Aristotelia.] xi. TILIACEAE. 75 



NOETH Island : North Cape to Cook Strait ; Great and Little Barrier Islands, &o. Chiefly 

 littoral, and very rare outside the Auckland District. Cape Palliser, Paikakariki, &o., rare. SOUTH 

 Island: Nelson: Collingwood, and islands near Gape Farewell, Hector, Kingsley ! Whau. Hau- 

 ama. Corkwood. Oct. to Jan. 



The wood is very light, and is used by the Maoris as floats for their fishing-nets. 



2. ARISTOTELIA, L'H6rit. 

 Sepals 4 or 5, valvate. Petals 4 or 5, imbricate, 3-lobed or toothed, rarely 

 entire or minute, inserted around the base of the thickened torus. Stamens 

 4 or 5 or oo, inserted on the torus ; anthers linear, with short apical slits. 

 Ovaiy 2— 4-celled ; ovules 2 in each cell ; style subulate. Fruit a berry. 

 Seeds ascending or pendulous, often fleshy outside the hard testa. Embryo 

 straight. Shrubs or small trees, usually with opposite entire or toothed leaves 

 and unisexual often polygamous flowers. 



Besides the 2 or 3 species endemic in New Zealand, 3 others are found in Australia, 1 in the 

 New Hebrides, 1 in Chili, and 1 in Central America. 



Etym. In memory of the Macedonian philosopher Aristotle. 



Leaves on long petioles. Flowers in large axillary panicles . . . . . . 1. A. racemosa. 



Leaves on short petioles. Flowers in small panicles or simple racemes . . . . 2. A. Colensoi. 



Flowers solitary or in small cymes or racemes . . . . . . . . 3. A. fruticosa. 



1. A. racemosa, Hook. /., Fl. N.Z. i. 38. A shrub or small tree, 

 6ft.— 30ft. high. Bark of young branches red. Branchlets, petioles, young 

 leaves, and panicles pubescent. Leaves on slender petioles, opposite or sub- 

 opposite, membranous, ovate-cordate or ovate-acuminate, irregularly and sharply 

 serrate. Flowers in much-branched slender axillary panicles. Sepals 4, free. 

 Petals 4-lobed at the tips. Stamens inserted on a glandular disk ; anthers 

 equalling or exceeding the filaments. Female flowers : ovary 3- or 4-celled ; 

 styles 3 or 4, short, straight. Fruit a 3- or 4-celled berry, about the size of a 

 pea, red. Seeds 8, angular. — Handbk. 33 ; T. Kirk, Forest I'l. N.Z. t. 113. 

 Friesia racemosa, A. Cunn., Precurs. n. 603; Hook. f. in Hook. Ic. t. 601. 

 Elaeocarpus Dicera, Vahl., Symb. iii. 67. Triphalia rubicunda, Banks and Sol. 

 MSS. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands ; STEWART Island : chiefly in lowland districts, but ascends 

 to fully 2,000ft. Flowers very attractive. Makomalco. Wineberry. Nov., Dec. 



The wood is converted into charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. The berries seem 

 likely to be used for colouring wines. 



2. A. Colensoi, Hook. /., Handbk. 33. A shrub, rarely exceeding 6ft. 



in height, with opposite branches. Leaves lin.— l^in. long, ovate-lanceolate or 



ovate, serrate, membranous. Racemes axillary. Female 5— 8-flowered; pedicels 



very slender. Berry the size of a peppercorn. Seeds 4-angled. 



NORTH Island: Wairarapa Valley. SOUTH Island: Otago : chiefly in subalpine districts. 

 Perhaps a variety of the preceding. 



3. A. fruticosa, Hook. /., Fl. N.Z. i. 34. A much - branched shrub, 

 3ft.- 6ft. high, erect, suberect, or decumbenf. Branchlets red. Leaves in 

 young state narrow-linear-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, deeply toothed, lobed 

 or pinnatifid, fin.— Ifin. long. Leaves of mature state on very short petioles. 



