308 LILIACEAE. 2 asa 
1. RHIPOGONUM Forst. '?7 7 
Tall climbing shrubs, much branched above. Leaves opposite or nearly 
so, 3-5-nerved with transverse reticulated veins between ; petioles without 
tendrils. Flowers hermaphrodite, small, shortly pedicelled, racemose ; 
racemes axillary or terminal, simple or compound, sometimes forming a 
terminal panicle. Perianth deciduous ; segments 6, all equal or the outer 
ones shorter. Stamens 6, hypogynous; filaments very short, flattened ; 
anthers erect, longer or shorter than the perianth. Ovary superior, sessile, 
3-celled ; style short, stout; stigmas 3, thick, recurved ; ovules solitary 
or geminate in each cell. Fruit a globose berry, usually 1-seeded by abortion, 
rarely 2-3-seeded. Seeds globose; testa thin, appressed; embryo small, 
remote from the hilum. 
In addition to the single species found in New Zealand, there are four others in 
Australia. 
1. R. seandens Forst. Char. Gen. (1776) 50.—A tall glabrous climber. 
Stems slender, knotted at the joints, often forming interwoven masses 
difficult to penetrate. Leaves opposite or very rarely alternate, petiolate, 
3-5 in. long, narrow ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 
coriaceous, 3- or 5-nerved, the intermediate veinlets copiously reticulated. 
Racemes axillary, simple or branched, 3-6in. long, the upper ones some- 
times forming a terminal panicle. Flowers small, greenish, about #in. 
diam. ; pedicels slender, spreading. Perianth-segments very small, oblong- 
lanceolate, acute. Stamens 6, much longer than the perianth; filaments 
short, thick; anthers very large, linear-lanceolate. Ovary ovoid-globose ; 
ovules geminate in each cell ; style short, thick; stigma large, obsoletely 
3-lobed. Berry globose, fin. diam., bright-red.—A. Rech. Fl. Now. 
Zel. (1832) 151; Raoul Choix (1846) 41; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1 (1853) 
253; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 281; Benth. in Hook. Ic. Plant. t. 1395;. 
Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 703; Ill. N.Z. Fl. ii (1914) t. 200. BR. parvi- 
florum R. Br. Prodr. (1810) 293; A. Cunn. Precur. (1836) n. 305. Smilax 
Ripogonum Forst. f. Prodr. (1786) n. 372. 
NorrH AND Sourn IsLanps, STEWART IsLAND, CHATHAM ISLANDS: Lowland 
forests from the North Cape scuthwards, abundant. Sea-level to 2000 ft. Supple- 
jack; Kareao; Pirita. Novem ber—December. 
A familiar plant to all bushmen, especially in the northern part of the Dominion. 
In the South Island it is mainly found near the coasts. The long, tough, and elastic 
stems have been used for baskets, hurdles, &c.; and an extract from the root has been 
employed in the place of sarsaparilla. 
PHIL EsIACeEAE ; 
r wes: flyin of Qos. Boa—~em nn ee 
Laewriace oe") ENARGEA Banks and Sol.2¥ Gacrin, VRE 5 
Glabrous almost suffruticose herbs. Stems slender, branched, wiry, 
knotted at the joints, lower joints with small membranous scales. Leaves 
alternate, sessile or nearly so, distichous, lanceolate to oblong, prominently 
nerved. Flowers white, solitary or 2-4 in the axils of the leaves. Perianth 
deciduous; segments 6, distinct, subequal, spreading, thin, nerveless. 
Stamens 6, hypogynous; filaments erect ; anthers linear-oblong, basifixed, 
longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary sessile, ovoid, 3-celled ; ovules 4-10 in 
each cell; style filiform ; stigma terminal, capitate or obsoletely 3-lobed. 
Berry subglobose, indehiscent. Seeds few, ovoid or subglobose; testa 
thin, appressed ; embryo short, straight ; albumen horny. 
ithe h. 1s 7 ) 
