ae ee. - — 8 = “> 
lt. oewresn Ae. 195 193, 
816 | SCROPHULARIACEAE., | [ Veronica. 
OF fi See tand eID: 54 
64. V. Astoni Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. x| (1908) 288.—A small much 
and compactly branched shrub 8-12 or 15 in. high, usually forming rounded 
or flattened bushes; branches stout, closely marked with the scars of the 
fallen leaves; ultimate branchlets slender, very closely packed, more or 
less obscurely tetragonous. Leaves densely quadrifariously imbricated, 
the opposite pairs connate at the base, z'¢-7; in. long, almost as broad at 
the base, smooth and tumid on the back and scarcely keeled, obtuse and 
almost rounded at the tip, quite glabrous or the younger ones with the 
margins finely ciliate; upper surface deeply concave. Flowers 3-5, rarely 
more, sessile among the uppermost leaves and forming small heads, about 
4in. diam., white. Bracts furrowed. Calyx-segments and corolla much 
as in V. tetragona. Capsule broadly oblong, exceeding the calyx. 
NortH Isnanp: Ruahine and Tararua Mountains, not uncommon. 4000- 
5000 ft. January—lFebruary. 
Closely allied to V. tetragona, but differing in the smaller size, more depressed 
habit, leaves tumid and scarcely keeled on the back, and in the fewer- and smaller 
flowers. 
Pad 
65. V. tetragona Hook. Ic. Plant. (1848) 6802 small usually erect 
much-branched shrub 6 in. to 3 ft. high ; stems ringed with the scars of the 
fallen leaves; branches stout, ngid, erect, obtusely 4-angled when adult, 
75g In. diam. Leaves most densely quadrifariously imbricated, erect, oppo- 
site pairs connate at the base, ;4,—,4, in. long, broadly deltoid-ovate, obtuse, 
keeled at the back, very thick and coriaceous, smooth and shining, margins 
and base usually ciliolate or woolly. Leaves of young plants longer than 
the mature ones, linear-subulate with a broad base, more or less spreading. 
Flowers 3-8, sessile among the uppermost leaves and forming sm ili terminal 
heads, 4-3 in. diam., white. Bracts conspicuously furrowed, woolly at the 
base. Calyx-segments unequal, linear-oblong, obtuse, furrowed. Corolla 
4-lobed ; lobes spreading, dorsal the largest, obovate, entire or emarginate, 
anticous the smallest, narrow-oblong. Capsule broadly oblong, subacute, 
compressed, exceeding the calyx.—Raoul Choixz (1846) 43; Hook. f. Fl. 
Nov. Zel. i (1853) 194; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 211; J. B. Armstr. in 
Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii (1881) 351; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 580; 
Ill. N.Z. Fl. ii (1914) t. 158. 
NortH Istanp : Mountain districts from Mount Hikurangi, Tongariro, and Ruapehu 
southwards to the Ruahine Range, abundant. 2000-5500 it. December—February. 
A very remarkable species. Flowerless specimens so closely resemble a Podocarpus 
or Dacrydium that Sir W. J. Hooker had a plate prepared for the “‘ Icones Plantarum ” 
under the name of Podocarpus Dieffenbachii. I have seen no specimens from the South | 
Island, and it is now quite certain that most (if not all) of the South Island localities 
assigned to the species in the Handbook belong to other species. 
66: F. lyeopodioides Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 211.— A stout 
much-branched shrub 1-4 ft. high; branches rigid, erect, clothed with 
densely imbricating leaves, acutely or obtusely 4-angled when adult, ay in. 
diam. Leaves dimorphic, the adult state most densely quadrifariously 
imbricated, the opposite pairs connate at the base, zs—3), in. long, 44-3 mM. 
broad, very broadly ovate-deltoid, concave in front, keeled on the back, 
suddenly narrowed into a stout obtuse cusp or point, very coriaceous, 
smooth or more or less distinctly grooved on the back, margins glabrous 
or ciliolate. Leaves of young plants (frequently found by reversion on 
older ones as well) twice as long as the mature ones, spreading, linear-subulate 
with a broad base, entire or more frequently irregularly lobed or almost 
