90 XVIII. STACKHOUSIEAE. [Stackhousia. 



imbricate in bud. Stamens 5, iree, inserted on the margin of the disk; fila- 

 ments slender. Ovary free, 2-5-lobed, 2-5-celled ; styles 2-5-lobed or simple ; 

 ovules solitary, erect, anatropous. Fruit of 2-5 indehiscent angular rounded or 

 winged cocci attached to the axis. Seed solitary ; testa membranous ; endosperm 

 fleshy ; embryo straight ; radicle inferior. Perennial herbs of lowly growth, 

 with alternate almost exstipulate leaves. Flowers in short terminal spikes or 

 rarely solitary. 



The order is limibed to 2 genera, containing about 12 species, of which 1 is endemic ia New 

 Zealand. The others are restricted to Australia, except a single species which extends to the 

 Philippine Islands. 



1. STACKHOUSIA, Smith. 

 Calyx 5-lobed. Petals free at the base, more or less united above. Ovary 

 3-lobed ; style simple; stigma 3-lobed. 



Named in honour o£ J. Stackhouse, an English algologist. 



1. S. minima, Hook, f., Fl. N.Z. i. 47. A very small slender glabrous 

 herb. Rhizomes filiform, often matted, white. Stems erect, leafy, iin.— 2in. 

 high, simple or branched. Leaves slightly fleshy, lineai'-acute or obovate, 

 ^in.— iin. long, close-set or distant. " Flowers very minute, solitary or few 

 together towards the tops of the stems." Calyx-teeth acute. Petals united 

 above the middle ; tips free, recurved, acute. " Anthers pubescent." Ovary 

 2-3-lobed ; -stigmas 3-lobed. Only a single carpel ripens. — Handbk. 42. 



Var. uniflora (sfi.), Colenso in Trans. N.Z.I. xviii.;(1885) 258. Flowers all solitary, terminal, 

 shortly peduncled. 



NORTH Island : Hawke's Bay : open downs on the east coast, Colenso. Waipawa County, 

 fl. Hill! SOUTH Island : Nelson: Mount Arthur Plateau, Oheeseman ! Spencer Mountains, T. K. 

 Canterbury: Broken Elver Basin, Enys ! Burnham, T. K. Central Otago, Petrie ! Descends 

 to 100ft. above sea-level near Burnham. Ascends to 4,000ft. in the Spencer Mountains. Dec, 

 Jan. 



I have copied Sir Joseph Hooker's original description of the arrangement of the flowers, but 

 have not been so fortunate as to find specimens with " few-flowered spikes " or " pubescent anthers." 

 Possibly the original description may be inaccurate on these points. In Mr. Gheeseman's Mount 

 Arthur specimens the petals are usually free to just below the limb, and in one or two flowers for 

 their entire length. 



Oedee xix.-EHAMNEAE. 



Flowers regular, hermaphrodite, rarely polygamous. Calyx 4— 5-toothed or 

 -lobed ; lobes valvate, mostly with a raised longitudinal line on the inner surface. 

 Petals 4—5 or 0, concave, minute, alternating with the base of the calyx-lobes. 

 Stamens 4—5, opposite the petals ; anthers often enclosed in the petals ; fila- 

 ments short. Disk fleshy, rarely 0, hypogynous or epigynous. Ovary sessile 

 on the disk or closely invested by it or more or less inferior, usually 3-ceUed ; 

 style simple ; stigma capitate or with 4, 3, or 2 lobes. Ovules solitary, erect, 

 anatropous, usually with a dorsal raphe. Fruit a drupe or capsule, the latter 

 separating into as many cocci as cells. Seeds solitary, erect ; testa crustaceous 

 or coriaceous ; endosperm usually fleshy, often scanty ; embryo straight ; radicle 

 inferior. Usually shrubs or trees, with alternate or rarely opposite undivided 



