86 XIV. EUTACEAE, {Melicope. 



Leaves 3-£oUoIat6 ; petioles terete ; leaflets acute .. .. .. ..1. M. ternata. 



Leaves 3- or 1-foliolate ; leaflets obovate, rounded . . . . . - . . var. ManteUii. 



Leaves 1-foliolate, orbicular; petioles winged .. .. .. ■• 2. M. simplex. 



1. M. ternata, Forst., Char. Gen. 56. A glabrous shrub or small tree, 

 6ft.-15ft. high. Leaves opposite, 3-foliolate ; leaflets 2in.-4in. long, exceed- 

 ing the petiole, linear-oblong or ovate, narrowed below, acute, entire, minutely 

 pellucid-dotted. Flowers in axillary trichotomous panicles, more or less uni- 

 sexual. Pedicels short. Petals ovate, dotted. Style very short and stout; 

 stigma minutely 4-lobed. Carpels coriaceous, wrinkled and punctate, cohe- 

 rent at the base only. Seed black, shining, attached by a slender funicu- 

 lus, and often projecting from the opening valves. — Forst., Prod. n. 166 ; DC, 

 Prod. i. 723 ; A. Rich., Fl. N.Z. p. 293 ; A. Cunn., Precurs. n. 582 ; Raoul, 

 Enum. PI. N.Z. 48; Hook., Ic. PI. t. 603; Hook, f., Fl. N.Z. i. 43; 

 Handbk. 40; A. Gray, U.S. Expl. Exped. Bot. i. 350; T. Kirk, Forest Fl. 

 N.Z. t. 66. Entoganum laevigatum, Sol. ex Gaertn. Fruit, i. 331, t. 68. 



KEBMADEC Islands; NORTH Island: sea-level to fully l,000£t. Common. SOUTH 

 Island: coast of Nelson and Marlborough, but local ; D'Urville Island. Wharangi. Sept., Oct. 



Var. grandis, Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z.I. XX. (1887) 166. Leaves and fruit much larger. Leaf- 

 lets obtuse or rounded at the apex. KBRMADEC Islands. 



Var. ManteUii (sp.), Buch. in Trans. N.Z.I, iii. (1870) 212! Excessively branched; twigs 

 crowded, strict. Bark red. Leaves 8- rarely 1-loliolate, varying greatly in size ; leaflets usually 

 rounded at the apex. Flowers in axillary 8-6-flowered cymes. Petals linear-oblong. Ovary silky. 

 Carpels wrinkled, punctate.— T. Kirk, Forest Fl. N.Z. t. 67. 



NORTH Island: Mongonui to Wellington, but very local. A hybrid between M. to'nato and 

 M. simplex. Trunk sometimes 1ft. in diameter. 



2. M. simplex, A. Cunn., Precurs. n. 583. A glabrous shrub or small 

 tree, 3ft.— 12ft. high. Leaves alternate or fascicled, in young plants 3-foliolate ; 

 petiole not winged : in mature plants, blade orbicular-obovate or ovate, jin.— fin. 

 long, obtuse, obscurely or doubly crenate ; petiole winged. Flowers whitish, 

 in axillary 2— 4-flowered cymes or fascicles. Pedicels very slender, exceeding 

 the petioles. Petals linear-oblong, reflexed, exceeding the stamens. Style 

 very short, obscurely 4-lobed. Fruit smaller than in M. ternata. — Hook., Ic. 

 PI. t. 584; Raoul, Enum. PI. N.Z. 48; Hook, f., Fl. N.Z. i. 43; Handbk. 

 40; T. Kirk, Forest Fl. N.Z. t. 68. M. parvula, Buch. in Trans. N.Z.I. 

 XX. (1887) 255. Astorganthus Huegelii, Endlich., Cat. Hort. Yindob. ii. 196. 



North Cape to Southland. Sea-level to 2,000ft. Not uncommon. Sept. to Nov. 



The blade is invariably jointed to the petiole, which is grooved on the upper surface. A form 

 with cleistogamous flowers was discovered by G. M. Thomson, on Pigeon Island, Lake Wanaka. 



Oedbe XV.— meliaceae. 



Flowers regular, usually perfect. Calyx small, 4-5-lobed or divided into 

 free sepals, imbricate. Petals 4-5, rarely 3 or more than 5, free or adnate with 

 the staminal tube, imbricated, rarely contorted or valvate. Disk free, annular 

 or tubular within the staminal tube. Stamens 5-20, more or less united into a 

 tube inserted with the petals outside the base of the disk. Ovary free, 3-5- 



