Hybridism in the New Zealand Flora 119 
broader than in 0 . angustifolia, and the flower-heads show their 
angustifolia characters in their rays and purple discs. The resem¬ 
blance to 0 . Colensoi is stressed in the Manual, p. 282. Poppelwell 
[Trans. N.Z.Inst. 48 , p. 251, 1915) suggests the hybrid origin of 
0 . Traillii and describes its intermediate characters. 
[e) Helichrysum bellidioides x H. glomeratum (= H.Purdiei Petrie). 
These are two wide-spread species usually belonging to different 
associations, which, at times, grow together and the hybrid is 
apparently usually to be found. For many years H. Purdiei was 
considered almost the rarest species in the flora, it being known 
from only a few plants in one locality on the east coast of the South 
Island. Certainly, it looked so distinct from anything else that no one 
could dream it was not a valid species! But the discovery a few 
years ago by Mr C. E. Christensen of several distinct forms of 
H. Purdiei growing in company with H. glomeratum and H. bellidi¬ 
oides , not near the sea, but far inland in a mountainous part of 
the South Island, hinted strongly of its hybrid origin. Soon after 
this, but considerably further to the north, Mr B. C. Aston found 
H. Purdiei under similar conditions, while quite recently, in the 
neighbourhood of Lake Wakatipu, I also found the parents and the 
hybrid. I have also visited the habitat where Christensen made his 
notable discovery and found the polymorphy of the hybrid sur¬ 
prising, as I had only seen one individual previously in the original 
coastal habitat. An interesting point is that the parents belong to 
two distinct sections of the genus— Xerochlcena and Ozothamnus. 
Indeed, the latter was for many years considered a valid genus, and 
certainly the differences between the two species in question are 
far greater than between many genera. The hybrids show T many 
combinations of the parental characters. 
6 . Hybrids between species of more or less limited range which 
frequently grow together. 
There are only 5 hybrids in this class. 
[a) Pittosporum pimeleoides x reflexum. 
The species occur together north of latitude 35 0 4' on the floor of 
Kauri forest, but not everywhere. P. pimeleoides is a taller shrub 
than P. reflexum, with broader, more open foliage. Cheeseman writes 
[Manual, p. 60), "Both at Mongonui and Kawakawa it [P. reflexum ] 
grows intermixed with the typical pimeleoides, together with numerous 
intermediates” (italics mine). 
