imbricating, spreading or erecto-patent, sessile, ¼–¾ in. long, ⅙–½ in. broad, broad or narrow obovate-oblong to broadly oblong or suborbicular, obtuse, narrowed to a broad base, concave above, rounded at the back, very coriaceous or almost fleshy, quite glabrous, nerveless, glaucous, margins often edged with red. Spikes crowded near the tips of the branches, short, stout, dense-flowered, exceeding the leaves; peduncle and rhachis pubescent; bracts oblong, concave, as long as the calyx. Flowers white, ¼–⅓ in. diam., sessile. Calyx 4-partite; segments erect, oblong, obtuse, puberulous, margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube short, not exceeding the calyx; limb 4-lobed; lobes ovate-oblong or broadly oblong, obtuse, the anterior one narrower than the others. Ovary pubescent; style usually villous towards the base. Capsule oblong or obovate, obtuse, rounded at the tip, pubescent, from half as long again to nearly twice as long as the calyx.—Bot. Mag. t. 6147; Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 350. V. carnosula, Hook. f. in Bot. Mag. t. 6587 (not of Handh. N.Z. Fl. 210).
South Island: Mountains of Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago, abundant. 2500–4500 ft. December–February.
A very variable plant, especially in size and mode of growth, and in the size, shape, and colour of the leaves. Its nearest allies are V. carnosula and V. amplexicaulis, the first of which differs in the glabrous ovary and acute capsule, the latter in the larger leaves subcordate at the base, and larger often branched spikes. Small states, with smaller and narrower and more rigid leaves, approach var. major of V. Buchanani. From the other species of the section it is at once removed by the deeply concave obtuse leaves rounded (not keeled) at the back.
44. V. Buchanani, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 211.—A small woody shrub 4–12 in. high, much branched from the base; branches stout, terete, spreading or decumbent, sometimes tortuous, closely ringed with the scars of the fallen leaves; bark black; branchlets usually pubescent at the tips. Leaves decussate, closely imbricate, sessile by a broad base, suberect or spreading, rarely deflexed, ⅛–¼ in. long and almost as broad, broadly oblong or almost orbicular, obtuse or more rarely subacute, very thick and coriaceous, concave, rarely obscurely keeled, nerveless, quite glabrous. Spikes 2–4 near the tips of the branches, short and stout but much longer than the leaves, oblong, dense-flowered, shortly peduncled; peduncle and rhachis villous-pubescent; bracts large, concave, ciliate, equalling the calyx or exceeding it. Flowers ⅕ in. diam., white, sessile. Calyx 4-partite; segments erect, oblong, obtuse, ciliolate. Corolla-tube short, included in the calyx or barely equalling it; limb 4-lobed; lobes broadly oblong, obtuse. Ovary and style pubescent. Capsule nearly twice as long as the calyx, oblong or oblong-obovate, obtuse, pubescent.—Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 350; Kirk, l.c. xxviii. (1896) 523.
