Viola. ] VIOLACEAE. 571 
The short stems and tufted leaves, which are usually either truncate at the base 
or narrowed into the petioles, are the best distinguishing characters of this plant. It 
varies greatly in size ; lowland specimens, growing among scrub, &e., sometimes have the 
petioles 8-9 in. long, and the peduncles of corresponding size, while alpine specimens Bre 
frequently much depauperated. The flowers of the latter, however, are usually larger 
than those of the lowland forms. 
Ase (Bkongrn 212 35% MELICYTUS Forst. 1776 - 
Trees or shrubs. Leaves petiolate, alternate, toothed or serrate ; 
stipules minute. Flowers small, regular, dioecious, in little fascicles on 
the branches or axillary. Sepals 5, united at the base. Petals 5, short, 
spreading. Anthers 5, free, sessile; connective produced above into a 
broad membrane furnished with a scale at the back. Ovary 1-celled, 
with 3-5 parietal placentas. Style 3-6-fid at the apex, or stigma nearly 
sessile, lobed. Fruit a berry, with few or several angled seeds. 
A small genus, limited to the four New Zealand species, one of which is also 
found in Norfolk Island, the Tongan Islands, and Fiji. 
Leave$ oblong or oblong-lanceolate, serrate .. 2 .. Ll. M. ramiflorus. 
Leaves large, obovate, coriaceous, sinuate-serrate < .. 2. M. macrophylius. 
Leaves Jong, linear-lanceolate, sharply and finely serrate .. 93. M, lanceolatus. 
Leaves small, orbicular-ovate, sinuate-toothed ¥. .. 4. M. micranthus. 
1, M. ramifiorus Forst. Char. Gen. (1776) 124, t. 62.—A glabrous tree 
or large shrub 20-30 ft. high, with a trunk 1-2 ft. in diam.; bark white ; 
branches brittle. Leaves alternate, 2-5 in. long, oblong-lanceolate, usually 
with a short acuminate point but sometimes obtuse, bluntly and some- 
times obscurely serrate, veins reticulate ; petioles short, slender; stipules 
deciduous. Flowers small, din. diam., greenish, dioecious, in axillary 
fascicles or on the branches below the leaves; pedicels slender, 4 1n. 
long, with 2 minute bracts. Calyx-teeth 5, minute. Petals obtuse, spread- 
ing. Male flowers with 5 obtuse sessile anthers, each with a concave scale 
at the back. Females with a short conical ovary, crowned with a 4—6-lobed 
stigma. Berry small, violet-blue, in. diam.; seeds few, black, angled.— 
A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. (1832) 318; A. Cunn. Precur. (1839) n. 623; 
Raoul Choix (1846) 48; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel.i (1853) 18; Handb. N.Z. 
Fl. (1864) 17; VT. Kirk Forest Fl. (1889) t. 3; Students’ Fl. (1899) 42; 
Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 46; Ill. N.Z. Fl. i (1914) t. 13. Aenga-- >> 7 Xo; 
Aon > a7, 
KERMADEC IsLANDS, NorTH AND SoutH I[sLAnpDs, STEWART IsLAND: Abundant 
throughout, ascending to fully 3000 ft. Mahoe, November—January. Also 
found in Norfolk Island and the Tongan Islands, and has lately been discovered in 
Fiji by Miss L. 8. Gibbs. 
The leaves and young branches are greedily eaten by cattle; the wood is white 
and soft, but has been employed for producing a special kind of charcoal used in 
making gunpowder. 
2. M. macrophyilus A. Cunn. Precur. (1839) n. 624.—A tall slender 
sparingly branched shrub 8-15 ft. high; bark brownish. Leaves 3-7 in. 
long, obovate or oblong, coarsely sinuate-serrate, acute or shortly acumi- 
nate, coriaceous; petioles short. Flowers twice as large as those of 
M. ramiflorus, gin. diam., greenish, in 4—10-flowered fascicles; pedicels 
stout, decurved, $in. long, with 2 rounded bracts just below the flower. 
Male flowers: Calyx-lobes broad, obtuse. Petals more than twice as 
