Manual of the New Zealand Flora/Ranunculaceæ
MANUAL
OF THE
NEW ZEALAND FLORA.
Order I. RANUNCULACEÆ
Annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs or woody climbers. Leaves all radical or alternate, seldom opposite (Clematis). Stipules wanting, or adnate to the petiole. Flowers regular or irregular, hermaphrodite or more rarely unisexual. Sepals 3 or more, usually 5, deciduous, often petaloid, imbricate (valvate in Clematis). Petals the same number as the sepals or more, hypogynous, free, imbricate, sometimes wanting. Stamens hypogynous, usually very numerous; anthers adnate. Carpels generally many, free, 1-celled; ovules one or several, attached to the ventral suture, anatropous. Fruit of numerous 1-seeded indehiscent achenes or many-seeded follicles, rarely a berry. Seeds small; embryo minute, at the base of copious albumen.
A large order, most abundant in temperate regions; rare within the tropics. Genera 30; species about 550. Most of the species are acrid, and many are poisonous. Aconite and Hellebore being familiar examples. All the New Zealand genera are widely distributed in temperate climates.
| Woody climbers with opposite compound leaves. Sepals petaloid, valvate. Petals wanting | 1. Clematis. |
| Minute herbs with radical linear leaves. Petals wanting. Carpels with a single pendulous ovule. Achenes in an elongated spike | 2. Myosurus. |
| Herbs. Sepals deciduous. Petals 3 to many. Carpels with a single erect ovule | 3. Ranunculus. |
| Herbs with radical sagittate leaves. Sepals petaloid. Petals wanting. Carpels with several ovules | 4. Caltha. |
1. CLEMATIS, Linn.
Climbing undershrubs with slender flexuous branches, rarely dwarf and prostrate. Leaves opposite, usually ternately divided into 3 stalked leaflets, which are either entire or more often variously lobed or cut; petioles often twining. Flowers in few- or many-flowered axillary panicles, diœcious in the New Zealand species. Sepals 4–8, petaloid, valvate in the bud. Petals wanting. Stamens many. Carpels numerous, each with one pendulous ovule. Fruit a head of sessile achenes, in all the New Zealand species produced into long feathery persistent styles.
A genus of over 100 species, found in most temperate climates, rare in the tropics. The New Zealand species are all endemic, and all possess once- or twice-ternately divided leaves and diœcious flowers, the males without any carpels, the females usually with a few imperfect stamens. Most of them vary greatly in the foliage, especially the large-leaved species. These in their normal state have 3-foliolate leaves with the leaflets toothed or lobed, but all run into varieties in which the leaves are biternate or decompound, the ultimate segments being much reduced in size. These forms are most difficult of discrimination, especially when in a flowerless condition, and some of them, are probably not permanent states.
| A. Sepals white. | ||
| Large and stout. Leaflets usually entire. Flowers 2–4 in. diam. | 1. C indivisa. | |
| Slender, pale-green. Leaflets toothed or lobed. Flowers 1–1½ in. diam. | 2. C. hexasepala. | |
| Small, slender. Leaflets pinnate or pinnately divided. Flowers ½–1 in. diam | 3. C. australis. | |
| B. Sepals yellowish or greenish yellow (purplish in C. quadribracteolata). | ||
| * Sepals usually 6 (5–8). Leaflets usually large and well developed. | ||
| Slender. Leaflets glabrous or nearly so, toothed or lobed. Flowers greenish-yellow. Sepals silky | 4. C. Colensoi. | |
| Stout. Leaflets coriaceous, pubescent, toothed or lobed. Flowers yellow. Sepals densely tomentose | 5. C. fœtida. | |
| Slender. Leaflets thin, silky-pubescent, often entire. Flowers yellow. Sepals silky Anthers broad, tipped with a minute appendage | 6. C. parviflora | |
| ** Sepals 4. Leaflets minute, wanting in C. afoliata. | ||
| Usually leafless. Flowers greenish-white, ½–¾ in. diam. | 7. C. afoliata. | |
| Slender, brownish-green. Leaflets minute, 1⁄6–½ in. long, entire or toothed. Flowers yellow, ½ in. diam. | 8. C. marata. | |
| Very slender. Leaflets minute, usually linear. Flowers purplish, ⅓–½ in. diam. Sepals narrow-linear | 9. C. quadribracteolata. | |
1. C. indivisa, Willd. Sp. Plant. ii. 1291.—A large woody climber, often covering bushes or small trees. Stem stout, frequently as thick as a man's arm. Leaves 3-foliolate, coriaceous, glabrous; leaflets 1–4 in. long, all stalked, ovate-oblong or ovate-cordate, rarely narrower and linear-oblong, usually entire. Flowers in axillary panicles, most abundantly produced, large, white, 2–4 in. diam. Sepals 6–8, oblong. Anthers oblong, obtuse. Achenes numerous, downy, with a plumose tail often more than 2 in. long.—A. Rich. Fl Nouv. Zel. 288; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 635; Raoul, Choix, 47; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 6; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 2; Kirk, Students' Fl. 2; Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 4398 (a form with the leaflets lobed). C. integrifolia, Forst. Prodr. n. 231.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Abundant throughout. Sea-level to 2500 ft. Puawhananga. August–November.
A variable plant, but easily recognised by its great size and large showy white flowers. The leaves are usually entire, but are occasionally lobulate, especially in young plants. Mr. Kirk's variety linearis, which has narrow-linear leaves, 4–6 in. long by barely ½ in. broad, appears to me to be only a transient juvenile form.
2. C. hexasepala, D.C. Syst. i. 146.—Much smaller and more slender than C. indivisa. Leaves 3-foliolate, pale-green, coriaceous, glabrous; leaflets 1–3 in. long, stalked, narrow ovate-oblong or ovate-cordate, acute or acuminate, usually irregularly toothed or lobed, rarely entire. Flowers numerous, 1–1½ in. diam., white. Sepals 6–8, linear-oblong, obtuse, downy. Anthers long, linear, obtuse. Achenes numerous, narrow-ovoid, pilose.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 637; Raoul, Choix, 47; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 2; Kirk, Students' Fl. 3. C. hexapetala, Forst. Prodr. n. 230; A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 288. C. Forsteri, Gmel. Syst. 873. C. Colensoi, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 6, t. 1 (not of Handb. N.Z. Fl.).
North Island: From the Kaipara Harbour to Cook Strait; not uncommon, especially in the Upper Waikato and Taupo districts. South Island: Queen Charlotte Sound, Forster; near Moutere (Nelson), T. F. C. Recorded from Canterbury (Armstrong), Otago (Lindsay), and the Bluff Hill (Kirk). Pikiarero. September–November.
Easily separated from C. indivisa by the smaller size, narrower pale-green leaves, which are almost always toothed, and by the smaller flowers.
3. C. australis, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 3.—Stems and branches slender, much branched, glabrous or pubescent at the tips. Leaves 3-foliolate, glabrous, somewhat coriaceous (especially in the small-leaved forms); leaflets very variable in size, ⅓–1 in. long, pinnate or pinnately lobed, segments or lobes usually again toothed or lobed. Flowers white, ½–1 in. diam., in few-flowered panicles or solitary on long slender peduncles clustered in the axils of the leaves. Sepals 5–8, downy. Achenes narrowed into the style, usually pilose, sometimes glabrous when fully mature.
South Island: Hilly and mountain districts in Nelson and Canterbury, not uncommon. 500–3500 ft. November–January.
A puzzling plant, large states of which can only be separated from C. hexasepala by the pinnately divided leaflets, while smaller forms come very nearly to C. Colensoi var. rutaefolia, from which, however, it can usually be distinguished by the larger white flowers and more pointed sepals.
4. C. Colensoi, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 2.—Stems and branches slender, glabrous or silky at the tips. Leaves 3-foliolate, membranous or slightly coriaceous; leaflets stalked, 1⁄3–11⁄4 in. long, crenate, unequally toothed or 3-lobed, or again ternately or pinnately divided. Flowers greenish-yellow, 1⁄2–1 in. diam., in few- or many-flowered panicles, or more usually solitary on slender peduncles fascicled in the axils of the leaves. Sepals 5–8, oblong, silky. Anthers linear. Achenes silky or sometimes nearly glabrous when mature.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 3. C. hexasepala, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 7 (not of D.C.).
Var. rutaefolia, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 7.—Leaves biternate or bipinnate; secondary leaflets often stalked. Usually smaller than the type.
North Island: Both varieties common about Wellington, and extending northward to Hawke's Bay and Cape Egmont. South Island: Nelson—Wairau Valley, Buller Valley, T. F. C. Canterbury—Kowai River, Petrie! Ashley Gorge, Cockayne! Sea-level to 3000 ft. November–January.
A variable plant, not always readily distinguishable from states of C. hexasepala or C. australis.
5. C. fœtida, Raoul, Choix, 23, t. 22.—Stems stout, woody; branches numerous, mtertwined, often covering bushes or small trees; young shoots clothed with fulvous pubescence. Leaves 3-foliolate, slightly coriaceous, usually thinly pubescent on both surfaces, but often becoming glabrous when old; leaflets 1–2 in. long, all stalked, ovate or ovate-cordate, acute or acuminate, entire or irregularly toothed or lobed. Panicles large, much divided; branches usually densely clothed with pale or fulvous tomentum. Flowers very numerous, small, ½–¾ in. diam., yellowish, strongly odorous but certainly not fœtid. Sepals 6–8, linear, obtuse or acute, densely tomentose on the outside. Anthers linear-oblong, obtuse. Achenes narrow-ovoid, very silky, narrowed into short plumose tails—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 7; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 2; Kirk, Students' Fl. 4. C. Parkinsoniana, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. (1880) 359; xiv. (1882) 331.
North and South Islands: Not uncommon in lowland districts from the North Cape to the south of Otago. September–November.
Varies considerably in size, texture, cutting of the leaves, degree of pubescence, &c.; but can always be recognised by the pale or fulvous pubescence on the leaves, young shoots, and branches of the panicle, by the small yellow flowers, which are usually produced in enormous numbers, and by the dense tomentum on the sepals. The type specimens of Mr. Colenso's C. Parkinsoniana, preserved in his herbarium, show no points of difference from the ordinary form of C. fœtida.
6. C. parviflora, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 636.—More or less clothed with silky fulvous pubescence. Stems slender, wiry, not nearly so robust or so much branched as in the preceding species. Leaves 3-foliolate, thin and almost membranous, more rarely sub-coriaceous, tawny-pubescent, especially on the veins and under-surface; leaflets ½–1½ in. long, all stalked, ovate or ovate-cordate, usually entire but occasionally irregularly lobed, subacute. Panicles slender, branched; rhachis and pedicels tawny-pubescent. Flowers small, ½–¾ in. diam., yellowish. Sepals 6–8, linear, more or less clothed with silky pubescence. Anthers short and broad, oblong, with a minute appendage at the apex of the connective. Achenes narrow-ovoid, silky.—Raoul, Choix, 47; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 7; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 2; Kirk, Students' Fl. 4.
Var. trilobata, Kirk, Students' Fl. 5.—Leaflets deeply 3-lobed; lobes entire or cut. Flowers smaller. Sepals more pubescent.
North Island: The typical form in various localities from the Three Kings Islands and the North Cape to Hawke's Bav, but often local. Var. trilobata: Bay of Islands, Kirk! Northern Wairoa, T. F. C.; Te Aroha, T. F. C; between Gisborne and Napier, Bishop Williams! South Island: Var. depauperata: Nelson, Travers. Var. trilobata: Okarita, A. Hamilton. Sea-level to 1500 ft. September–November.
A handsome species, closely allied to C. fœtida, but at once distinguished by the smaller size, more slender habit, smaller and thinner usually entire leaflets, narrower silky sepals, and especially by the broad anthers, which have a minute swelling at the tip of the connective. I have not seen specimens of Hooker's var. depauperata.
7. C. afoliata, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iii. (1871) 211.—Stems and branches leafless, wiry, striate, glabrous, often much intertwined. Leaves usually reduced to petioles in the mature plant, when present consisting of 3 minute long-stalked ovate or triangular leaflets; in young plants more frequently developed and rather larger. Flowers greenish-white, ½–¾ in. diam., in fascicles of 2–5 in the axils of the petioles; peduncles slender, pilose, each with a pair of minute ovate bracteoles. Sepals 4, ovate- or oblong-lanceolate, usually acute, silky. Anthers linear. Achenes ovoid, silkv.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 3. C. aphylla, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix. (1886) 259.
North Island: Without locality, Colenso! Puketapu (Hawke's Bay), H. Hill! South Island: Various localities from Nelson to Otago, but local. Picton, J. Rutland! Marlborough, Buchanan; Hanmer Plains, H. J. Matthews! Waiau River, Kirk; Canterbury Plains, N. T. Carrington! Waitaki Valley, Buchanan, Petrie! Duntroon, Petrie! Sea-level to 2000 ft. September–October.
A very curious plant, often forming dense masses of intertwined stems and branches several feet in length. I have not seen flowering specimens of Mr. Colenso's C. aphylla, but the stems and branches show no difference from the common state of the species.
8. C. marata, Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 335.—Stems slender, much branched, often forming dense interlaced masses scrambling over bushes or among grass, brownish-green, pubescent, grooved. Leaves 3-foliolate, usually pubescent on both surfaces; petioles variable in length, 1–4 in.; leaflets small, 16–12 in. long, all stalked, exceedingly variable in shape, narrow-linear to ovate, acute or obtuse, entire notched or lobed, or even again 3-partite. Peduncles 1-flowered, solitary or 2–4 together in the axils of the leaves, pubescent. Bracteoles in 2 pairs, connate at the base, upper pair much the larger, often foliaceous. Flowers yellowish, small, ½–¾ in. diam., sweet-scented. Sepals 4, linear-oblong, acute or obtuse, silky. Anthers linear. Achenes narrow, margined, silky or nearly glabrous when old, narrowed into rather long plumose tails.—Kirk, Students Fl. 4.
9. C. quadribracteolata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 329.—Stems and branches very slender, branched, trailing, 1–3 ft. long, glabrous except the very young shoots. Leaves few, trifoliolate; petioles slender, 1–2 in. long; leaflets minute, 16–14 in. long, usually Imear or lanceolate, but varying to linear-oblong, ovate-lanceolate, or triangular-acute, glabrous, entire or one or all 3-lobed. Peduncles solitary or 2–3 together in the axils of the leaves, 1-flowered, usually shorter than the petioles, pubescent; bracteoles 2 or 3 pairs, connate, upper the largest, sheathing at the base, rounded, obtuse. Flowers purplish, sweet-scented, ¼–¾ in. diam. Sepals 4, linear or linear-oblong, usually acute, silky. Anthers linear. Achenes small, almost glabrous when fully ripe, narrowed into short plumose tails.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 4. C. fœtida var. depauperata, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i 7; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 2.
North Island: Low grounds in the Hawke's Bay District; Lake Rotoatara, Colenso! Petane, A. Hamilton! between the Ngaruroro and Tukituki Rivers, Sturm.
This can only be separated from the preceding by its smaller size, more slender habit, narrower leaflets, purplish flowers, and narrower sepals. Further investigation may prove both to be forms of one variable plant.
2. MYOSURUS, Linn.
Annual herbs, of small size. Leaves all radical, linear, entire. Scapes usually numerous, naked, 1-fiowered. Sepals 5, rarely more, minutely spurred at the base. Petals wanting in the New Zealand species. Stamens 5–8. Carpels numerous; ovules solitary, pendulous. Achenes closely packed on a long and slender spike-like receptacle which usually lengthens much as they ripen, each with a raised nerve on the back, ending in a short persistent style.
A small genus of only two species, one of which is widely spread in the north temperate zone, and is also found in Australia; the other is known only from California, Chili, and New Zealand.
1. M. aristatus, Benth. in Lond. Journ. Bot. vi. 459.—Varying, in size from 1–3 in. Leaves numerous, 120 in. broad or even less, erect, linear or linear-spathulate. Scapes usually several, slender, 1-flowered. Flower minute, yellowish, apetalous. Sepals 5, spur short. Stamens generally 5. Receptacle in fruit oblong or linear, ¼–¾ in. long; achenes with a short beak.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 8; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 3; Kirk, Students' Fl. 5.
North Island: Palliser Bay, Colenso! Ocean beach near Wellington, Buchanan. South Island: Moist gravelly places near Lake Tekapo, T. F. C. Otago—Hyde, Beaumont, Speargrass Flat, Ida Valley, Lake Wanaka, Petrie! Gimmerburn, Kirk! Altitudinal range from sea-level to 2500 ft.
3. RANUNCULUS, Linn.
Herbs with petioled entire lobed or dissected leaves and yellow or white flowers. Sepals 3–5, deciduous. Petals usually about 5, but varying in number from 4 to 20, with 1–3 glandular pits or scales near the base. Stamens many. Carpels usually numerous; styles short; ovules solitary, ascending. Achenes numerous, 1-seeded, collected into a globular or ovoid head, tipped with the persistent straight or recurved style.
A large genus of about 175 species, dispersed over the whole world, but most numerous in temperate or cool regions. In New Zealand it forms a very conspicuous portion of the mountain vegetation, especially in the South Island; some of the species, as R. Lyallii and R. insignis, being the finest known. Many of them are exceedingly variable and difficult of discrimination, especially in the section with compressed achenes. Of the 37 species known, 4 are found in Australia, 1 in Chili, and another in Kerguelen's Island; the remaining 31 are endemic. In addition to the native species, 8 or 9 from the Northern Hemisphere have become naturalised as weeds in pastures and waste places, the most abundant being R. bulbosus, L., R. hirsutis, Curt. (R. sardous, Crantz), and the typical state of R. parviflorus, L. References to descriptions of these will be found in the appendix.
| A. Stems tall, erect. Flowers large. Achenes villous or silky. | |
| * Flowers white. | |
| Leaves large, peltate, margins simply crenate | 1. R. Lyallii. |
| Leaves 3–5-partite or dissected; segments usually linear | 2. R. Buchanani. |
| ** Flowers yellow. | |
| Villous. Leaves rounded-cordate or reniform, crenate-lobed | 3. R. insignis. |
| Glabrous. Leaves broadly oblong, crenate. Achenes only slightly hairy | 4. R. Godleyanus. |
| B. Stems erect, without creeping stolons. Achenes glabrotis, turgid or angled, not compressed or margined, never inuricate or tuberculate. | |
| * Stems usually stout, 4–16 in. high. Leaves broad, reniform to ovate, coarsely crenate or dentate. | |
| Leaves reniform to ovate. Scapes 1–many-flowered. Petals twice as long as the sepals | 5. R. Monroi. |
| Leaves rounded-reniform. Scape thickened above, seldom more than 1-flowered. Petals hardly longer than the sepals | 6. R. pinguis. |
| ** Stems tall, slender. Leaves deeply cut and lobed. Petals narrow, 8–15. | |
| Pilose, stems 1–3 ft., many-flowered. Flowers 1–1½ in. diam. | 7. R. nivicola. |
| Glabrous or slightly pilose, stems 6–8 in., few-flowered. Flowers ½–1 in. diam. | 8. R. geraniifolius. |
| *** Stems short, simple. Leaves usually all radical. Scapes 1-flowered (1–3-flowered in R. Haastii, and sometimes 2-flowered in R. Enysii). | |
| Glabrous, 6–15 in. high. Leaves 3–5-foliolate. Scapes 1–5. Achenes ovoid; style short, straight or curved | 9. R. Enysii |
| Pilose or nearly glabrous, 6–15 in. high. Leaves 3–5-partite. Achenes fusiform, narrovced into a long spirally recurved style | 10. R. tenuicaulis. |
| Short, stout, glabrous, almost stemless. Leaves all radical, fleshy or coriaceous, palmatipartite or 8-foliolate or 3–5-lobed. | |
| Leaves few, coriaceous, palmatipartite; segments laciniate. Scape l–3-flowered, with crowded laciniate bracts under the flowers | 11. R. Haastii. |
| Leaves biternately multifid, glaucous and fleshy; segments 110 in. long. Scape shorter than the leaves | 12. R. crithmifolius. |
| Leaves many, 3-partite; segments lobed. Scape shorter than the leaves | 13. R. chordorhizos. |
| Leaves 1–3, 3-lobed; segments toothed or crenate. Scape longer than the leaves | 14. R. paucifolius. |
| Small. Leaves orbicular-reniform, 3-lobed to the middle; lobes crenate. Scape longer than the leaves | 15. R. Berggreni. |
| Small. Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets lobed or partite. Scape longer than the leaves | 16. R. novæ-zealandiæ. |
| Stout or slender; silky, pilose, or glabrate. Leaves all radical, pinnate, pinnatisect, or pinnately multifid. | |
| Stout. Leaves tripinnatisect, usually copiously silky. Scape stout. Flower large | 17. R. sericophyllus. |
| Slender, almost glabrous. Leaves bipinnatisect or multifid; segments very narrow. Scape slender. Flowers small | 18. R. Sinclairii. |
| Slender, pilose. Leaves pinnate; pinnæ 3-lobed or -partite; segments oblong or cuneate. Scape slender. Flowers small | 19. R. gracilipes. |
| C. Stems not creeping. Achenes glabrous, compressed, with a thickened margin, not muricate. (Achenes sometimes obscurely compressed, but always thinner than in the previous section. The margins are said to be not thickened in R. aucklandicus. | |
| Stems branched, leafy, 6–24 in. high. Leaves trifoliolate or biternate. Sepals reflexed | 20. R. hirtus. |
| Small, stemless, 1½ in. high at most. Leaves rosulate, 3-lobed or -partite, exceeding the flower | 21. R. recens. |
| Slender, 3–6 in. high. Leaves trifoliolate; leaflets all stalked, obtuse. Achenes few, 3–5 | 22. R. Kirkii. |
| Stems short, simple. Leaves all radical, usually toothed or 3–5 lobed, rarely partite. Scapes 1–5, longer than the leaves. Sepals spreading | 23. R. lappaceus. |
| Stems branched, hirsute, leafy. Leaves coarsely toothed or 3 lobed. Scapes radical and axillary, not exceeding the leaves | 24. R. foliosus. |
| Erect or suberect, clothed with short stiff appressed hairs. Leaves deltoid-cordate, 3-partite. Scapes 1–3-flowered, longer or shorter than the leaves. Sepals spreading | 25. R. subscaposus. |
| Erect, clothed with strigose pubescence. Leaves rounded, 3-partite. Scapes 1 or 2, each with 1–3 flowers | 26. R. Hectori. |
| Erect, strigose-hirsute. Leaves rounded-reniform, 3-partite. Scapes 1–3, 1-flowered. Achenes compressed, margins not thickened | 27. R. aucklandicus. |
| D. Stems creeping, or with creeping stolons. Achenes glabrotis, not muricate. | |
| Stems robust, branched, prostrate and rooting at the nodes. Leaves 3-toothed or -lobed. Scapes short, axillary | 28. R. Cheesemanii. |
| Stems weak, matted, often rooting at the nodes. Leaves tufted, trifoliolate; leaflets often again divided, small. Flowers minute | 29. R. ternatifolius. |
| Small, depressed, stoloniferous, 1½ in. high at most. Leaves ternatisect or multifid, segments narrow-linear. Scapes naked, 1-flowered; flower small | 30. R. depressus. |
| Small, much depressed, 1½ in. high at most. Rootstock creeping, much branched. Leaves cuneate. Scape 1-flowered; flower large | 31. R. pachyrrhizus. |
| Stems fistulose, creeping and rooting at the nodes. Leaves on petioles 6–18 in. long; blade 3–5-partite, 1–2½ in. diam., segments broad | 32. R. macropus. |
| Stems creeping and rooting at the nodes or floating. Leaves on petioles 1–6 in. long; blade 3–5-partite, 1¼–1½ in. diam., segments usually narrow | 33. R. rivularis. |
| Stems creeping and matted. Leaves small, 3-foliolate. Scapes shorter than the leaves, 1-flowered | 34. R. acaulis. |
| Stems creeping and rooting at the nodes. Leaves fleshy, reniform, 3-lobed or -partite | 35. R. crassipes. |
| Stems filiform, creeping and matted. Leaves linear-spathulate, entire. Flowers minute, tetramerous | 36. R. limosella. |
| E. Achenes muricate or tuberculate. | |
| Small, annual. Stems slender, branched. Flowers minute, almost sessile, opposite the leaves | 37. R. parviflorus, var. australis. |
1. R. Lyallii, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 4.—A tall, erect, exceedingly handsome plant, with a paniculately branched flowering-stem 1–4 ft. in height. Rootstock stout, with long fleshy roots. Radical leaves on long stout petioles with broad silky sheathing bases; limb 6–15 in. diam., orbicular, peltate, concave, crenate, coriaceous, glabrous or with a few weak hairs. Cauline leaves few, sessile, lower reniform, upper cuneate-rhomboid or oblong-cuneate, lobed and crenate. Leaves of young plants not peltate, reniform to rhomboid, cuneate at the base. Peduncles stout, villous, with 1–2 linear bracts. Flowers numerous, 2–3 in. diam., white, more rarely cream-coloured. Sepals 5, broad, villous. Petals usually numerous, cuneate-obovate, with an obscure gland at the base. Stamens many, short; anthers oblong. Receptacle oblong, cylindrical, hairy. Ripe achenes forming a head ¾ in. diam., oblique, turgid, villous, narrowed into long slender flexuous styles.—Bot. Mag. t. 6888; Kirk, Students' Fl. 7.
South Island: Abundant in the central and western portions of the Southern Alps, from the Spenser Mountains to the south of Otago. Stewart Island: Mount Anglem, Kirk. Altitudinal range from 2000 to 5000 ft. November–January. Var. Traversii: Hurunui Mountains, Canterbury, Travers.
A magnificent plant, by far the finest of the genus; so common in many portions of the Southern Alps that in summer the mountain-slopes are whitened from the abundance of the flowers. It has received many local names, as the "mountain lily," "shepherd's lily," "Mount Cook lily," &c. Its nearest ally outside New Zealand is R. Baurii, MacOwan, from the Transvaal, which has peltate leaves 4–5 in. diam. and small yellow flowers. R. Traversii does not seem to have been observed since its first discovery more than forty years ago. I have seen no specimens, but I am indebted to the Director of the Kew Herbarium for a drawing of the type specimen, which leaves no doubt in my mind that it is merely a local form of R. Lyallii.
2. R. Buchanani, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 5.—Stout, erect, more or less covered with long silky hairs, rarely almost glabrous. Rootstock thick, with numerous long fleshy rootlets. Radical leaves on long petioles 2–6 in. long, with short and broad sheathing bases; blade reniform in outline, 2–6 in. diam., ternatisect, main divisions stalked, more or less deeply divided into linear or cuneate lobes, which are usually again 3–5-fid or -toothed, rarely entire. Cauline leaves similar, but usually more finely cut, sessile or nearly so. Flowers solitary or 2–3, large, white, 1½–2½ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong, villous. Petals very numerous, linear-oblong, rounded at the apex, narrowed to the base; gland solitary, basilar. Achenes turgid, pilose, forming a globose head ½ in. diam.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 8.
South Island: Otago—Lake district, Buchanan! Mounts Bonpland, Tyndall, and Aspiring, Petrie! Bald Peak, B. C. Aston! Mount Earnslaw, H. J. Matthews! Altitudinal range 4000–6000 ft. December–January.
A singular and beautiful plant, quite unlike any other, confined, so far as is known, to the high mountains to the west of the Otago lake district. The leaves are said to be sometimes nearly entire, and the flowers yellow, but I have not seen specimens showing these peculiarities.
3. R. insignis, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 8, t. 2.—A stout, erect, paniculately branched plant 1–3 ft. in height, usually villous in all its parts, brownish or rufous when dry. Radical leaves numerous, large, on stout petioles with broad sheathing bases, thick and coriaceous, rounded-cordate or reniform, crenate and often shortly lobed, 4–9 in. diam.; cauline smaller, upper ones cut and lobed. Peduncles often very numerous, stout; bracts linear-oblong. Flowers golden-yellow, 1–2 in. diam. Sepals 5, woolly at the back. Petals 5–6, rarely more, obcordate, with 1 or 2 glands at the base. Stamens many, short. Receptacle oblong, pubescent. Achenes forming a rounded head ½ in. diam., tumid, villous; style long, slender.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 4; Kirk, Students' Fl. 7. R. ruahinicus, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 256. R. sychnopetala. Col. l.c. xxv. (1893) 324, and xxvi. (1894) 313 (a monstrous state with very numerous narrow petals). R. rufus. Col. l.c. xxviii. (1896) 591.
North Island: High mountains of the interior, from the East Cape southwards: Hikurangi; mountains near Waikaremoana; Tongariro and Ruapehu; Ruahine Mountains; Tararua Mountains. South Island: Nelson mountains, not uncommon as far south as Lake Tennyson, T. F. C.; Kaikoura Mountains, Kirk. Var. b: Marlborough—Kowai River and Mount Fyffe, Kirk.
A beautiful plant, varying much in size, stoutness, degree of hairiness, &c. I have seen no South Island specimens equalling in size and number of flowers those collected by Colenso more than fifty years ago on the Ruahine Mountains, and now preserved in his herbarium. Mr. Kirk's variety lobulatus is not in flower, and may prove distinct.
4. R. Godleyanus, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 723.—Stout, erect, glabrous, 1–2 ft. high. Leaves all radical, on thick fleshy petioles 2–6 in. long by ½–¾ in. diam.; blade 3–6 in. long, broadly oblong, rounded at the apex, cordate rounded or cuneate at the base, coarsely crenate, fleshy or coriaceous; veins reticulate. Scape stout, usually longer than the leaves, naked below, bearing above the middle 2–4 large sessile or shortly stalked oblong or rounded bracts, from the axils of which proceed several simple or branched flowering peduncles, each of which usually bears 1–2 secondary bracts. Flowers numerous, large, 1–2 in. diam., golden-yellow. Sepals 5, broadly oblong. Petals 5, cuneate-obovate, emarginate, with 2–3 naked glands at the base. Receptacle broadly oblong, pilose; achenes numerous, somewhat turgid, sparingly pilose or nearly glabrous, gradually narrowed into a slender curved style.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 8.
South Island: Southern Alps, at Whitcombe's Pass, at the head-waters of the Rakaia River, alt. 4000ft., Haast! Armstrong! Enys! Mount Cook, Herb. Petrie!
A remarkable species, apparently with a very restricted distribution. All the specimens I have seen are more or less imperfect, with the exception of two gathered by Enys, and not one of them shows perfectly ripe achenes.
5. R. Monroi, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 323.—Short, stout, 4–12 in. high or more, more or less silky-villous or almost glabrous. Rootstock short, clothed with the persistent bases of the old leaf-sheaths. Leaves all radical, on short stout petioles with broad sheathing bases, coriaceous or almost fleshy, sometimes thinner and submembranous; blade variable in outline, 1–4 in. diam., reniform rounded or ovate, cordate or rounded at the base, coarsely crenate or crenate-lobulate. Scapes simple or sparingly branched, 1–3-flowered; bracts entire or deeply lobed. Flowers yellow, ½–1 in. diam., rarely more. Sepals 5, linear-oblong, obtuse, glabrous or silky. Petals 5–8, almost twice as long as the sepals, narrow obovate-cuneate, each with a single glandular pit at the base. Achenes numerous, forming a small globose head, usually glabrous, turgid, keeled at the back; style straight or recurved.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 9. R. pinguis var. a. Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 5. R. Muelleri, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix. (1887) 215, t. 16.
Var. b, sericeus. Kirk, Students' Fl. 9.—Achenes clothed with silky hairs.
Var. c, dentatus, Kirk, l.c. 9.—Leaves broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, coarsely toothed or dentate, clothed on both surfaces wiDh strigose ferruginous pubescence, sometimes almost shaggy.
North Island: Tararua Mountains, Buchanan! South Island: Wairau Gorge and Tarndale, Sinclair, T. F. C.; Spenser Mountains, Kaikoura Mountains, Kirk! Marlborough, Monro; Clarence Valley, T. F. C.; Mount Torlesse and Upper Waimakariri, Kirk! Cockayne! Var. b: Kaikoura Mountains, Kirk! Var. c. Not uncommon in mountain districts in Marlborough and Canterbury, from the Clarence River southwards. 1500–4500 ft. December–January.
A very variable plant, united with R. pinguis by Hooker, but differing from that species in the petals being always much longer than the sepals, in the scape being usually branched and not thickened upwards, and in the longer styles to the achenes. The var. dentatus has a very different appearance to the typical form, and but for the occurrence of numerous intermediates might have been treated as a distinct species.
6. R. pinguis, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 2, t. 1.—Short, stout, usually rather fleshy, 2–10 in. high, sparingly pilose or almost glabrous. Rootstock stout, with numerous fleshy rootlets. Leaves all radical, on long stout petioles with stout sheathing bases; blade 1–3 in. diam., reniform, deeply crenate-lobed. Scape as long or longer than the leaves, stout, thickened upwards, naked or with 1–2 bracts above the middle, 1-flowered. Flower 1 in. diam., yellow. Sepals 5–6, oblong. Petals 5–8, obovate or linear-oblong, hardly as long as the sepals, with 1–3 glandular pits towards the base. Receptacle broadly oblong. Achenes very numerous, small, glabrous; style short, straight, with 3 narrow wings at the base.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 10. R. pinguis, var. b, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 5.
Auckland and Campbell Islands: Not uncommon, ascending to nearly 2000 ft., Hooker, Filhol! Kirk!
Sir J. D. Hooker distinguishes two varieties in the Flora Antarctica, one (var. pilosus) being much more hairy than the type, with linear petals always furnished with 3 glandular pits; the other (var. rhombifolius) smaller, with the leaves rhomboid-cuneate and 3–5-fid.
7. R. nivicola, Hook. Ic. Plant, t. 571, 572.—Erect, usually rather slender, paniculately branched above, 2–3 ft. high, more or less covered with long soft white spreading hairs or nearly glabrous. Rootstock short, stout. Radical leaves on long petioles 4–12 in. long with broad sheathing bases; blade 3–6 in. diam. or even more, cordate-reniform, more or less deeply 3–7-lobed, lobes broadly cuneate, inciso-crenate. Cauline leaves deeply cut and lobed, upper laciniate. Flowers many, large, golden-yellow, 1–1½ in. diam. Sepals 5, linear-oblong, pilose. Petals usually numerous, 8–15, narrow cuneate-obovate, emarginate, each with a single glandular pit near the base. Achenes forming a small rounded head, glabrous, turgid; style straight, hooked at the tip.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 8; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 5; Kirk, Students' Fl. 8. R. reticulatus, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx. (1888) 188.
North Island: Mount Egmont, abundant, Dieffenbach, Buchanan! T. F. C.; Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu, G. Mair! H. Hill! Altitudinal range 3000–6000 ft. December–February.
A remarkably graceful and beautiful plant, excellently figured in the Icones Plantarum.
8. R. geraniifolius, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 9, t. 3.—Erect, slender, sparingly branched, 1–2 ft. high, glabrous or occasionally villous with long white hairs, especially on the petioles. Radical leaves few, on long slender petioles 3–6 in. long; blade 2–4 in. diam., broadly reniform in outline, deeply 3–5-lobed, sometimes to the very base; lobes either cuneate and crenate-toothed or -lobed or again deeply divided into narrow linear segments. Cauline leaves sessile, usually much and finely divided. Flowers few, seldom more than 3, ½–1 in. diam., yellow. Sepals 5, oblong, glabrous or very slightly pilose. Petals usually numerous, 8–15, linear-oblong, rounded at the tip, with a single basal gland. Achenes forming a small globose head, glabrous, turgid; style short, subulate.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 5; Kirk, Students' Fl. 9. R. verticillatus. Kirk, l.c. 13.
North Island: Hikurangi, Colenso! Ruahine Mountains, Colenso! Olsen! Petrie! Tararua Mountains, Buchanan! Arnold! Townson! South Island: Mountains of Nelson, not uncommon as far south as Lake Tennyson, Monro, T. F. C. Mount Murchison, Townson! Mount Stokes, Macmahon, Kirk. Altitudinal range 2500–5000 ft. December–January.
Closely allied to the preceding species, but easily distinguished by the smaller size, more slender habit, fewer leaves (which are often very finely cut), fewer and smaller flowers, and by the petals being usually rounded at the tip. Mr. Kirk's R. verticillatus is based upon a single imperfect specimen, without locality, in Mr. Buchanan's herbarium. I consider that it is a small one-flowered state of R. geraniifolius, with which it exactly agrees in habit, pubescence, and flowers, differing only in the more rounded leaf-segments, a character of little importance in a species with such variable foliage.
9. R. Enysii, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. (1880) 394.—Slender, leafy, glabrous, 6–15 in. high. Rootstock rather stout, with numerous fibrous rootlets. Leaves all radical, numerous; petioles 2–6 in. long, grooved; blade 1–3 in. diam., 3–5-foliolate or biternate; leaflets long-stalked, very variable in size and amount of cutting, sometimes large and rounded, toothed or 3–5-lobed, at other times smaller and cut to the base into 3–5 narrow-cuneate incised toothed or lobed segments, occasionally pinnately divided. Scapes 1–5, longer than the leaves, simple or rarely with 1–2 short branches, naked or with a single stalked or sessile variously divided cauline leaf. Flower ½–l in. diam. Sepals 5, broadly ovate. Petals usually 5, rarely more, broadly obovate, with a single basilar gland. Achenes forming a small rounded head, numerous, turgid, glabrous; style short, stout, straight or curved.—Students Fl. 13. R. tenuis, Buch, in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx. (1888) 255, t. 12.
South Island: Canterbury—Not uncommon on the mountains of the Middle Waimakariri from Mount Torlesse to Bealey, Enys! Kirk! Petrie! Cockayne! T. F. C. Otago—Lake Harris, Kirk; East Taieri, Buchanan! 2000–40OO ft. December–February.
A well-marked species, apparently not closely allied to any other. Mr. Buchanan's R. tenuis differs from the type in the leaves being more pinnately divided, but is clearly the same species. I have a specimen with finely cut, almost decompound leaves, collected by Mr. Cockayne on the Candlestick Mountains, Canterbury.
10. R. tenuicaulis, Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z . Inst. xvii. (1885) 235.—Very slender, erect, sparingly pilose or nearly glabrous, 4–18 in. high. Rootstock slender, with numerous fleshy rootlets. Leaves all radical, on slender petioles 2–6 in. long; blade ½–1½ in. diam., about reniform in outline, cut to the base into 3, rarely 5, broadly cuneate divisions, which are deeply and irregularly 2–3-lobed; lobes narrow, often again toothed. Scape very slender, grooved, 1-flowered, usually with 2–3 simple or variously cut or lobed bracts about the middle. Petals 5, linear, acute. Achenes 5–20, loosely packed, spreading, shortly stipitate, fusiform, gradually narrowed into a long spirally recurved style.—Kirk, Students Fl. 14.
South Island: Canterbury—Mountains above Arthur's Pass, T. F. C.; Craigieburn Mountains, Cockayne! Otago—Swampy Hill, Lee Stream, Mount Kyeburn, Clinton Saddle, Petrie!
A very curious species, remarkable for the fusiform achenes and long spirally recurved style.
11. R. Haastii, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 6.—A very remarkable stout fleshy or coriaceous glaucous plant, 2–6 in. high, glabrous except the leaf-sheaths, which are usually villous with long hairs. Rootstock stout and fleshy, often 6 in. long and as thick as the thumb, viscid and milky when bruised, horizontal, giving off numerous long and stout rootlets as thick as whipcord. Radical leaves 1 or 2; petioles stout, fleshy, tapering downwards, 2–6 in. long; blade 2–4 in. diam., broadly reniform or orbicular in outline, palmately cut to the base into 5–7 deeply and irregularly incised and lobed segments. Scape very thick and fleshy, grooved when dry, naked below, furnished above with 1–3 sessile cauline leaves which are deeply cut into linear lobes, forming a leafy involucre to the flowers. Peduncles 1–3, barely exceeding the cauline leaves, 1-flowered. Flowers 1–1½ in. diam., yellow. Sepals 5, oblong, glabrous or nearly so. Petals 8–15, narrow-cuneate; gland single, basilar. Receptacle swollen, papillose. Achenes forming a rounded head ¾ in. diam., glabrous, turgid; style flattened, pointed, very broad at the base, the margins continued down the front and back of the achene as wings.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 10.
South Island: Bare shingle slopes on the mountains, not uncommon from the south of Nelson (Wairau Valley) to Central Otago. Altitudinal range 3000–6000 ft. December–January.
A very singular plant, quite unlike any other. I do not find that Otago specimens have their leaves less divided than those from Canterbury and Nelson, as stated by Kirk in "The Students' Flora."
12. R. crithmifolius, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 6.—Small, perfectly glabrous, very fleshy, glaucous, stemless; rootstock short, stout, horizontal, with thick fleshy fibres. Leaves all radical, on recurved petioles 1–2 in. long; blade broad, ½–1 in. diam., reniform in outline, biternately multifid; segments short, linear, 110 in. long, obtuse. Scape stout, fleshy, erect, shorter than the leaves, single-flowered. Flowers small. Sepals linear-oblong. Petals not seen. Achenes in a globose head, ⅓ in. diam., turgid, keeled; style sharp, straight, subulate.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 11.
South Island; Wairau Gorge, on shingle-slips, alt. 6000 ft., Travers.
A curious little plant, which has not been collected since its original discovery nearly forty years ago. There are no specimens in any of the New Zealand herbaria, and I have consequently reproduced Hooker's description. He remarks that it is easily recognised by its glaucous fleshy habit, finely divided leaves, and single-flowered short scapes.
13. R. chordorhizos, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 723.—Small, stout, fleshy and coriaceous, 2–3 in. high, everywhere perfectly glabrous. Rootstock short, thick, with numerous long fleshy rootlets. Leaves all radical; petioles stout, 1–2 in. long, with broad thin sheathing bases; blade ¾–1½ in. diam., orbicular in outline, 3-lobed or 3-partite to the base, segments obovate-spathulate or cuneate, sometimes petiolulate, inciso-crenate or again lobed; upper surface pitted or wrinkled when dry. Scapes usually solitary but sometimes 2–3, short, not exceeding the petioles, naked, 1-flowered. Flower ½–1 in. diam. Sepals 5, narrow-oblong. Petals 5–6, nearly twice as long as the sepals, narrow linear-oblong, with 1–3 glandular pits near the base. Achenes forming a small globose head, rounded, turgid, glabrous; style as long as the achene, curved, subulate.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 10.
South Island: Canterbury—Macaulay Kiver and Mount Somers, Haast (Handbook); Lake Ohau, Buchanan! Otago—Mount Kyeburn and Mount St. Bathan's, Petrie! Altitudinal range 3000–5000 ft. December–January.
Hooker based his R. chordorhizos upon specimens collected by Haast at the Macaulay River and Mount Somers, and also included a plant obtained on limestone gravel in the Waimakariri district. Kirk considered the Waimakariri plant to be distinct from the others, and has established the next species (R. paucifolius) upon it. The Macaulay River plant he assumed to be the same as Buchanan's and Petrie's, quoted above. Whether this view is correct can only be determined by examination of the types at Kew.
14. R. paucifolius, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 11.—Small, stout, coriaceous, 2–4 in. high, perfectly glabrous. Rootstock short, stout, with very numerous long fleshy rootlets. Leaves 2–3, all radical, on short stiff petioles 1–2 in. long, with broad sheathing bases; blade 1–2 in. diam., suborbicular or broader than long, slightly cordate or almost cuneate at the base, 3-lobed to the middle; lobes overlapping, sharply and finely toothed or crenate. Scape solitary, stout, naked, 1-flowered, about equalling the leaves. Sepals 5, oblong. Petals 5. Achenes few, forming a small rounded head, turgid, glabrous; style straight, subulate.
South Island: Canterbury—Debris of limestone rocks at Castle Hill, Middle Waimakariri, alt. 2500 ft., J. D. Enys!
Much more complete material is required before a good description can be given of this curious little plant. It is very close to the preceding species, but seems sufficiently distinct in the less fleshy and more coriaceous habit; fewer leaves, which are broader, and much less divided; longer scape, and broader petals. Only one flowering specimen has been obtained.
15. R. Berggreni, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix. (1887) 325; l.c. xxxi. (1899) 352, t. 26.—Small, stemless, perfectly glabrous. Rootstock stout, with numerous fleshy rootlets. Leaves all radical, coriaceous; petioles slender, flattened, ½–1 in. long; blade orbicular or reniform, with an open sinus, ½–¾ in. diam., unequally 3-lobed to the middle, rarely almost 3-partite; lobes rounded, irregularly crenate or crenate-lobed. Scapes 1 or 2, 1-flowered, naked, 1–3 in. long. Flowers ½–¾ in. diam. Sepals 5, ovate, margins scarious. Petals 5, obovate, rounded at the tip, with a single conspicuous gland at the base. Styles rather long, recurved. Ripe achenes not seen.—Kirk, Students Fl. 12.
South Island: Otago—Carrick Range, alt. 4000 ft., Petrie! November–December.
A pretty and distinct little species, the exact relationship of which cannot be determined until ripe achenes are obtained.
16. R. novæ-zealandiæ, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvi. (1894) 266.—Small, stout, somewhat fleshy and glaucous, perfectly glabrous. Rootstock short, stout, clothed with the remains of the old petioles; root-fibres long and thick. Leaves all radical, coriaceous, on short flattened petioles ½–1 in. long; blade ½–1¼ in. long, trifoliolate; lateral leaflets sessile, terminal long-stalked, all more or less deeply 3-lobed or -partite, sometimes to the base, segments crenate. Scapes 1–3, short, stout, naked, 1-flowered, 1–3 in. long. Flowers ½–¾ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong, much shorter than the petals. Petals 5, obovate-cuneate, rounded at the tip, with a single broad gland near the base. Ripe achenes not seen.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 13.
South Island: Otago-Rock and Pillar Range, opposite Middlemarch; Old Man Range, alt. 4000ft., Petrie! November–December.
This looks like R. Berggreni with trifoliolate leaves; in fact, the terminal leaflet often exactly matches a small-sized leaf of that species. But it is premature to speculate as to its affinities until the ripe achenes are known.
17. R. sericophyllus, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 6.—A handsome short stout pale-green plant 2–8 in. high, usually densely covered with long silky hairs, but sometimes nearly glabrous. Rootstock short, stout. Leaves numerous, somewhat membranous, all radical; petioles short or long, 1–5 m., with very broad membranous sheathing bases; blade ½–1½ in. long, broadly ovate in outline, tripinnatisect, ultmiate divisions small, linear or linear-oblong, acute or nearly so, generally tipped with a pencil of silky hairs. Scape usually longer than the leaves, stout, erect, 1-flowered, naked or with an entire or laciniate bract. Flowers large, golden-yellow, 1–1½ in. diam. or even more. Sepals oblong, membranous, almost equalling the petals. Petals 5–8, usually broad, obovate-cuneate, rounded at the tip; glands generally 3, near the base. Achenes forming a rounded head 1½ in. diam., glabrous, turgid, keeled at the back ; style stout, subulate.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 12.
South Island: Canterbury—Poulter River, Cockayne! Browning's Pass, Mount Brewster, Hopkins River, Haast! Mount Cook district, Dixon, T. F. C. Otago—Lake district, Buchanan! Matukituki Valley, near Mount Aspiring, mountains near Lake Hawea, Petrie! Humboldt Mountains, Cockayne! Altitudinal range 3500–7000 ft. December–January.
An exceedingly beautiful little plant, very abundant in the Mount Cook district, where it ascends to quite 7000 ft. Mr. Petrie's specimens from near Mount Aspiring are more slender and almost glabrous, and the petals are more numerous and narrower. Mr. Cockayne's, from the Humboldt Mountains, have the leaves much less divided, with broader segments, but the petals have the 3 large glands of the type.
18. R. Sinclairii, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 6.—Small, slender, 2–6 in. high, sparingly pilose with long white silky hairs or almost glabrous. Rootstock stout, sometimes branched above. Leaves many, all radical, 1–4 in. long, usually soft and flaccid; petioles short, sheathing at the base; blade 1–2 in. long, ovate-oblong to linear-oblong in outline, bipinnatisect or multifid; primary pinnæ 2–4 pairs, opposite, often rather distant, very variable in the amount of cutting, ultimate segments narrow-linear, rarely oblong, short, acute. Scape slender, naked, 1-flowered, much longer than the leaves. Flowers small, ½ in. diam. Sepals 5. Petals 5, nearly twice as long as the sepals, linear-obovate, with a single gland near the base. Achenes few, forming a small rounded head, turgid, glabrous; style short, straight, subulate.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 11.
South Island: Nelson—Wairau Gorge, Travers, T. F. C. Tarndale, Sinclair! (Herb. Kirk). Canterbury—Mountains in the middle Waimakariri district, Enys! Kirk! Cockayne! T. F. C. Otago—Buchanan! Maungatua, Petrie! Altitudinal range 2500 ft.–5000 ft. December–January.
A pretty little plant, too closely allied to the following, from which it is principally separated by the more finely cut leaves. Mr. Petrie's Maungatua specimens (distinguished by Kirk as var. angustatus) have narrower leaves and hairy scapes, and may belong to R. gracilipes.
19. R. gracilipes, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 8.—Small, slender, pilose or villous with long soft hairs, especially on the petioles and scapes, 2–6 in. high. Rootstock short, rather stout, with numerous fibrous rootlets. Leaves many, all radical, 1–5 in. long, membranous, rarely subcoriaceous; petioles slender, sheathing at the base; blade linear-oblong in outUne, pinnately divided; primary pinnæ 2–6 pairs, entire, 3-lobed, 3-partite, or again pinnate; ultimate segments oblong, cuneate at the base, acute or subacute. Scapes 1–3, longer than the leaves, naked, slender, pilose, 1-flowered. Flower ½–¾ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong, silky. Petals 5, linear-obovate, rounded at the tip, with a single gland near the base. Ripe achenes not seen.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 12.
South Island: Canterbury—Mount Dobson, and Mount Cook district, T. F. C.; Lake Ohau, Haast, Buchanan! Otago—Buchanan! Dunstan Mountains, Mounts Ida, Pisa, Kyeburn, Petrie! Humboldt Mountains, Cockayne! Stewart Island: G. M. Thomson! Altitudinal range 2500–5000 ft., but descending almost to sea-level in Stewart Island. December–January.
An exceedingly variable species, only to be distinguished from R. Sinclairii by the narrower outline of the leaves, the more numerous shorter pinnæ, which are usually much less divided, and in small specimens often nearly entire, and by the broader ultimate segments. Many specimens are quite intermediate, and might be referred to either species. I can entertain no doubt that both are forms of one variable plant. I have never seen specimens perfectly glabrous, as described by Hooker in the Handbook, and the roots are certainly not creeping.
20. R. hirtus, Banks and Sol. ex Forst. Prodr. n. 525.—Stout or slender, erect or rarely decumbent, more or less branched, 6–24 in. high, usually clothed with soft spreading or rarely appressed hairs. Radical leaves numerous, on petioles 1–3 in. long, 3-foliolate; leaflets usually stalked, oblong to broadly ovate, rounded or cuneate at the base, coarsely and irregularly toothed or 3–5-lobed, or again 3-partite. Flowering-stems usually branched, with several cauline leaves, the lower of which are similar to the radical, the upper smaller, more sessile, and less cut or entire. Flowers small, seldom more than ½ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong, reflexed, fugacious, shorter than the petals. Petals 5, obovate, with a single gland near the base. Achenes forming a small rounded head, glabrous, compressed, margined; style short, hooked.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 634; Raoul, Choix de Plantes, 47; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 9; Kirk, Students' Fl. 14. R. plebeius, R. Br. ex D. C. Syst. i. 288; Hook. f. Handb. N. Z. Fl. 7; Benth. Fl. Austral. i. 13. R. acris, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 289 (non Linn.).
A very variable plant. The typical state can be recognised by the copious soft spreading hairs, sparingly branched stem, and trifoliolate leaves with broad coarsely toothed or lobed segments. Mr. Kirk's var. robustus (Students' Fl. 14) is simply a large state with the stem more copiously branched and the achenes slightly larger, and passes imperceptibly into the usual form. Var. membranifolius (Kirk, l.c.) recedes in the opposite direction by its reduced size, more slender stems, thin 3-lobed leaves, and smaller flowers. The following varieties are more distinct:—
Var. elongatus.—Tall and slender, often over 2 ft. high; sparingly hairy or almost glabrate. Leaves trifoliolate or 3-ternately divided, segments cut into numerous narrow acute segments, sometimes almost digitate. Stem branched above. Differing greatly in appearance from the usual form, and in some respects coming nearer to the ordinary state in Australia. It is probably the plant referred to R. acris by A. Richard, but can always be distinguished from that species by the small flowers and leaves not truly digitate. Lowland districts north of Auckland.
Var. gracilis.—Slender, erect or suberect, 6–10 in. high, sparingly covered with silky appressed hairs. Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets often long-stalked, ovate-cuneate, irregularly and sparingly toothed or lobed. Flowers large, ½–¾ in. diam. Achenes larger, with a longer style. Mountain districts of the South Island, 3000–4500 ft. This is a well-marked plant, which Mr. Kirk described as "sub-species plebeius," quoting R. plebeius, R. Br., as a synonym. But this I feel sure is a mistake, for it does not at all agree either with descriptions or specimens of R. Brown's plant.
Var. stoloniferus, Kirk, l.c.—Small. Stems very slender, procumbent and rooting at the nodes. Leaves 3-fid. Flowers and fruit very small. Damp sub-alpine localities in the South Island, not uncommon.
21. R. recens, T. Kirk, Students Fl. 13.—Short, stout, depressed, seldom more than 1½ in. high, sparingly clothed with stiff white hairs, especially on the petioles and upper surfaces of the leaves. Rootstock stout, with long stringy rootlets, often branched above. Leaves all radical, rosulate, thick and coriaceous; petioles broadly sheathing at the base, flattened, ¼–1 in. long; blade ovate or rounded in outline, more or less deeply 3-lobed or trifoliolate, segments or leaflets irregularly cut and lobed, acute or obtuse. Scape very short and often almost absent, usually hispid with white hairs. Flowers minute, ⅓ in. diam. Sepals 5, linear or linear-oblong, acute. Petals 5, hardly longer than the sepals, linear-spathulate, obtuse at the tip, gland just below the middle. Achenes ovate-orbicular, red-brown when ripe, slightly compressed; margin thickened, blunt; face minutely pitted; style very short, stout, minutely hooked at the tip.
North Island: Taranaki—Moist places on sandhills near Hawera, T. F. C. South Island: Otago—Buchanan! Petrie! (Herb. Kirk); sandhills near Fortrose, Southland, B. C. Aston! H. J. Matthews! (Herb. Petrie). Probably not uncommon, but easily overlooked.
A very curious little species. The type specimens in Kirk's herbarium are very imperfect, and in fruit only. Those in Petrie's herbarium, collected by Aston and H. J. Matthews, show both flower and fruit, and have enabled me to draw up a more complete description. My own specimens, collected at Hawera more than fifteen years ago, have smaller and less divided leaves, but the habit is the same, and the achenes exactly match those of the southern plant. Mr. Kirk was in error in supposing the species to be alpine. All the specimens I have seen have been obtained from sandhills near the sea.
22. R. Kirkii, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix. (1887) 323, and xxxi. 352, t. 25.—Slender, sparingly covered with soft white hairs, 3–6 in. high. Rootstock stout, with numerous thick fleshy roots. Radical leaves on long slender petioles 1–3 in. long; blade sometimes linear-spathulate and entire, but usually 3-foliolate; leaflets stalked, rounded-ovate, entire or 3-lobed, coriaceous. Scapes several, simple or branched, 3–5 in. high; cauline leaves or bracts few, spathulate. Flowers small. Sepals 5, oblong-lanceolate. Petals 5, linear-oblong, rounded at the tip, clawed at the base, with a gland just above the claw. Achenes few, slightly compressed, keeled; style subulate, hooked at the tip.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 15 (in part only).
Stewart Island: Swamps at Paterson's Inlet, &c., Petrie! G. M. Thomson! Kirk!
More specimens of this species are required to fully determine its systematic position and relationships. I have confined it to the Stewart Island plant, for the specimens from the mountains of the South Island, included by Mr. Kirk, differ in several characters of importance, and are better reserved for further inquiry. The figure given in the Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. xxxi., is not characteristic of any specimens I have seen.
23. R. lappaceus, Smith in Rees' Cyclop. xxix. n. 61.—Short, stemless, more or less hairy or villous, 2-10 in. high. Rootstock short, stout, sometimes branched at the top. Leaves numerous, usually all radical, on petioles ½–3 in. long; blade ¼–1½ in. diam., cuneate or ovate or rounded in outline, sometimes entire or coarsely toothed, but more frequently 3–5-lobed or -partite, less commonly 3-foliolate or pinnately divided; lobes or segments generally toothed or crenate. Scapes 1 to many, usually leafless and 1-flowered, 1–9 in. high, generally much longer than the leaves, densely clothed with spreading or appressed hairs. Flowers very variable in size, often a rich golden-yellow. Sepals 5, pilose, spreading. Petals 5, obovate; gland at the base. Achenes forming a small rounded head, compressed or rarely slightly turgid, glabrous, margined; style short, recurved.—Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. i. 6; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 7; Benth. Fl. Austral. i. 12; Kirk, Students Fl. 15.
Var. multiscapus, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 7.—Petioles shorter, ¼–1½ in. long; blade smaller, ¼–¾ in. diam., ovate or rounded, cuneate at the base, toothed or 3-lobed or 3-partite. Scapes numerous.—R. multiscapus. Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 9, t. 5. R. muricatulus, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxiii. (1891) 381 (still smaller, with the leaves occasionally entire).
Var. pimpinellifolius, Benth. Fl. Austral. i. 12.—Leaves usually pinnate, with 5 short and broad 3–5 lobed segments.—R. pimpinellifolius. Hook. Journ. Bot. i. 243; Ic. Plant. t. 260.
Var. villosus, Kirk, Students' Fl. 15.—1–3 in. high, densely villous or silky in all its parts. Scape usually shorter than the leaves. Achenes slightly turgid.
North, South, and Stewart Islands: The var. multiscapus abundant from Hawke's Bay and Taupo southwards, and ranging from sea-level to 4500 ft. November–March. The remaining varieties not uncommon in mountain districts in the South Island.
R. lappaceus is probably the most variable of the New Zealand Ranunculi, and certainly the most difficult to characterize. The above arrangement of its forms is mainly that given by Kirk, with the addition of the Tasmanian variety pimpinellifolius, which occurs in several places in the mountains of the South Island. But the student must bear in mind that the distinctions used to separate the so-called varieties are purely arbitrary, every one of them being connected with the others by numerous intermediates. It is often difficult to separate some of the aberrant forms from the allied species, particularly from R. foliosus, when, as sometimes happens, the scape is branched, and the peduncles shorter than the leaves. R. plebeius can generally be distinguished by its greater size, more divided leaves, branched flowering-stem, and reflexed sepals.
24. R. foliosus, T. Kirk, Students Fl. 14.—Stout or slender, 4–12 in. high, more or less hirsute with long soft tawny hairs, especially on the scapes and petioles. Rootstock short, stout. Stems or branches often numerous, erect or decumbent, leafy. Radical leaves numerous, on long petioles 3–6 in. long, with broad sheathing bases; blade ½–1½ in. diam., variable in outline, obovate or ovate or rounded, cuneate or rounded at the base, rarely reniform with a cordate base, coarsely toothed or incised, or 3-lobed with the lobes again toothed or cut, both surfaces covered with long soft appressed hairs. Cauline leaves often opposite, or clustered towards the tops of the stems, like the radical but smaller and on shorter petioles. Peduncles variable, always shorter than the leaves; in large specimens some often spring from among the radical leaves, and are 3–6 in. high; others from the axils of the cauline leaves, and are seldom more than ½–3 in. Flower ⅓–½ in. diam. or more. Sepals 5, oblong, spreading. Petals 5, narrow-oblong, with a gland near the base. Achenes smooth, somewhat turgid, hardly compressed; style short, subulate.
South Island: Nelson—Fowler's Pass, Kirk! near Lake Tennyson, T. F. C. Canterbury—Broken River, T. F. C.; Hopkins River, Haast; Tasman Valley, T. F. C. Westland—Otira Gorge, Cockayne! Teremakau, Petrie. Otago—Mountain valleys of the interior, not uncommon, Petrie! Altitudinal range 1000–4000 ft. December–March.
An exceedingly variable plant, but on the whole readily distinguished by the branched stems and leafy habit, opposite or clustered cauline leaves often with very broad sheathing bases, short stout peduncles which are much shorter than the leaves, and the somewhat turgid or but slightly compressed achenes. Mr. Kirk's type specimens are small and in poor condition, and do not represent the usual state of the species.
25. R. subscaposus, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 5.—Erect or nearly so, 6–18 in. high, more or less covered in all its parts with short rigid appressed fulvous hairs. Rootstock short, stout. Radical leaves on slender petioles 3–6 in. long; blade deltoid-cordate in outline, 1–1½ in. diam., 3-partite to the base; segments cuneate, more or less deeply and irregularly 3–7-toothed or -lobed, lobes acute. Cauline leaves few, similar. Scape or stem shorter or longer than the leaves, 1–3-flowered. Flowers small, ⅓–½ in. diam. Sepals 5, spreading, hispid. Petals 5, narrow-oblong, rather longer than the sepals in the only perfect flower I have seen; gland a little below the middle. Achenes forming a rather large rounded head, compressed, margined, with a stout slightly hooked style.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 7; Kirk, Students' Fl. 15.
Campbell Island: Apparently rare. Dr. Lyall (Antarctic Expedition), Lieut. Rathouis! Dr. Filhol! Kirk!
A specimen in my possession collected by Dr. Filhol, of the French Transit of Venus Expedition, almost exaccly matches a drawing taken from the type specimen at Kew. Mr. Kirk's specimens are much taller and more slender, with long petioles and a flowering-stem much exceeding the leaves, but evidently belong to the same species. It is probably a variable plant, and better specimens are required to furnish a good description. Its nearest ally is R. hirtus, from which it differs in the short rigid pubescence, in the leaves, in the sepals not being reflexed, and in the larger heads of achenes, which are more turgid and have much stouter beaks.
26. R. Hectori, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 16.—Erect, 6–15 in. high, whole plant more or less clothed with strigose or appressed hairs. Rootstock short. Leaves chiefly radical, reticulate above when fresh, fleshy, hairy on both surfaces; petioles 4–7 in. long, slightly sheathing at the base; blade 1–1½ in. long and broad, ovate-orbicular, 3-lobed to below the middle, truncate or slightly cordate at the base, lobes acute or subacute. Scapes 1–2; peduncles 2 or 3. Cauline leaves petiolate, 3-partite, the segments sparingly lobed or toothed. Receptacle ovate or conical, papillose, sparingly hairy. Flowers not seen. Achenes glabrous, narrowed below, oblique, slightly turgid, faintly keeled or margined; style shortly subulate, slightly recurved.
Auckland Islands: Sir James Hector!
This is based on a single very imperfect specimen in Mr. Kirk's herbarium, and in the absence of additional information I have reproduced his description. It is probably a mere state of R. aucklandicus with longer petioles and a branched scape.
27. R. aucklandicus, A. Gray, Bot. U.S. Expl. Exped. i. 8.—Rather stout, 6–12 in. high, strigose-hirsute in all its parts. Rootstock short, stout. Radical leaves on petioles 3–6 in. long, sheathing at the base; blade 1–1½ in. diam., rounded-reniform in outline, silky-strigose on both surfaces, 3-cleft to or beyond the middle, with the sinuses usually closed; lobes broadly cuneate, again 2-3-lobed or coarsely cut and incised. Scapes 1–3, rather stout, 6–10 in. high, 1-flowered, usually with 1–2 cauline leaves towards the base. Flowers not seen. Fruiting-receptacle ¼ in. long, cylindric or club-shaped, papillose, hairy. Achenes ovate, compressed, not margined; style subulate, short, straight.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 723; Kirk, Students' Fl. 16.
Auckland Islands: U.S. Exploring Expedition, Kirk!
In habit approaching very near to some forms of R. lappaceus, but its nearest ally is undoubtedly R. subscaposus. I suspect that it and the two preceding are varieties of one species, but to prove this much more complete material will be required.
28. R. Cheesemanii, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 17.—Stems much branched, stout, grooved, prostrate, often rooting at the nodes, sparingly strigose-pubescent, especially on the leaf-sheaths. Radical and cauline leaves alike; petioles very short, broadly sheathing at the base; blade ⅓–¾ in. diam., broadly cuneate, 3-lobed or -toothed at the tip; surfaces glabrous or nearly so. Peduncles axillary, ½–1 in. long. Flowers not seen. Fruiting-receptacle small, glabrous, papillose. Achenes few, turgid, glabrous; style short, straight or hooked.
South Island: Nelson—Fowler's Pass, 3000ft., in places where water has stagnated. Kirk!
A very curious little plant. Although so dissimilar in general appearance, I have little doubt that it is a mere state of R. foliosus, which often shows a tendency to creep, and with which it agrees in the position of the peduncles, achenes, &c.
29. R. ternatifolius, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. x. (1878) App. 29.—Slender, sparingly pilose with long weak hairs, 1–4 in. high. Stems or branches numerous, long, weak, procumbent or prostrate, often rooting at the nodes, sometimes interlaced and matted. Leaves on long slender petioles 1–3 in. long; blade 3-foliolate or 3-ternate, primary leaflets on long petiolules, segments small, entire or 3-lobed, acute. Peduncles ¼–1 in. long., usually on the branches opposite the leaves. Flowers minute, 16–14 in. diam. Sepals 5, ovate, pilose, membranous. Petals 5, linear-oblong, clawed at the base, with a single gland above the claw. Achenes 5–10, slightly compressed, glabrous; style short, stout, hooked at the tip.—Students' Fl. 18. R. trilobatus, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. 547 (not of Kit.).
South Island: Canterbury—Source of the Broken River, T. F. C. Otago—Swampy Hill, Port Molyneux, Catlin's River, Petrie! Makarewa, Winton, Centre Hill, Kirk! Sea-level to 3500 ft. December–February.
30. R. depressus, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. (1880) 393.—Small, depressed, rarely more than 1½ in. high, more or less clothed, with long straight hairs, usually forming matted patches. Rootstock short, often giving off short stolons, in large specimens sometimes branched at the top. Leaves numerous, all radical, on decurved petioles ½–1½ in. long with broad sheathing bases; blade very variable in size and cutting, ¼–¾ in. long, ovate in outline, usually trifoliolate with the leaflets ternately or pinnately cut into narrow-linear segments, sometimes less divided, 3-lobed with broader segments, or occasionally nearly entire. Scapes stout, much shorter than the leaves, 1-flowered. Sepals 5, ovate, membranous. Petals 5, oblong, slightly exceeding the sepals, with a gland just above the base. Carpels few, 4–8, hidden among the leaves, ovate, slightly turgid; style very minute.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 17.
South Island: Canterbury—Swamps in the Broken River basin, Enys! Kirk! T. F. C.; Tasman Valley, T. F. C. Otago—Mount Cardrona, Petrie! Altitudinal range from 2000 to 5000 ft.
I am indebted to Mr. Enys for an instructive series of specimens, all collected in one locality, showing passage-forms of leaves, from trilobate with entire lobes to trifoliolate with almost multifid leaflets. In Mr. Petrie's Mount Cardrona plant the leaves are trilobate, with the lobes entire or toothed, and the habit is somewhat dilferent; but it is in young flower only, and more advanced specimens are required to prove its exact position with respect to the typical state.
31. R. pachyrrhizus, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 8.—Small, stout, much depressed, ionning dense patches seldom more than 1½ in. high, more or less clothed with long soft hairs. Rootstock stout, fleshy, creeping, branched; rootlets thick and stringy. Leaves crowded at the ends of the divisions of the rootstock, all radical, small, somewhat fleshy; petioles stout, flattened, ¼–½ in. long; blade ¼–¾ in. diain., cuneate or obovate-cuneate, with 3–5 acute or obtuse teeth or lobes. Scape short, stout, 1-flowered, ¼–1 in. high. Flowers ½–¾ in. diam. Sepals 5, silky, linear-oblong, membranous. Petals 8–15, linear-obovate, with 1 or sometimes 3 glands a little distance above the base. Receptacle hairy. Achenes forming a globose head ⅓ in. diam., turgid, rounded, glabrous or with a few long weak hairs; style stout, subulate.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 19.
South Island: Otago—Lake district. Hector and Buchanan! Old Man Range, Hector Mountains, Mount Pisa, Mount Cardrona, Mount Tyndall, Petrie! Altitudinal range 4000–7000 ft. January–March.
A singular little plant, of very peculiar habit and appearance. It is not allied to any other species of the creeping section of the genus, and would perhaps have been better placed in the vicinity of R. sericophyllus.
32. R. macropus, Hook. f. in Hook. Ic. Plant, t. 634.—Perfectly glabrous, smooth and succulent, 6–18 in. high. Stems long, fistulose, creeping and rooting at the nodes. Radical leaves on petioles varying in length from 4–18 in.; blade 1–2½ in. in diam., semicircular, flabellate or reniform in outline, 3–5-partite to the base; leaflets broad or narrow-cuneate, more or less deeply and irregularly lobed or cut, lobes toothed at the tips. Flowering-stem about as long as the radical leaves, bearing 2 or 3 small cauline leaves, opposite to each of which springs a long or short 1-flowered peduncle. Flowers small, seldom more than ½ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong or obovate. Petals 5, longer or shorter than the sepals; gland basilar. Achenes forming a small globose head, turgid, glabrous; style long, subulate.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 7; Kirk, Students' Fl. 17. R. longipetiolatus. Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv. (1893) 325.
33. R. rivularis, Banks and Sol. ex Forst. Prodr. n. 524.—Smooth, perfectly glabrous in all its parts. Stems creeping, often branched and forming broad matted patches, rooting at the nodes and giving off tufts of radical leaves and erect pedurxles or weak sparingly branched flowering-stems, or floating and irregularly branched. Leaves on slender petioles 1–6 in. long; blade 1⁄4–11⁄2 in. diam., ovate semicircular or reniform in outline, usually 3–7-partite to the base; segments varying from cuneate to narrovp-linear, more or less deeply cut at the apex, sometimes to the middle, occasionally ternatisect, rarely entire. Peduncles usually longer than the leaves. Flowers yellow, ¼–¾ in. diam. Sepals 5, spreading. Petals 5–10, linear-oblong, usually longer than the sepals; gland some distance above the base. Achenes turgid, glabrous, sometimes rugose from the shrivelling of the epicarp; style rather long, subulate, straight or recurved.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 630; Raoul, Choix de Plantes, 47; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 11; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 8; Kirk, Students' Fl. 18.
Var. major, Benth. Fl. Austral. i. 14.—Suberect, 3–12 in. high. Leaves tufted; segments often very narrow and much cut.—R. incisus. Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 10, t. 4. R. amphitricha, Colenso in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvii. (1885) 237.
Var. subfluitans, Benth. l.c.—Creeping or partially floating. Leaves smaller, less divided. Flowers and achenes smaller.—R. inundatus, R. Br. ex D.C. Syst. i. 269; Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. i. 8.
Var. inconspicuus, Benth. l.c.—Smaller, more slender, suberect. Leaf-segments 3 fid. Flowers smaller.—R. inconspicuus. Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. i. 8,. t. 2b.
North, South, Stewart, and Chatham Islands: Common in swamps and streams, &c., ascending to 2500 ft. Var. inconspicuus: Pencarrow Lagoon, near Wellington, Kirk! Otago, Petrie! October–March. Also plentiful in Australia.
A most abundant little plant, exceedingly variable in most of its characters, and particularly so in the extent to which the leaves are divided, and the width or narrowness of the ultimate segments. Stock owners consider it to be highly poisonous, and attribute to it many deaths occurring among cattle feeding in swamps in dry summers.
34. R. acaulis, Banks and Sol. ex D.C. Syst. i. 270.—Small, dark-green, fleshy, perfectly glabrous, sending out creeping stolons and often forming broad matted patches. Leaves all radical, on slender petioles 1–3 in. long; blade ½–¾ in. diam., trifoliolate or deeply 3-lobed; leaflets or segments sessile, obovate or oblong, obtuse, entire or 2–3-lobed. Scapes shorter than the leaves, naked, 1-flowered. Flowers small, ¼–⅓ in. diam. Sepals 5, roundish-ovate, membranous. Petals 5–8, spathulate, with a single gland near the middle. Achenes forming a small rounded head ⅓ in. diam., turgid, glabrous; style short, subulate, straight or nearly so.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 631; Raoul, Choix de Plantes, 47; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 4, t. 2; Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 11; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 8; A. Gray, Bot. U.S. Exped. 7; Kirk, Students' Fl. 18. R. stenopetalus. Hook. Ic. Plant. t. 677.
North, South, and Stewart Islands: Sandy beaches and muddy shores, not uncommon. Auckland Islands: Hooker, &c. Chatham Islands: Buchanan. Only known inland on the shores of Lakes Rotorua, Tarawera, and Taupo. September–November. Also found in southern Chili.
A distinct little species, easily recognised by its creeping and matted habit, trifoliolate leaves with nearly entire leaflets, short scapes, and spathulate petals. Mr. Colenso's herbarium contains no specimens of his R. uniflorus (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxi. (1896) 267). The description agrees with R. acaulis in most points, but the plant is said not to be stoloniferous, and to possess a sheathing bract on the upper part of the scape.
35. R. crassipes, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. ii. 224, t. 81.—Smooth, glabrous, succulent, stems creeping and rooting at the nodes. Leaves on petioles 1–4 in. long; blade cordate-reniform in outline, ⅓–1 in. diam. or more, 3-lobed or 3-partite; segments variable in shape, broad or narrow, cuneate at the base, deeply and irregularly toothed. Peduncles axillary, stout, erect, shorter than the leaves. Flowers small, ¼–⅓ in. diam. Sepals 4–5, ovate, obtuse, membranous. Petals the same number, slightly longer than the sepals, obovate-spathulate, with a gland a little below the middle. Achenes forming a rounded head ⅓ in. diam., broadly ovate, turgid; style short, straight.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 17.
Macquarie Island: A. Hamilton! Also found in Kerguelen's Island.
The closely allied R. biternatus, Smith, from Fuegia, the Falkland Islands, and Marion Island, may possibly occur in Macquarie Island or the Auckland Islands. It can be recognised at once by its biternate leaves.
36. R. Limosella, F. Muell. ex Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iii. (1871) 177.—Small, slender, perfectly glabrous. Stems filiform, creeping and rooting at the nodes, often forming matted patches. Leaves solitary or in tufts of 2–3 at the nodes, ½-3 in. long, very narrow linear, usually dilated at the tip and subspathulate, obtuse, nerveless. Peduncles filiform, axillary, solitary, much shorter than the leaves. Flowers minute, 15 in. diam. Sepals 4, rounded-ovate, membranous. Petals 4, much longer than the sepals, narrow-linear, revolute at the tip; gland some little distance above the base. Achenes 8–12, rounded, somewhat turgid; style long, slender, recurved.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 19. R. limoselloides, F. Muell. ex Hook. f. Ic. Plant. t. 1081.
37. R. parviflorus, Linn. Sp. Plant. 780; var. australis, Benth. Fl. Austral. i. 14.—A small slender hairy annual, with sparingly branched suberect or decumbent stems 2–5 in. long. Leaves small, radical and cauline, on slender petioles ¾–1½ in. long; blade thin and membranous, orbicular in outline, 3–5-toothed or -lobed, sometimes divided to the base. Flowers very minute, on the branches opposite the leaves, sessile or nearly so. Sepals fugacious. Petals 4–5. slightly longer than the sepals. Mature achenes 3–6, compressed, margins thin, sides covered with minute tubercles; style very short, hooked at the tip.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 8; Kirk, Students' Fl. 20. R. sessiliflorus, R. Br. ex D.C. Syst. i. 302; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 11.
North Island: Sheltered places on lava-streams. Mount Wellington and Mount Eden, &c., Auckland Isthmus; once very plentiful, but now becoming rare. Originally discovered by Mr. Colenso. September–November.
A common Australian plant, and possibly introduced from thence in the very early days of the colony. The typical state of the species, which is a much larger and stouter plant, with a very different aspect, has become naturalised in fields and waste places throughout the colony.
4. CALTHA, Linn.
Glabrous tufted perennial herbs; rootstock creeping. Leaves all or chiefly radical, oblong, ovate or rounded, cordate at the base or 2-lobed with the lobes turned upwards. Scape 1- or few-flowered. Sepals 5 or more, petaloid, usually deciduous. Petals wanting. Stamens numerous. Carpels several, sessile; ovules several or many, attached in 2 series to the ventral suture. Follicles 6 or more in a head, spreading, several- or many-seeded, opening along the inner face.
A small genus of 8–10 species, found in the temperate regions of both hemispheres. The southern species belong to the section Psychrophila, distinguished by the turned-up basal lobes or auricles of the leaves. Both the New Zealand species are endemic, although closely allied to the Australian and Tasmanian C. introloba.
| Leaves entire or sinuate. Flowers yellow. Sepals linear-subulate, tapering from the base into almost caudate points | 1. C. novæ-zealandiæ. |
| Leaves dentate. Flowers white. Sepals oblong, obtuse or subacute, broadest above the middle | 2. C. obtusa. |
1. C. novæ-zealandiæ, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 12, t. 6.—A perfectly glabrous perennial herb 1–6 in. high. Rootstock stout, with fleshy rootlets. Leaves all radical, spreading; petiole variable in length, ½–4 in., grooved, base dilated, membranous, sheathing the stem; lamina ⅓–1 in. long, ovate-oblong, entire or sinuate, notched at the apex, deeply 2-lobed at the base, the lobes (auricles) turned upwards and almost appressed to the surface of the leaf. Scape solitary, naked, 1-flowered, ½–5 in. long, short at first but lengthening as the fruit ripens. Flowers pale-yellow, sweet-scented, ½–1 in. diam. Sepals 5–7, narrow, linear-subulate, tapering from the base into an almost caudate point, 3-nerved. Stamens 15–20. Carpels 6–12, ovate, narrowed into a short stout style. Follicles spreading, with a short hooked style; seeds few, 2–5.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 9; Kirk, Students' Fl. 21. C. marginata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxiii. (1891) 382.
North Island: Ruahine Mountains, Colenso! Tararua Mountains, Buchanan, Townson! South Island: Not uncommon on the higher mountains as far south as Stewart Island. Altitudinal range 2500 to 5500 ft. October–January.
2. C. obtusa, Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxiii. (1901) 312.—Smaller than C. novæ-zealandiæ, seldom more than 2 in. high. Leaves smaller; blade broader, wide-ovate or almost rounded, coarsely dentate, notched at the apex, 2-lobed at the base, lobes turned upwards and appressed to the surface, toothed. Flowers white, ½ in. diam., at first sessile among the uppermost leaves, but the scape elongates in fruit. Sepals 5, oblong, obtuse or subacute, broadest above the middle. Stamens 10–15. Carpels 5–8, narrow-ovate; style long, slender. Ripe fruit not seen.
North Island: Herb. Colenso! (probably from the Ruahine Range, but without locality or collector's name). South Island: Mountains at the head of the Broken River, Canterbury, 5000–6000 ft., T. F. C. Otago—Mount St. Bathan's and Dunstan Mountains, 5000–6000 ft., Petrie! Black Peak, 6000 ft., Buchanan!
The white flowers and blunt oblong sepals distinguish this at once from C. novæ-zealandiæ, but in a flowerless state it is easily mistaken for a dwarf form of that plant, although the leaves are always broader and coarsely dentate. The sepals are markedly different from the long tapering almost caudate sepals of C. novæ-zealandiæ. I have not been able to compare it with the Australian and Tasmanian C. introloba, F. Muell., which is said to have white flowers, but judging from descriptions it can hardly be the same.