Veronica. | SCROPHULARIACEAE. 829 
of the branches but sometimes lateral, glabrous or more or less pubescent : 
pedicels slender, the lowest $in. long or more. Flowers 41in. diam., white 
with pink veins. Calyx deeply 4-partite; segments ovate-oblong, acute, 
margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube very short; limb broad, spreading, with 
4 rounded lobes. Stamens shorter than the corolla-lobes. Capsule broadly 
obovate-oblong, turgid, 2-lobed or emarginate, exceeding the calyx.— 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 215; J. B. Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii (1881) 
349; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 543; Adamson in Journ. Linn. Soc. 
xl (1912) 267. 4 Gd. 
Var. subereecia Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 543.—Stem woody at the base ; 
branches slender, wiry, erect or suberect. Leaves usually narrower, oblong or obovate- 
oblong, with coarser and more numerous teeth, sometimes almost lobed.—V. Lyalhi 
var. B Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i (1853) 196. 
Var, angustata Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xlix (1917) 53.—Stems slender, erect, 
much branched from the base, densely pubescent. Leaves crowded, spreading, linear- 
obovate. South-west Nelson, near the mouth of the Ngakawau River, Petrie / 
Nortu Istanp: Ruahine and Tararua Mountains, apparently not common. 
SoutH Istanp: Hilly or mountainous districts, abundant, especially on the west 
side of the Island. Sea-level to 4500 ft. Novem ber—March. 
A very variable little plant, but on the whole recognized without much difficulty 
by the prostrate and diffusely branched mode of growth, small broad glabrous leaves, 
and slender many-flowered racemes of rather large flowers. V. catarractae is a much 
taller and more erect plant, with much longer and narrower leaves and larger flowers. 
V. Bidwillii differs in its smaller leaves and longer strict racemes. V. Olsent is smaller 
and stouter, with more of the habit of V. Hookeriana, and has more pubescent racemes 
and fewer flowers; while V. Hookeriana is separated by the stouter and more rigid 
habit, pubescent leaves, and much stouter glandular-pubescent raceme with fewer 
flowers. The V. Lyallii of the Botanical Magazine (t. 6456) seems to me to be quite 
different from the true Lyaliii in the greater size, erect habit, larger ovate acute leaves, 
and larger flowers, and probably represents a distinct species intermediate between 
V. a and V. catarractae, but I have seen no specimens. 
- PB.  BHacr 
94, ¥. Bidwillii Hook. )Ic. Plant. (1848) t. 814.—Stems slender, pro- 
strate and rooting, much branched, woody at the base, 3-12 in. long ; 
branches creeping, often m-tted, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves rather 
distant, shortly petioled or almost sessile, minute, ;4—/in. long, broadly 
oblong or obovate, obtuse, with 1 or 2 deep notches on each side or entire, 
thick and coriaceous, black when dry. Peduncles axillary, remote from the 
ends of the branches, very long, 3-9 in., slender, strict, erect, glabrous or 
puberulous, few- or many-flowered ; pedicels slender, erect, 1-4 in. long ; 
bracts small, oblong or linear-oblong, obtuse. Flowers about din. diam. 
Calyx 4-partite ; segments ovate or oblong, obtuse. Corolla-tube very short; 
limb with 4 spreading rounded lobes. Stamens shorter than the corolla- 
lobes. Capsule broadly oblong, retuse, exceeding the calyx.—Hook. perk. 
Nov. Zel. i (1853) 196; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 215; J. B. Armstr. in 
Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii (1881) 349; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. FI. (1906) 543 ; 
Ill. N.Z. Fl. ii (1914) t. 157. W. 0. apsbe tae 
SouTtH Istanp: Not uncommon in mountain districts as far south as Central 
Otago, usually on shingle-beds by the sides of streams, ascending to 4000 ft. No- 
vember—February. 
V. Bidwillit is a remarkably distinct species, and can always be distinguished by 
its habit of forming dense carpets, by its minute uniform leaves, which vary from +-,4, in. 
in length, and have one or two teeth on each side, by its long erect peduncles, and 
rather large flowers. Probably V. Lyallii is its nearest ally, but the habit is very 
different, being much more diffuse and erect, the leaves are larger, and the peduncles 
are shorter. 
