670 UMBELLIFERAE. [ Aciphylla. 
flowering stem, the inner erect, the outer spreading, 4-8 in. in total length ; 
lamina 2—4in. long, pinnately divided into 2-4 pairs of leaflets with a 
terminal one, internodes short but evident; leaflets 4-+in. broad, linear, 
straight or curved, rigid and coriaceous, narrowed at the apex into a short 
rigid and pungent point; midrib stout; margins thick and cartilaginous ; 
veins parallel with the midrib, but connected by transverse veinlets. Petiole 
or sheath usually longer than the blade, very thick and coriaceous at the 
top, and there }in. diameter, gradually becoming membranous and broader 
at the base, where it is often 1-1} in. across ; stipules sometimes nearly as 
long as the leaf but usually much shorter, adnate with the petiole to the top, 
and so placed as to be close together on the inner face of the petiole. 
Pedunele or flowering stem stout, 4}-2in. diameter, about 6-12 in. high, 
bearing at the top a globose head 4—5 in. across of closely placed compound 
umbels. Lower bracts 14-2in. long; sheathing portion broad and mem- 
branous, tipped by a short pinnate leaflet. Primary umbels 6-12, secondary 
very numerous. Fruit linear-oblong, §-4 in. long; carpels 4-5-winged. 
| me Cee) eX, 
SoutH Istanp: Otago—Rocky places on the lower slopes of Mount Balloon, 
between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound, alt. 2500-4500 ft., F. G. Gibbs / 
Closely allied to A. Spedeni, but much larger and more robust. It differs also in 
the leaves being pinnate with evident internodes between the pairs of leaflets, not 
flabellate with the segments spreading from one level as in A. Spedeni. 
23. A. Spedeni Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xlv (1913) 93.—Apparently 
forming large simple or branched masses 4—12 in. diameter or more ; root- 
stock thick and woody, branched at the top. Leaves very numerous, 
40-60 or more, crowded, spreading, the lower curved downwards, the upper 
more erect, 4-6 in. long, flabellately divided into 6-9 leaflets springing from 
the top of the petiole ; petiole rather more than 4 the length of the whole 
leaf, very thick and coriaceous at the top and about 14 in. broad, flat 
above, convex beneath, gradually widening and becoming thinner and more 
membranous towards the base, where it is #-l4in. broad. Leaflets usually 
7, but sometimes the central one is 2- or 3-fid almost to the base, thus 
making the number 8 or 9, very rarely 5 or 6, very thick, rigid and coriaceous, 
25-3in, long, yo-gin. broad, narrow-linear, narrowed towards the apex 
into a short ngid and pungent point ; midrib and margin thick and carti- 
laginous ; veins parallel with the midrib, but connected by numerous trans- 
verse veinlets. Male inflorescence alone seen; flowering stem or peduncle 
stout, nearly 3in. diameter, 3-4in. high, bearing at the top numerous 
compound umbels congested into a capitate mass 3in. diameter. Lower 
bracts 1}in. long, composed of a broad and thin membranous sheath 
3-¢1in. diameter, tipped by 7-8 short linear leaflets. Primary umbels 
10-12, peduncles $—1 in. long; secondary umbels very numerous, bractlets 
wanting. Flowers white; calyx-teeth short, triangular; petals obovate- 
spathulate, with a rather long claw. Fruit not seen. 
SoutH Istanp: Otago—Eyre Mountains, near Lake Wakatipu, rocky places on 
Cecil Peak, and other high peaks in the vicinity, J. Speden. 5000-6000 ft. January— 
February. —.7 Ce 1 )S4 
__ Avery distinct and curious species. It is no doubt related to 4. Dobsoni, but differs 
widely in the much greater size of all its parts, in the remarkable digitately or flabellately 
divided leaves which are not nearly so coriaceous as those of A. Dobsoni, and in the much 
larger and more massive inflorescence. _ 
4 
“VA? 
