130 The Vegetable Sheep of New Zealand. 



2. R. tcnuLcaulis, Hf. Stems generally slender, loosely 

 tufted, prostrate, creeping, one to ten inches long, with, 

 ascending branches. Leaves loosely imbricating, spreading 

 and recurved, one-twelfth of an inch long, grey, with appressed 

 silvery tomentum. Heads very similar to those of R. Australia, 

 but involucral scales, with brown acute tips. Found in the 

 gravelly beds of rivers in Northern Island, and also at Kowai 

 Eiver, Middle Island, at an altitude of one to two thousand 

 feet. 



3. R. Haastii, Hf. A small, densely tufted, nearly glabrous 

 plant, stems rather stout, prostrate, branches one inch high. 

 Leaves densely imbricate, one-sixteenth of an inch long, 

 broadly sheathing, broadly ovate, coriaceous, obscurely woolly 

 or silky. Flower-heads similar to those of R. Auslralis, but 

 narrower, with six to eight florets ; involucral scales obtuse, 

 not brown, nor with a white radiating tip. Found in gravelly 

 terraces at Kowai River and Waiauna Valley. 



4. R. Munroi, Hf. Stems slender, creeping*, with very 

 long, wiry, filiform rootlets. Branches slender, ascending, one 

 to two inches high. Leaves laxly imbricate, one-eighth to one- 

 sixth of an inch long, linear, obtuse, uniformly clothed with 

 grey, silky tomentum. Heads narrow, one-sixth of an inch 

 long; involucral scales glabrous, linear, green, with rather 

 dilated, scarious brown tips ; florets about twelve ; pappus as 

 in R. Australis. The wiry stems and very long filiform rootlets 

 are prominent characters, as are the uniformly grey, silky, 

 linear leaves, and narrow heads, with brown-tipped, involucral 

 scales. The plant has been found in Waihopai Valley and 

 Canterbury Plains. 



5. R. subulata, Hf. A small, very densely tufted, rigid, 

 moss-like species, quite glabrous throughout, blackish when 

 dry, stems stoutish, branches half an inch high. Leaves most 

 densely imbricate, patent or suberect, rigid, subulate, acuminate. 

 Heads large for the size of the plant, one -sixth of an inch in 

 diameter • involucral scales linear, oblong, scarious, shorter 

 than the leaves ; receptacle convex, hispid : florets of circum- 

 ference in several rows, pappus of rigid, scabrid hairs, rather 

 thickened at the tips. Achene silky. A remarkable and very 

 small species, differing much from the foregoing in the paopus, 

 hispid receptacle, and foliage. This species is found on the 

 Nelson and Otago Mountains, at an altitude of from five 

 to six thousand feet. 



G. R. eximia, Hf. The vegetable sheep. A small, most 

 densely-tufted, hard little plant, forming largo woolly balls on 

 the mountains, enveloped in soft, velvety, white tomentum; 

 branches very short, with the leaves forming cylindric or 

 mammilliform knobs, one quarter of an inch in diameter; 



