610 ONAGRACEAE. [ Hpilobium. 
beneath, margins somewhat revolute when dry, obscurely and remotely 
denticulate, midrib not prominent, secondary nerves obscure. Flowers 
few, springing from the axils of leaves remote from the ends of the 
stems, small, erect, 4-Lin. diam. Calyx-segments ovate-lanceolate, almost 
equalling the petals, subobtuse, almost glabrous, petals pale, scarcely longer 
than the calyx. Stigma clavate. Mature capsules #-141n. long, erect, 
more or less clothed with fine ashy-grey pubescence ; peduncles long, erect, 
2-4 in. long, usually thinly pubescent. Seeds ovoid-oblong ; testa thinly 
papillose.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 57; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 77 
(in part); Haussk. Monog. Epilob. (1884) 302, t. xxii, f.94; 7. Kirk Students’ 
Fl. (1899) 173 (en part); Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 180 (in part). 
K. caespitosum Haussk. l.c. (1884) 301, t. xx, f. 85. 
NortH AND SoutH Istanps: Abundant from the North Cape to Foveaux Strait, 
usually in lowland districts. 
In the first edition of this work I included the closely related #. pedunculare and 
EL. nerterioides in my conception of this species. The differences betwecn the three 
plants, though small, appear to be constant, and are pointed out under HZ. pedunculare. 
21. KE. pedunculare 4. Cunn. Precur. (1839) n. 536.—A small densely 
tufted herbaceous plant, often forming matted patches of considerable 
size. Stems pale-green or tinged with reddish-purple, the younger faintly 
bifariously pubescent but at length glabrous, 3-8in. long; branchlets 
short, sometimes ascending at the tips. Leaves opposite, crowded, ovate 
to orbicular-ovate, contracted at the base into a very short petiole, }-}in. 
long, glabrous, coriaceous, pale-green but often tinged with red beneath, 
entire or provided with a few minute denticles, midrib prominent beneath, 
secondary veins not conspicuous. Flowers remote from the ends of the 
branches, few, small, erect. Petals white or pale-rose. Calyx-segments 
ovate-lanceolate, acute, glabrous. Stigma clavate. Mature capsules erect, 
glabrous, pale-green or purplish-red, 4-14 in. long. Peduncles long, erect, 
15-4 in. long, glabrous. Seeds obovate-oblong; testa densely papillose. 
—Haussk. Monog. Epilob. (1884) 303, t. 23, f. 96a. E. nummularifolium 
var. pedunculare Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 58; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 
(1864) 77; TZ. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 173; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. FI. 
(1906) 180. 
Var. brunnescens Cockayne in Trans. N.Z, Inst. 1 (1918) 171.—Stems pale-green, 
tinged with brown. Leaves ovate-oblong or rounded oblong, above pale-green tinged 
with brown, purplish beneath. Capsules glabrous, pale-brown, 1-3 in. long. Peduncles 
3-4 in. long. Barely separable as a variety. 
Var. viride Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 1 (1918) 173.—Stems and leaves pale- 
green. Peduncles very short, }+-}in. long. Flowers and capsules smaller than in 
the type. 
Var. minutiflorum Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. 1 (1918) 172.—Stems slender, 
reddish-purple. Leaves bright-green, small, 4-}in. long. Flowers white, small. 
Peduncles short, }-lt in. long. Capsules purplish. A very distinct variety. 
Nortu anv Soutu Istanps, Stewart Istanp: Abundant from the North Cape to 
Stewart Island. Altitudinal range from sea-level to 3500 ft. Var. brunnescens : Mount 
Egmont, Cockayne! South Canterbury, A. Wall. Var. viride: North Island, Fair- 
burn, Mongonui County, H. Carse/ Var. minutiflorum : Broken River basin, A. Wall ; 
river-bed of the Rakaia River and vicinity of Mount Peel, H. H. Allan / 
This species, which is one of the most variable in the New Zealand Flora, is closely 
allied on one side to #. nummularifolium, and on the other to Z. nerterioides. From the 
first it is best distinguished (as has been pointed out by Haussknecht) by the more 
slender stems; by the smaller and thicker leaves, which have much shorter petioles, 
and nearly entire margins ; and by the more slender peduncles and glabrous capsules. 
EL, nerterioides can be separated by the smaller average size, more densely matted habit, 
and by the smaller and more coriaceous leaves, which are often conspicuously rugose. 
