South Island: Mount Cook district, T. F. C.; Central Otago, not uncommon, Petrie! Var. robusta: Nelson—Wairau Valley, T. F. C. Canterbury—Broken River basin, Enys! Kirk! Petrie! T. F. C.; Kowai River, Petrie!
The distinguishing characters of this species lie in its stout rigid habit, almost terete branchlets, numerous often fascicled racemes of rather small flowers, and the turgid pod. Mr. Kirk's C. robusta cannot be separated except by the longer and proportionately narrower pod with a larger number of seeds, and is best kept as a variety.
8. C. subulata, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 112.—A slender erect often leafy glabrous shrub 1-3 ft. high, with almost terete branches. Branchlets 120–110 in. broad, compressed or plano-convex, strict and rigid, grooved or striated. Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets oblong-obovate, retuse. Racemes laxly 3–6-flowered, one or several together; pedicels silky or almost glabrous, shorter than the flowers. Calyx campanulate; teeth minute, acute. Standard broader than long, about equal in length to the wings and keel. Pod 14–38 in. long, turgid, subulate, acuminate; beak short, stout, straight. Seeds 1–4, usually 2.
South Island: Marlborough—Blenheim and Wakamarina, Kirk! Canterbury—Apparently not uncommon on the plains, Kirk! Petrie! T. F. C.; Akaroa, Kirk! Broken River, Enys! Otago—Near Dunedin, Petrie!
This appears to be characterized by the strict and slender sometimes almost filiform branchlets, small flowers, and turgid subulate pods. Herbarium specimens in flower alone are easily confounded with C. flagelliformis, but the pods are altogether different.
9. C. virgata, T. Kirk, Students' Fl. 112.—An erect rigid glabrous shrub 3–4 ft. high, branched from the base. Branchlets numerous, terete or plano-convex, grooved. Leaves not seen. Racemes few, 3–5-flowered, lax; pedicels and rachis glabrous or puberulous. Calyx campanulate, glabrous; teeth short, acute. Standard broader than long, equalling the wings and exceeding the keel. Pods (not quite ripe) ⅓ in. long, oblong, turgid, narrowed below; beak short, straight, subulate. Seeds 1–3.
South Island: Otago—Petrie; Southland, at Makarewa and Orepuki, Kirk!
I am only acquainted with this plant through a few imperfect specimens in Mr. Kirk's herbarium, and have therefore reproduced in its main features the description given in the "Students' Flora." Mr. Kirk remarks that it is "distinguished by the paucity of its racemes, small whitish flowers, and oblong pod narrowed at both ends." I fear that it is much too closely allied to C. subulata.
10. C. diffusa, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv. (1893) 272.—A small erect or spreading glabrous much-branched shrub 1–2 ft. high. Branchlets slender, 120–115 wide, compressed or plano-convex or almost terete, striate. Leaves not seen. Racemes numerous, short, 3–6-flowered; pedicels shorter than the flowers. Calyx cup-shaped, mouth ciliolate; teeth minute, sometimes hardly evident
