386 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



3,500 to 6,000 feet, the leaves are thickly coriaceous, and only 

 J in. -J in. in length, whilst Ourisia glandidosa, found at the 

 height of 5,000 feet ni the Otago lake district, has become 

 reduced to a patch-plant. 



Genus Euphrasia. 



Herbs, with opposite leaves. Calyx 4-lobed, rarely 6. Corolla 2-lipped, 

 .5-cleft. Stamens i. Capsule oblong, 2-valved. A small genus, chiefly found in 

 Australia and New Zealand. The European species are partially parasitic. 

 (Name from the Greek for /oi/, in allusion to its reputed virtue). 8 sp. 



Euphrasia antarctica (The Antarctic Eycbrigld). 



A small herb, lin.-2 in. high. Leaves YViri--^iit' long ; margins recurved. 

 Flowers jt in, -J in. across. Both islands : in alpine situations. PI. Jan. -March, 



The genus Euplirasia belongs to a group of plants which 

 are nearly all root-parasites, (o. Dactijlanthus, p. 150.) The 

 New Zealand species are also doubtless parasitic, though 

 they have not as yet received any close investigation. The 

 Euphrasia seedlings develop first of all normally, but, on tlie 

 secondary rootlets, there are produced small round nodules — 

 not unlike those on the roots of a leguminous plant. Their 

 function, however, is completely different. Wlren they come 

 in contact with the root of another species, they [)ut out short 

 absorption-cells, which penetrate the tissues of the liost. 



They are mostly little known alpme plants ; often tufted, or 

 moss-like. The genus owes its English name to the once 

 prevalent belief that the juices of one of the species removed 

 blindness, or at least improved the sight of the eyes. 



Gesneriaceae. 



The Gloxinia Family. 



Distribution. — A large, chiefly tropical family, possessing no important 

 proiierties, but much cultivated for the beauty of its flowers. Some of the South 

 American species are epiphytic. Gloxinia is one of the best-known stove-plants. 

 The Calabash tree of N. America, Crescentia Cujete, has edible fruits. The 

 fcniiilv is represented in New Zealand by a genus of a single species. 



