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LXXI. URTTCEA!. 
[ Urtica. 
times lobed auricled or hastate base, acuminate, very coarsely toothed, teeth 
ending in a rigid bristle ; petioles ^-1 \ in. long, bristling with rigid stinging 
hairs ; stipules linear-oblong, entire, obtuse. Flowers racemed. 
Northern and Middle Islands : not uncommon in woods from the east coast to Otago, 
Banks and Solander, etc. The pain of the sting sometimes lasts four days, Colenso. 
4. U. au.eklan.dica, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 68. Herbaceous, robust, 
softly downy all over, except the upper surface of the leaves, where there are a 
very few stinging hairs. Leaves broadly ovate-cordate, coarsely serrate or 
toothed, rather coriaceous or rigid; petioles stout, -|-1 in. long; stipules 
foliaceous, 2-fid or 2-partite. Flowers imperfect. 
Lord Auckland’s group: sandy shore aud edges of the woods, J. D. H. My spe- 
cimens are too young for a good description. 
3. PARIETARIA, Gaudichaud. 
Herbs, rarely shrubs, usually very flaccid and slender, often pubescent. 
Leaves quite entire, almost exstipulate. — Flowers polygamous, cymose, 1-3- 
bracteate. — Male and hermaph. : Perianth 4-partite, pubescent. Stamens 4. 
Female: Perianth tubular, 4-fid. Ovary ovoid or oblong; stigma capitate 
or spathulate, recurved. Ovule erect. Nut minute, included in the perianth. 
Seed exalbuminous ; cotyledons plano-convex. 
A small genus, abundant in waste places in almost all parts of the world. 
1. P. debilis, Forst. ; — FI. N. Z. i. 226. A slender annual; stems 
6-24 in. long, erect or decumbent, simple or branched. Leaves extremely 
variable in size, J-2 in. long, broadly ovate, acute, membranous, quite entire ; 
petioles slender. Cymes dense or lax-flowered ; bracts generally linear, not 
enlarging after flowering. Female flowers most numerous. 
Common throughout the islands, Banks and Solander, etc. An abundant plant in 
Australia and in many tropical and temperate climates. 
4. AUSTRALINA, Gaudichaud. 
Small, tufted, slender, creeping herbs. Leaves opposite or alternate, cre- 
nate, 3-nerved, stipulate. Flowers minute, monoecious, in small, few-flowered, 
axillary clusters. — Male: pedicelled. Perianth boat- or funnel-shaped; limb 
unequally 2-lipped. Stamen 1. Ovary 0. Female: sessile. Perianth ven- 
tricose; limb somewhat 5-toothed. Stamen 0. Ovary ovate-lanceolate, 
narrowed into a straight style; stigma lateral, villous; ovule erect. Nut 
minute, ovate, included in the perianth. Seed exalbuminous ; cotyledons 
plano-convex. 
A small genus found in extratropical Australia, Abyssinia, and New Zealand. 
1. A. pusilla, Gaud.; — A. novee-Zelandice, Hook. f. FI. N. Z. i. 226. 
Stems slender, intricate, rooting, rather pubescent, 4-8 in. long. Leaves 
alternate, -j in. long, membranous, orbicular or broadly ovate, coarsely crenate ; 
petiole as long as the blade ; stipules subulate. Male fl. : in pairs from the 
upper axils, on a peduncle as long as the petioles ; — -fern. fl. : solitary or 
few together. Perianth compressed, flagon-shaped ; style exserted. 
Northern Island : damp woods or roots of trees, etc., Bay of Islands, Manawata river, 
etc., Colenso, etc. Also a native of Tasmania. 
