Drapetes. | THYMELAEACEAE. 587 
erect, 7s—1, in. long, narrow-ovate or ovate-oblong or ovate-su bulate, broadest 
at the base and then tapering gradually to an acute or subacute tip, convex 
and smooth on the back, not prominently nerved, apex and margins ciliate. 
Flowers small, polygamo-dioecious, solitary or 2-3 together at the tips of 
the branches. Male perianth =4—}in. long, broadly funnel-shaped or almost 
campanulate ; lobes about as long as the tube, oblong-ovate, each with 
2 glands at the base. Stamens with slender filaments; anthers almost 
reaching the top of the lobes. Ovary small, with a very short style. Female 
perianth (or hermaphrodite) smaller and rather broader, ;%—;'g in. long. 
Anthers very small, usually empty, on very short filaments. Ovary ciliate 
at the top; style long, stout; stigma capitate, exserted—Handb. N.Z. FI. 
(1864) 246; Cheesem. Man. ,N.Z. Fl. (1906) 616. D. muscosa Hook. f. F'l. 
Nov. Zel. i (1853) 223 (not of Lam.). Kelleria Dieffenbachn var. Lyalli 
Meisn. in DC. Prod. xiv (1856) 566. 
SoutH Istanp : Nelson—Wairau Gorge, 7. F.C. ; Mount Owen, 7. F. C. ; Waiau 
Valley, W. 7. L. Travers. Canterbury—Southern Alps, Sinclair and Haast, J. B. Arm- 
strong. Otago—Lake district, Hector and Buchanan! Dunstan Mountains, Hector 
Mountains, Mount Pisa, Mount Cardrona, &c., Petrie! Eyre Mountains and Garvie 
Mountains, Poppelwell. Stewart Isnanp: Lyall, T. Kirk! 4000-6500 ft. Decem- 
ber—March. 
A well-marked species, at once recognized by the compact habit, small ovate-oblong 
or ovate-lanceolate leaves, and broad almost campanulate perianth. 
Family LX XIIJ. MYRTACEAE. 
Trees or shrubs, sometimes climbing. Leaves opposite, more rarely 
alternate or whorled, simple and entire, usually dotted with pellucid oil- 
glands and with a vein running parallel to the margin. Stipules generally 
absent. Flowers regular, usually hermaphrodite, solitary and axillary, or 
in axillary or terminal cymes, panicles, or racemes. Calyx-tube adnate to 
the ovary up to the insertion of the stamens, limb 4—5 or many-cleft or 
-partite, persistent or deciduous, imbricate or valvate, sometimes entire or 
closed in bud. Petals as many as the calyx-lobes, rarely wanting, inserted 
on a disc lining the calyx-tube. Stamens usually numerous, inserted on 
the disc with the petals; filaments free or connate at the base or united 
into separate bundles; anthers small, roundish. Ovary inferior or semi- 
inferior, crowned by a fleshy disc, sometimes 1-celled with 1 or few ovules, 
more often 2- to many-celled with numerous ovules ; style simple; stigma 
capitate. Fruit either crowned by the persistent calyx-limb or marked 
by its scar when deciduous, usually a capsule loculicidally dehiscing into as 
many valves as cells, or a 1- to many-seeded berry, more rarely dry and 
indehiscent. Seeds angular or compressed or cylindrical ; albumen usually 
wanting. 
A very large and distinct family, readily recognized by the opposite exstipulate 
entire leaves, furnished with a marginal vein, and filled with transparent oil-glands. 
The species are mainly tropical or subtropical ; most abundant in South America and 
Australia, much less common in Asia and Africa ; more frequent in the South Temperate 
Zone than in the North, where they are decidedly rare. Genera about 80: species 
probably not exceeding 1800. The family includes many plants of economic importance, 
Some produce valuable spices, as cloves, allspice ; or edible fruits, as the guava, the 
rose-apple, brazil-nuts, &c.; others yield aromatic essential oils, as eucalyptus, cajeput 
&c. The bark of most of the species is more or less astringent. Some of the Species of 
Eucalyptus attain a height of over 400 ft., being probably the tallest trees in the world. 
