236 xxxTlil. EUBIACEAE. , [Coprosma. 



15. C. tenuicauliSj Hook, f., Fl. N.Z. i. 106. A much-branched shrub, 

 3ft.-8ft. high. Branches slender, often interlaced. Bark purplish -brown, 

 glabrous or glabrate. Young branches puberulous. Leaves slightly coriaceous, 

 iin.-lin. long, orbicular-spathulate or ovate-spathulate, rounded at the apex, 

 obtuse or subacute, abruptly narrowed into a short petiole ; veins reticulated in 

 large areoles. Flowers axillary, solitary or in 2-3-flowered fascicles, involucel- 

 late. Male : calyx ; corolla Jin.-^in. long, broadly funnel-shaped, 4-5-lobed, 

 lobes short. Female : shorter than the male ; calyx-limb truncate ; corolla 

 narrow, funnel-shaped, 4-5-lobed, lobes acute. Drupe globose or rarely de- 

 pressed, iin. in diameter, black, shining. — Handbk. 115 ; Cheesem., Trans. 

 N.Z.I, xix. 239. 



NORTH Island : Auckland : in swampy lowland forests and open turfy swamps. Sept., Oct. 

 Distinguished from G. areolata by the more obtase and almost coriaceous leaves, dark bark, 

 and more slender twigs. 



16. C. rhamnoides, A. Cunn., Precurs. n. 4'7'i. Erect, 2ft.-6ft. high, 

 or sometimes prostrate and creeping over rocks. Branches usually very nu- 

 merous, divaricating, dense, rigid or almost spinous, and interlaced when growing 

 in exposed situations. Young shoots pubescent or villous. Bark reddish- 

 brown, uneven. Leaves coriaceous or almost membranous, iin.— 2in. long, 

 iin.— fin. broad, orbicular or depressed-orbicular, broadly ovate, oblong or 

 linear, rounded, acute or retuse, suddenly narrowed into a very short petiole, 

 often puberulous beneath ; veins not evidently reticulate in the coriaceous 

 forms. Stipules minute. Flowers involucellate, axillary, solitary or in 2—3- 

 flowered fascicles. Male : calyx ; corolla x^o™- loiigj 4— 5-partite, lobes 

 spreading or recurved. Female smaller than the male ; calyx-limb truncate or 

 minutely 4-toothed ; corolla narrow, funnel-shaped, deeply 4-cleft, lobes linear, 

 often revolnte. Drupe globose, bright-red, ultimately black, ^in.— ^in. in 

 diameter. — Hook, f., Fl. N.Z. i. 107; Handbk. 116. C. gracilis, A. Cunn., 

 Precurs. n. 475. ? C. divaricata, A. Cunn., I.e. n. 476 [not of Hook. f.). C. 

 concinna, Col. in Trans. N.Z.I, xvi. (1886) 330. 



From the North Gape to STEWART Island: common. Sea-level to fully 3,000ft. Aug. 

 to Oct. 



An extremely variable plant, the variations being chiefly caused by situation, shelter, or 

 exposure. Oheeseman distinguishes two principal forms : vera, with orbicular or broadly ovate obtuse 

 often coriaceous leaves (to this must be referred C. orbiculata, Gol. in Trans. N.Z.I, xxii. 465) ; and 

 C, concinna, Col., I.e. xvi. 330, a form with thinner subacute leaves. 



Var. divaricata. Leaves submembranous, broadly ovate oblong-ovate or linear- oblong, acute 

 or subacute. — C. divaricata, A. Gunn. (not of Hook. f). When linear or lanceolate leaves are mixed 

 with the larger it is G. heterophylla. Col., I.e. xviii. 263. 



All the forms, however, are connected by the most minute gradations. In a remarkable sub- 

 variety of the typical form from Mount Manaia the leaves are broader than long. 



17. C. ramulosa, Petrie in Trans. N.Z.I, xxvii. (1894) 405. Much 

 branched, slender prostrate or decumbent. Bark pale-brown or grey. Twigs 

 usually pubescent. Leaves iin. long, jin. wide or less, narrow-obovate, rounded 

 at the apex, narrowed into a short broad petiole or sessile ; veins indistinct. 



