Alseuosmia. | CAPRIFOLIACEAE. 881 
ALSEUOSMIA A. Cunn. '2 @ J 
Evergreen shrubs, usually of small size; branchlets slender. Leaves 
alternate, petioled, entire or toothed, very variable in shape, coriaceous 
or almost membranous; stipules wanting. Flowers axillary, solitary or 
fascicled, very sweet-scented; pedicels bracteolate at the base. Calyx- 
tube ovoid; limb deeply 4-5-lobed, deciduous. Corolla tubular or funnel- 
shaped ; tube long, equa! at the base; limb of 4-5 spreading lobes ; margin 
of lobes inflexed, toothed or lobulate. Stamens 4-5, inserted near the mouth 
of the corolla; filaments short; anthers oblong. Ovary 2-celled; style 
filiform ; stigma clavate ; ovules numerous in each cell, in a double row on 
axile placentas. Berry ovoid or oblong, 2-celled, crimson. Seeds several 
in each cell, angular; testa bony. 
A small genus of four species, confined to New Zealand, and differing from the rest 
of the family in the alternate leaves. The species are exceedingly variable and difficult 
of discrimination. 
Leaves large, 3-7in. Flowers 1-1} in. long, usually 5-merous .. lL. A. macrophylla. 
Leaves 1-4in., ovate-oblong to linear-oblong. Flowers 4-#in., 
usually 4-merous .. - .. 2, A, quercifolia. 
Leaves $-2 in., orbicular to obovate-oblong. Flowers 3-} in. .. 38 A. Banksir. 
Leaves 4-3 in., narrow-linear to lanceolate. Flowers 3-3 in. .. 4. A. linarisfolia. 
a 
1. A. macrophylla A. Cunn. Precur. (1838) n. 494.—A perfectly glabrous 
much-branched shrub 4-8 ft. high. Leaves 3-7 in. long, obovate or obovate- 
lanceolate to linear-oblong, obtuse or subacute, narrowed into a short stout 
petiole, remotely sinuate-dentate or nearly entire, rather coriaceous. 
Flowers solitary or in fascicles of 2-4, large, 1-14 in. long, bright-crimson.? © 
Calyx-lobes lanceolate, acute. Corolla-lobes 5, rarely 4, margins fimbriate 
or toothed. Berry oblong, crimson, 4-$1n. long.—Raoul Chorx (1846) 46 ; 
Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1 (1853) 102, t. 23; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 109 ; 
T. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 227; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 240; 
Ill. N.Z. Fl, ui (1914) t. 78. 
Norts Istanp : Abundant in woods from the North Cape to the East Cape, rare 
and local farther south. Sourn Isnanp: Apparently very rare. Marlborough, J. 
Rutland! Collingwood, Dall! Kelly’s Creek, Westland, Cockayne!  Sea-level to — 
3200 ft. Septem ber—November. 
A very beautiful and exceedingly fragrant plant, well worthy of general cultivation. 
It is easily distinguished from all the other species by the large flowers. 
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2. A, quereifolia A. Cunn. Precur. (1838) n. 493.—A small slender 
sparingly branched shrub 1-5 ft. high. Leaves excessively variable in 
size and shape, 1-5 in. long, ovate-oblong, elliptic-oblong, obovate-lanceo- 
late, or linear-oblong, obtuse or acute, narrowed into a short slender petiole, 
entire or sinuate-dentate or deeply sinuate-lobed, almost membranous, 
sometimes glaucous below. Flowers solitary or in fascicles of 2-5, 4-3 in. 
long, very slender. Calyx-lobes triangular, acute. Corolla with a crimson 
tube and 4-5 greenish or reddish-green acute lobes. Berry 4-4 in. diam., 
broadly oblong, red.—Raoul Choix (1846) 46; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i 
(1853) 102; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 109; TZ. Kirk Students’ Fl. (1899) 227 ; 
Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 240. A. ilex A. Cunn. Precur. (1838) 
n. 492. A, pusilla Col. in Trans. N.Z, Inst. xvii (1885) 241. 
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