O70 PIPERACHAE. [| Peperomia, 
A large genus of about 500 species, widely spread in almost all tropical regions, 
but most plentiful in South America. 
Leaves in whorls of 4, coriaceous when dry. Spikes terminal... 1. P. tetraphylla. 
Leaves alternate, thin and membranous when. dry. Spikes 
terminal and axillary... _ ~ .. 2. P. Urvilliana, 
_— (Fewek-5-) 
1. P. tetraphylla/ Hook. and Arn. Bot. Beech. Voy. (1830-41) 96.— 
Small, succulent, erect or spreading, much branched from the base, 4-9 in. 
high ; branches deeply grooved when dry, pubescent at the nodes. Leaves 
in whorls of 3 or 4, rarely opposite, shortly petiolate or almost sessile, 
i1-1tin. long, elliptic-rhomboidal or almost orbicular, obtuse, fleshy when 
fresh, coriaceous when dry, dark-green above, paler beneath, minutely 
punctate; young leaves beneath and petioles finely pubescent; veins obscure. 
Spikes slender, terminal, pedunculate, #-l}1n. long, dense - flowered ; 
_“peduncle arf rachis pubescent. Bract orbicular-peltate, almost sessile. 
Ovary partly immersed in the rhachis, ovate, acute; stigma capitellate. 
Berry exserted, ovoid, reddish, s45 in. long —W. R. B. Olwer in Trans. N.Z. 
Inst. xlix (1917) 133. P. reflexa A. Dietr. Sp. Plant. 1 (1831) 180; 
Benth. Fl. Austral. vi (1873) 206; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 596. 
P. novae-zealandiae Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst, xxvii (1895) 394, Piper 
tetraphyllum Forst. f. Prodr. (1786) n. 25. P. aemulum Fndl. Prodr. 
Fl. Norfl. (1833) 36. 
Nortu Istanp: Woods near the Hast Cape, on prostrate logs or trunks of living 
trees, specially abundant in the valley of the Tuparoa River, and extending within 
4 or 5 miles of the base of Mount Hikurangi, G. 7. Williams! H. Hill! 
A common plant in most tropical countries. It is found in several parts of 
Austratia and Polynesia, advancing as near to New Zealand as Lord Howe Island 
and Norfolk Island. 
* 
e. 
2. P. Urvilliana A. Rich. Fl. Now. Zel, (1832) 356.—A_ small 
glabrous succulent herb 6-12 in, high ; stems sparingly branched, prostrate 
and rooting at the base, ascending or erect above. Leaves alternate, 
shortly petiolate, 4-1} in. long, broadly obovate or elliptic-oblong, some- 
times almost orbicular, rounded at the tip or rarely subacute, 3-nerved 
at the base, glabrous, very thick and fleshy when fresh, thin and often 
almost pellucid when dry. Spikes terminal and axillary, solitary, peduncled, 
1-2in. long. Bract orbicular-peltate. Ovary partly immersed ; stigma 
discoid. Berry exserted or immersed at the base-—A. Cunn. Precur. (1836) 
n. 324; Raoul Chow (1846) 42; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1 (1853) 228; 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 254. P. Endlicheri Mig. Syst. Pip. (1843) 102 ; 
Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 596. Piper simplex Hndl. Prodr. FI. 
Norfl. (1833) 37. 
KERMADEO IsLaAnps, NortH Istanp: In lowland stations on rocks and trees in 
damp shady places as far south as Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay, from thence less 
common to Cook Strait. SourH Istanp: Limestone rocks in Golden Bay, Nelson, 
B. C, Aston. Flowers most of the year. 
Also found in Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. I suspect that Colenso’s 
P. muricatulata (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvii (1895) 393) is a large-leaved state, but there 
are no specimens in his herbarium, and it is impossible to be sure from the description 
alone. 
