ORCHIDACEAE, | 
368 TRU UnL Ea ae [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 4 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. on Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii (1886) 
268. 3 
Norte AnD SoutH IsLaAnps, STEWART ISLAND, CHATHAM ISLANDS: Not uncom- 
mon in dark eee places, but easily overlooked. Sea-level to 2000 ft. Perei ; 
Makavka. Vovember—January. 
The starchy thick and tuberous root was formerly collected by the Maoris and 
eaten, especially in the Urewera district. 
3. G. minor Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv (1893) 273, t. 20, f. 5-7.— 
ome ~-4+ annttod verv slender, 8-15 in. high, zs In. diam. at 
SouTH ISLAND wage 2, 
Dried specimens differ very little in appearance from slender forms OP Grwwnneny-—— 
hamii; but according to Mr. Petrie there are important differences in the lip and . 
column. 
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 Saurureae, 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 Pzper can be 
similarly employed. The use of the betel (Piper betel) as a masticatory is well known, 
also that of the kava (Macropiper methysticum) 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 2, PEPEROMIA. 
