IpomeaJ] 
LX. CONVOLVULACE/E. 
199 
the New Zealander belongs ; this ( Batatas edulis , Choisy ; Convolvulus chrysorhizus, Forst.) 
is cultivated all over the Pacific, and was introduced by the earliest inhabitants. 
1. I. tuberculata. Rerun, and Sell . ; — I. pendula , Br. ; FI. N. Z. i. 185. 
Stems slender, glabrous, twining, sometimes tubercled. Leaves 5-foliolate ; 
leaflets |-1^ in. long, sessile, lanceolate, acuminate, quite entire, the outer 
sometimes 2-lobed. Peduncles 1-3-flowered. Flowers drooping, large, rose- 
coloured. Sepals obtuse. Corolla 1-3 in. diam. Seeds silky . — Convolvulus 
mucronatus, Forst. 
Northern Island: east coast, Banks and Solander ; Bay of Islands, Cunningham; 
Cavalhos Island, Colenso. An Australian, Pacific island, and Indian plant, probably the 
same as I. palmata, Forst. 
3. DICHONDRA, Forst. 
Prostrate herb. Flower solitary, axillary, small. — Calyx 5-partite. Corolla 
nearly rotate, 5-lobed, imbricate. Ovary of 2 distinct carpels; styles 2, dis- 
tinct, stigmas capitate ; ovule 1 in each carpel, erect. Capsule membranous, 
indehiscent, 1 -seeded. 
1. D. repens, Forst.; — FI. N. Z. i. 185. A small, procumbent, branched, 
creeping, tufted, silky herb. Leaves petiolate, reniform, ^-1 in. broad, entire 
or emarginate at the tip. Flowers small, yellow. Corolla shorter than the 
calyx. 
Abundant throughout the islands. Banks and Solander, etc. A very common tropical 
plant in both hemispheres; also found in Tasmania, Australia, and the warmer regions of 
America. 
4. CTTSCUTA, Linn. 
Leafless, rootless, slender, twining, parasitical herbs, adhering by small 
lateral suckers to herbs or shrubs, which they derive their nutriment from, and 
eventually strangle. Flowers white yellow or pink, marked with transparent 
oil-glands, small, clustered or racemose. — Calyx 5-lobed. Corolla ovoid glo- 
bular or urceolate. Stamens very short, inserted at the union of the lobes of 
the corolla, with as many scales below them. Ovary 2-celled ; styles 2, stig- 
mas capitate ; cells 2-ovuled. Capsule membranous, 2-celled, 2-seeded, 
dehiscing transversely at the base. Seeds albuminous ; embryo terete curved 
or spiral : cotyledons 0. 
A considerable genus, found in Europe and many tropical and temperate parts of the globe : 
it resembles Cassytha in habit ; and some species (Dodders) are pests in clover-fields and 
other crops in England. 
1. C. densiflora. Hook. f. FI. N. Z. i. 186. Stems slender, matted 
and twisting together, as thick as stoxxt thread. Flowers crowded into very 
short 6-10-flowered racemes. Calyx-lobes short, oblong, obtuse. Corolla -g in. 
long, bell-shaped ; lobes short, rounded, recurved. Scales oblong, fimbriated, 
united at their bases by a thin membrane. Filaments longer than the an- 
thers ; styles rather long. 
Middle Island : Port Underwood, Lyall. Dr. Engelmann, who has examined ail the 
Cuscutce of the Hookerian Herbarium, observes of this that it hardly differs from the South 
Brazilian C. racemosa, Martins; but according to the descriptions of that plant, the corolla- 
lobes are erect and acute, aud the filameuts and style much shorter. 
