ORCHIDACEAR, , . 
368 [aay heesee [Gastrodia, 
without the ovary, drooping. Perianth tubular, much swollen at the base, 
split half-way down on the anterior face, shortly 5-lobed; lobes broad, 
ovate-deltoid, acute. Lip rather shorter than the perianth ; lamina narrow 
trowel-shaped with 2 papillose ridges running up the middle and uniting 
near the tip; margins involute, membranous, much crisped and undulate. 
Column very short, barely ¢ the length of the lip—Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 
263; Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv (1893) t. 20, f. 1-4; Cheesem. Man. 
N.Z. Fl. (1906) 697. G. leucopetala Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii (1886) 
268. 
NortH AND SoutH IsuANDS, STEWART ISLAND, CHATHAM IsLANDS: Not uncom- 
mon in dark ghaded places, but easily overlooked. Sea-level to 2000 ft. Perei ; 
Makatka. Nove mber—January. 
The starchy thick and tuberous root was formerly collected by the Maoris and 
eaten, especially in the Urewera district. 
4 
3. G. minor Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv (1893) 273, t. 20, £. 5-7.— 
Stem umber-brown, not spotted, very slender, 8-15 in. high, 4, in. diam. at 
the base; sheathing scales few, oblique. Raceme 1-3 in. long, 3-5-flowered ; 
pedicels slender, + in. long; bracts short, broad, scarious. Flowers brownish 
tipped with dirty-white, $in. long without the ovary, drooping. Perianth 
_ventricose, gibbous at the base, spht about half-way down on the anterior 
side, shortly 5-lobed; lobes rounded-ovate, undulate. Lip hardly shorter 
than the perianth; lamina linear-oblong, obtuse, with 2 thick median 
ridges ; margins incurved, thickened, slightly crumpled. Column very short, 
barely + the length of the lip.—Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 697. 
SoutH Ishanp: Otago—Opihi Creek, near Dunedin, Petrie / Ht January. 
Dried specimens differ very little in appearance from slender forms of G. Cunning- 
hamii; but according to Mr. Petrie there are important differences in the lip and 
column. 
Ay dy 
Ly i iv ' 
Family XXIV. PIPERACEAE. 
Herbs or shrubs, often aromatic and stimulating. Leaves alternate 
or opposite or whorled, simple, entire; stipules wanting, or 2 connate, or 
adnate to the petiole. Flowers minute, hermaphrodite or unisexual, 
crowded on axillary or terminal catkin-like spikes, each subtended by 
a sessile or stipitate bract. Perianth wanting. Stamens 2 or more, 
hypogynous ; filaments very short; anthers often jointed on the filaments, 
cells 2 or confluent. Ovary (except in the tribe Sawrureae, which does not 
occur in New Zealand) 1-celled, with a single orthotropous ovule; style 
wanting or very short; stigmas 1-6, various in shape. Fruit a small 
indehiscent berry. Seed solitary, globose or ovoid or oblong; albumen 
copious, farinaceous ; embryo very minute, enclosed in a sac at the apex 
of the seed. 
A large family, with some trifling exceptions confined to tropical and subtropical 
regions, and far more abundant in tropical America than anywhere else. Genera 8; 
species given at 1,000, but probably overestimated. Aromatic and _ stimulating 
properties prevail through the greater part of the family. The common pepper has 
been used as a spice since the times of Alexander, and other species of Piper can be 
similarly employed. The use of the betel (Piper betel) as a masticatory is well known, 
also that of the kava (Macropiper methysticwm) to prepare an intoxicating drink. 
Usually shrubby. Anther-cells 2, distinct. Stigmas 2--4 .. 1, MACROPIPER. 
Small fleshy herbs. Anther-cells confluent. Stigmas usually 
penicillate. Fruit very small 7 re Ah .. 2, PEPEROMIA. 
