Urtica. | URTICACEAE. 381 
or setose; petiole stout, 1-4in. long; stipules interpetiolar, large, bifid. 
Racemes or panicles simple or branched, axillary, longer or shorter than 
the petioles, the lower male and the upper female, but both sexes occasion- 
ally mixed in the same panicle. Male perianth about 7’ in. diam., glabrous 
or nearly so; female rather smaller. Nut ovoid, compressed, smooth, 
rather shorter than the persistent perianth.—Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 220 ; 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 251; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 635. 
Norvru Istanp: ‘ Southern extreme, Bidwill”? (Handbook). CHATHAM ISLANDS : 
H. H. Travers! F. A. D. Cox and Cockayne! Stuwart Istanp: Not seen on the 
main island, but not uncommon on Dog Island, Centre Island, T. Kirk! and Long 
Island, Poppelwell! and probably other islets in Foveaux Strait. AUCKLAND, 
CAMPBELL, AND ANTIPoDES IsLANDS: Hooker, T. Kirk, Cockayne, B. C. Aston! 
fk. M. Laing! J. S. Tennant. December—March. 
Remarkable for its stout succulent habit and large leaves. Although reported from 
the North Island in the Handbook, on the authority of Bidwill, of late years no New 
Zealand botanist has met with it on any part of the mainland of either the North or 
South Island. 3 
3. U. aueklandica Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i (1844) 68.—A rigid herb, 
everywhere pubescent with short greyish-white hairs. Stems stout, erect, 
angled, about lft. high; stinging hairs few, chiefly clustered at the 
thickened nodes. Leaves opposite, spreading, 2-3 in. long, 14-24 in. broad, 
broadly ovate, acute, usually cordate at the base, rather coriaceous, many- — 
nerved, coarsely serrate or dentate’; petioles stout, }-lin. long; stipules 
rather large, interpetiolar, 2-fid or 2-partite. Male flowers alone seen, in 
short axillary spikes. Perianth-segments 4, rounded, concave, setose on 
the back. Stamens 4; filaments short.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 251 ; 
Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 635. 
AUCKLAND Istanps: Near the sea-beach at the margin of woods, rare, Hooker. 
I have seen no specimens of this, and the above description has been compiled 
from that given in the “Flora Antarctica.” It appears to be very close to 
U. australis, differing chiefly in the smaller size and more rigid habit, and in the 
dense greyish-white pubescence. As it has not been gathered by any one since its 
original discovery by Hooker in 1840, and as his specimens were immature and imperfect, 
it may be safely regarded as a state of U. australis. 
4. U. aspera Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. li (1919) 107.—Rather stout, 
erect or decumbent at the base, much branched, 1-14 ft. high, densely 
clothed in all its parts with stiff white stinging hairs. Leaves opposite, 
variable in size and shape; petioles stout, often exceeding the blades in 
length; blades 1$-25in. long, #-ld in. broad, ovate or ovate-triangular, 
coarsely and sometimes deeply serrate, acute, subcoriaceous; stinging 
hairs plentiful on most of the main veins. Inflorescence dioecious; male 
spikes geminate or single in the upper axils, rather long; the flowers 
arranged in small distant glomerules; female spikes simple or branched ; 
flowers numerous, crowded. Nuts broadly ovoid ; fruiting-perianth not 
enlarged. 
SoutH Istanp: Marlborough—Head of Awatere Valley, Cockayne! Dee Valley, 
Clarence basin, B. C. Aston! Otago—Firewood Creek, near Cromwell; Sowburn, 
Maniototo County, Petrie; vicinity of Clyde, Cockayne, abundant. 1500-8000 ft, 
Very close to U. incisa, but stouter and more coriaceous; with all its parts, 
including the inflorescence, densely covered with stinging hairs. The flowers are 
dioecious, whereas they are monoecious in U. incisa. Dr. Cockayne informs me that 
it has long underground stems and that by their aid it is rapidly spreading in certain 
parts of Central Otago. 
