Myriophyllum.] XXYIII. HALOEAGEAE. 151 



calyx-lobes very minute ; petals 4 ; stamens 8. Female : calyx-lobes and 

 petals 0. Fruits smooth^ shorter than the floral leaves. — DC, Prod. iii. 68 ; 

 Hook, i., Fl. N.Z. i. 63 ; Handbk. 66 ; Benth., Fl. Austr. ii. 487. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands: from the Waitemata (Auckland) to STEWART Island. In 

 the South Island it ascends to upwards of 3,000ft. Water-milfoil. Nov. to. Jan. Also found in 

 Australia and temperate South America. 



4. M. robustum, Hook, f., Handbk. 67. Stems usually erect, stout, 

 9in.— 20in. high or more. Leaves 5 in a whorl, rarely more, lin.— 2in. long, 

 pectinately pinnatifid ; segments acute. (Submerged leaves with longer capil- 

 lary segments are rarely seen.) Flowers 1, rarely 2, with 2 jagged or laciniate 

 bracts at the base of each. Calyx-lobes 4, deltoid, jagged. Male: petals 4; 

 stamens 8, rarely 4-6. Female : styles usually 4 ; stigmas plumose ; carpels 4, 

 rounded at the back and compressed laterally, smooth or minutely tuberculate. 

 — M. variaefolium, /3, Hook, f., Fl. X.Z. i. 64. 



NORTH Island: in swamps; local. Bay of Islands to middle Waikato, &o., T. K. Te Aroha 

 Mountain, Adams. East Coast, Colenso. Wellington : JIungaroa Swamp, T. K. SOUTH Island : 

 Marlborough: Awatere, T. K. Nelson: Moutere, Cheeseman. Hokitika, Tipler ! Okarito, A. 

 Hamilton ! Sea-level to 900ft. Deo. to Feb. 



A handsome plant, resembling a miniature pine. The fruits are crowded, presenting a 

 whorled appearance, rarely consisting of 5 or even 6 carpels. Sometimes 1 or 2 male flowers are 

 found amongst the female, and more rarely 1 or 2 female amongst the lowest males. In the late 

 autumn the old fJowering-stems are submerged by floods, and towards spring develop erect stems 

 from the nodes. 



5. M. peduncidatum, Hook. /., Lond. Joum. Bot. vi. (1847) 474. 

 Stems tufted, 2in.— 4in. high, simple or branched, erect or matted. Leaves veiy 

 small, opposite, narrow-linear or linear-oblong, entire, ^in.— Jin. long. Flowers 

 axillary. Male usually on short peduncles, with 2 linear bracts at the base ; 

 calyx-lobes 4, linear; petals 4; stamens 8. Female sessile; bracts 2, minute, 

 acute ; calyx-lobes 4, minute ; petals ; styles 4 ; carpels small, rugose or 

 minutely tuberculate. — Hook, f., Fl. Tasm. i. 123, t. 23, f . B ; Handbk. 67 ; 

 Benth., Fl. Austr. ii. 489. 



NORTH and SOUTH Islands: from the Waitemata (Auckland) to STEWART Island, but 

 often local. Sea-level to 2,800ft. Dec, Jan. Also in .-iustralia. Often dioecious. 



8. GUNNERA, Linn. 

 Flowers unisexual, rarely hermaphrodite. Male : calyx usually reduced 

 to 2 or 3 minute teeth ; petals 2 or 3 or ; stamens 3 or 3 ; anthers large. 

 Female : calyx-tube terete or ovoid, lobes 2 or 3, small ; petals 2 or 3 or ; 

 ovary 1-celled ; ovule solitary, pendulous ; styles 2 rarely 4, linear, stigmatic 

 from the base. Fruit a small fleshy drupe, often minute ; seed adherent to 

 the pericarp ; endosperm fleshy ; embryo minute ; radicle superior. Stemless 

 herbs, with creeping rhizomes often forming matted patches. Leaves petioled. 

 Flowers small, in simple or branched spikes or panicles. 



Usually inhabiting swamps and watery places, often forming dense masses amongst sphagnum. 

 G. arenaria exhibits a curious dimorphism in the flowers and fruits. G. mixta is probably dimorphic 

 also. In most species the fruits require from four to six months for maturation. 



