582 THY MELAEACEAE. [ Pomelea. 
8. P. Haastii 7. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xu (1880) 396. — 
“A strict low-growing shrub 6-10 in. high; branches few (?), very slender, 
white with silky hairs. Leaves in distant pairs, petioled, ascending, 
narrow-lanceolate, 3-11 in. long, acute, hairy below or nearly glabrous, 
margins recurved; floral leaves similar. Flowers 5-8 in a head, very 
small; perianth swollen below, silky; lobes narrow, spreading. Filaments 
short. Style equalling the perianth-tube. Fruit not seen.” 
Soutna Istanp: Alps of Canterbury, Haast, J. B. Armstrong ! 
Of this species I have only seen a single very fragmentary specimen in Mr. Kirk’s 
herbarium, and have consequently quoted the original description. It appears to differ 
little from P. virgata, except in the more slender habit and distant rather longer and 
broader leaves. 
9, P. arenaria A. Cunn. in Bot. Mag. (1833) t. 3270.—An erect or 
spreading or procumbent shrub 9-30 in. high; branches stout, strict, erect 
or ascending, simple or dichotomously or corymbosely branched above, 
densely clothed with long silvery white appressed silky hairs. Leaves 
opposite and decussate, close-set or remote, not usually imbricating, 
spreading or deflexed, 4-4 in. long, elliptic-oblong to broadly oblong-ovate 
or almost orbicular, obtuse or subacute, flat, coriaceous, veinless, glabrous 
or sparsely pilose above, densely clothed with shining silkyrappressed hairs 
beneath; floral leaves rather larger and broader. Flowers in compact 
5-15-flowered heads at the tips of the branches, white, polygamo-dioecious. 
Perianth shaggy with white silky hairs, 4-4in. long; tube short; lobes 
oblong, obtuse; females smaller, with a broader base. Anthers oblong. 
Fruit baccate, rather large—A. Cunn. Precur. (1838) n. 347; Raoul 
Choix (1846) 42; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 221; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 
(1864) 244; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 612; Jl. N.Z. Fl. 11 (1914) 
t. 174. Passerina villosa Thunb. in Mus. Acad. xin, 106. Gymnococca 
arenaria Fisch. and Mey. Ind. Sem. Hort. Petrop. x (1845) 47. 
NortH And SoutH IsLaANnps, CHATHAM ISLANDS: Abundant on sand-dunes on 
all the coasts. Aute-taranga ; Toroheke. November—March. 
A most beautiful plant, at once recognized by the copious white silky hairs'on the 
branches and under-surface of the leaves. According to Mr. Colenso, the berries were 
formerly eaten by the Natives, who also used the inner bark of the branches for pre- 
paring cloth-like strips for fastening up their hair. —r. mC i4 t-1) eX: 
P. arenaria is practically confined to sand-dunes or sandy coasts. Its main stems 
are usually prostrate, and covered to a varying depth with sand; but from them arise 
numerous erect or inclined simple or corymbosely divided branches, which are seldom 
more than 2 ft. in height. A single plant may thus form a compact patch of considerable 
size. Like most of the species of Pimelea, the branches are tough, flexible, and cord- 
like. 
10. P. aridula Cockayne Veg. N.Z. Index (1921) 356.—A_ small 
shrub 2-3 ft. high, spreading or decumbent at the base, erect above; 
branches marked with the scars of the fallen leaves, the young ones 
covered with long silvery white appressed hairs. Leaves opposite and 
decussate, spreading below, erecto-patent above, almost imbricating towards 
the tips of the branches, 4-$in. long, 4-1in. broad, elliptic-lanceolate 
to oblong-lanceolate, acute, very shortly petiolate or almost. sessile; 
under-surface densely covered with long straight silvery hairs; upper 
surface glabrous or nearly so, but always pale greyish-white; margins 
thickened, clothed with long straight appressed hairs; floral leaves similar 
or rather broader. Flowers in 8-15-flowered heads terminating the 
