1–3 in. diam.; branches rather stout, ½–1 in. high, rarely more, with the leaves on ⅕–¼ in. diam. Leaves densely imbricate, ⅛ in. long, broadly obovate-spathulate, rounded at the tip, coriaceous, quite entire, both surfaces glabrous or nearly so, margins ciliate from below the middle with long stiff white hairs. Flowers solitary, terminal, sessile or nearly so, 110–18 in. long, white. Calyx deeply 5-partite; segments linear-spathulate, ciliate. Corolla salver-shaped; tube cylindrical, rather longer than the calyx; limb flat, spreading, 5- or rarely 6-lobed; lobes oblong, obtuse. Stamens usually included; filaments short; anthers large. Ovary glabrous. Capsule not seen.—Pygmea ciliolata, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 217; Ic. Plant. t. 1047; Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 352, t. 32, f. 1.
South Island: Nelson—Discovery Peaks, Travers. Canterbury—Hopkins River, Haast. Otago—Mount Alta and Hector's Col, Buchanan! 5000–6500 ft.
Distinguished from the two preceding by the stouter branches and more coriaceous broader leaves, ciliate on the margins only. When dry the margins of the eaves are incurved, the hairs all pointing inwards.
72. V. loganioides, Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 359.—A dwarf shrub 6–14 in. high; stems woody, decumbent at the base, erect above; branches numerous, slender, terete, leafy above, ringed with the scars of the fallen leaves below, pubescent or almost villous with lax soft greyish-white hairs. Leaves decussate, in rather close-set opposite pairs, erecto-patent, sessile, ⅛–⅙ in. long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, entire or sometimes with one or two small teeth on each side, dull-green, coriaceous, keeled. Racemes near the tips of the branches, forming a small corymb-like head, short, few-flowered, rhachis and pedicels pubescent or almost villous. Flowers ¼ in. diam., white or white with pink veins. Calyx deeply 4-partite; segments ovate-oblong, acute, ciliolate. Corolla-tube broad and short, not equalling the calyx; limb 4-lobed; dorsal and lateral lobes subequal, orbicular-oblong, obtuse; anticous lobe narrower, oblong. Capsule elliptical-oblong, didymous, turgid, notched at the tip, rather shorter than the calyx.—Hook. f. Bot. Mag. t. 7404.
South Island: Canterbury—Rangitata Valley, Armstrong! Clyde Valley, W. Gray.
A very remarkable plant, of dubious affinity, quite unlike any other. Mr. Kirk has pointed out that the capsule is didymous, with the septum across the narrowest diameter; and the short tube of the corolla and large rounded lobes also show a relationship to the herbaceous section of the genus. But the habit of the plant, with its woody stems and small close-set leaves, is nearer that of the section including V. lycopodioides and its allies. Mr. Armstrong's original description is by no means characteristic of the specimens cultivated by him in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.
