14() PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



Knightia excelsa. {Tlio Honey-suckle). 



A tree, sometimes reaching to tlie height of 100ft. Leaves 4 in. -Sin. long, 

 stifi, roughly notched or toothed, obtuse, hnear-oblong. Flowers in racemes, 

 sessile, red, velvety, 2 in. - 3 in. long, 2 in. in diameter. Perianth lin.-ljin. 

 long l)efijrc expansion; I'j in. diameter in the middle. Follicle woody. North 

 Island and Pelorus sound. Fl. Nov. -Dec.. jMaori name Rewrt-rewa. It is 

 sometimes called the Bncket-uf-irater-fi-ee, because it is so slow of com- 

 bustion. 



TluK plant IS related to the Austfaliaii bottle-brushes. It 

 is found onl>- in the Nortli Island and Marlborough, and, from 

 a distance, bears a considerable resemblance to the Lombardy 

 poplar. Several points in the growth and development of the 

 long tubular flowers are worthy of notice. The Ijuds are set 

 round a long floral axis, and the whole cluster has a strange 

 appearance, like a bottle brush composed of red velvet. The 

 gradual opening of these buds is very curious, and well worth 

 watching. The top of the tube opens first, very slightly, so 

 as to expose the tip of the style. It then splits open, for a 

 short distance, into four separate segments at the base of the 

 perianth, leaving the tiilje still for the most part closed. 

 Finally, it bursts suddenly, and the four elastic segments 

 thus set free, roll themselves downwards, and coil into spiral 

 bands at the base of the perianth. The flower, now fully open, 

 presents a strange, tangled ap[)earance, very different from 

 that of the bud. 



The anthers, which are attached to the top of the perianth, 

 and in contact witb the st\ le, mature their pollen, while the 

 tube is still closed, and de[)Osit it upon the swollen portion of 

 the style. This would suggest a device for self-pollination, 

 but a close)' examination shows that it is, after all, an 

 ingenious contrivance to provide for cross-[)ollination. The 

 stigmatic surface is minute, and depressed in a small cup at 

 the top of the stigma. The flower is much visited by the 

 tuis and bell-ljirds. These liiids, pushing their beaks into a 

 Ijimch of newly-opened flowers, receive the pollen upon tlie 

 front of the liead, and proljaljly smeai- it over the stigmas of 



