Page:Manual of the New Zealand Flora.djvu/532

Students using the conspectus should bear in mind that the characters employed are in many cases arbitrary ones selected to show how the dominant forms of a certain species differ from those of another species, and do not always include the entire range of variation of a species. Plants like V. salicifolia, macrocarpa, parviflora, Traversii, buxifolia, pinguifolia, &c., which run into numberless varieties, are probably quite incapable of rigid definition.

It should be mentioned that several species from the Northern Hemisphere have become naturalised in New Zealand, the most abundant being V. serpyllifolia, V. arvensis, V. agrestis, and V. persica. Descriptions of these will be found in any British Flora.

Division I., Hebe. Capsule turgid or dorsally compressed, the septum across the broadest diameter. Erect or decumbent shrubs from a few inches to 12 or 15 ft. high, more rarely becoming small trees 20–25 ft. high. Flowers in axillary racemes or spikes, more rarely corymbose, very rarely solitary.

Subdivision A. Leaves quite entire (sometimes minutely incised in V. salicifolia, amabilis, diosmœfolia, Colensoi, and others; occasionally toothed in V. Haastii).

Section I. Large shrubs or small trees. Leaves 1–6 in. long, broad or narrow,, lax, spreading, not imbricating. Racemes simple, longer than the leaves many-flowered.
* Leaves obovate to oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, usually more than ⅓ in. broad (sometimes less in V. divergens, ligustrifolia, and chathamica).
Leaves 2–4 × 1–1¾ in., obovate, obtuse, dark-green. Racemes not much longer than the leaves, broad and dense. Flowers large, ¼–⅓ in. diam. Capsule ¼–⅓ in., twice as long as the calyx	1. V. speciosa.
Leaves 2–4 × ½–1 in., linear-oblong, fleshy, pale-green. Racemes 3–5 in. Flowers ¼ in. diam. Capsule ⅕–¼ in., nearly thrice as long as the calyx	2. V. Dieffenbachii.
Leaves 1¼–2 × ⅓–⅔ in., lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, fleshy. Racemes 1½–2½ in. Flowers ⅕ in. diam. Capsule ⅙ in., twice as long as the calyx	3. V. Barkeri.
Leaves 1½–3 × ½–1½ in., obovate-oblong to linear-oblong. Racemes 2–5 in., often curved, very dense. Flowers ⅛–⅙ in. diam. Capsule ⅛ in., nearly twice as long as the calyx	4. V. macroura.
Leaves ¾–1¼ × ¼–½ in., oblong or elliptic-oblong. Racemes 2–3 in., dense-flowered. Flowers ⅕ in. diam. Calyx-segments ovate-oblong, equalling the short corolla-tube. Capsule ⅙ in., elliptic, twice as long as the calyx	5. V. divergens.
Leaves 1–2 × ¼–½ in., linear-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or subacute. Racemes 2–3 in., lax. Flowers ⅕–¼ in. diam. Calyx-segments ovate-lanceolate, acute, longer than the short and broad corolla-tube. Capsule ⅕ in.	6. V. ligustrifolia.