 15-20, hairy at the top, 

 each valve crested with hairs. Seeds reniform. 



NORTH Island: naturalised in many localities. SOUTH Island: Nelson.- North and 

 South America. 



4. HIBISCUS, Linn. 



Bracteoles numerous or rarely few, usually narrow, free or coherent- 

 Calyx 5-lobed or toothed. Staminal column with the filaments inserted below 

 the 5-toothed apex. Ovary 5-celled ; ovules 2 or more in each cell ; styles 5, 

 spi'eading ; stigmas capitate. Capsule 5-valved, loculicidal. Seeds glabrous or 

 hispid. Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with alternate entire or divided leaves. Stipules 

 fugacious. 



Species, 150. Widely distributed in tropical regions ; rare in temperate countries. 



Etym. Erom the Greek, but of doubtful meaning. 



Flowers axillary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. H. Trionum. 



Flowers in terminal racemes . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. H. diversifolius. 



1. H, Trionum, L., Sp. PL 697. Annual or biennial. Stems nearly 

 simple or with spreading branches, almost woody below, lit.— 2ft. high, hispid or 

 scabrid, pubescent. Leaves shortly petioled, lin.— Sin. long, palmately deeply 

 3_o-lobed ; lobes oblong or lanceolate, irregularly toothed or sinuate. Flowers 

 large, lin.— l|in. in diameter, axillary on short peduncles. Bracteoles 7-12, 

 narrow-linear, acute, hispid. Calyx membranous, inflated, with raised veins. 

 Capsule ovoid, hispid, enclosed in the calyx. Seeds wrinkled, glabrous. — DC, 

 Prod. i. 453 ; Hot. Mag. t. 209 ; Hook, f ., Fl. N.Z. i. 28, Handbk. 31 ; 

 Benth., Fl. Austr. i. 210. H. vesicarius, Cav., Diss. iii. 171, t. 62, f. 2; A. 

 Cunn., Precurs. n. 607. H. tridactylites , Lindl. in Mitch. Three Exped. i. 85. 



NORTH Island : chiefly from North Cape to Whangarei and Kaihu, but local. Great Barrier 

 Island, T. K. SOUTH Island : South Whanganui, Lyall. 



Flowers handsome, straw-coloured, with a dark eye. I fully agree with Mr. Colenso in con- 

 sidering this species indigenous in the North. It is common in Australia, South Africa, southern 

 Asia, and China. 



3. H. diversifolius, Jacq., Icon. PI. rar. 3, t. 551. A stout rigid peren- 

 nial herb, often woody at the base. Branches, petioles, and rarely the principal 

 ribs of the leaf clothed with small prickles mixed with setae. Leaves on stout 

 petioles 2in.-3in. long; blade 2in.— 4in., broadly cordate or rounded-cordate, 

 obscurely 3-5-lobed, coarsely irregularly toothed. Flowers large, handsome, 

 2iu. in diameter or more, in terminal elongated racemes. Floral leaves small, 

 3-fid or lanceolate. Pedicels very short or rarely 0, solitary or in pairs. 

 10 



