Order LXX. PROTEACEÆ.
Shrubs or trees, rarely herbs. Leaves usually alternate, very rarely opposite or whorled, generally hard and coriaceous, entire or toothed or variously divided; stipules wanting. Flowers usually hermaphrodite, inflorescence various. Perianth inferior, regular or irregular; segments 4, valvate, at first cohering into a cylindric tube, at length separating and becoming revolute. Stamens 4, inserted on the perianth-segments and opposite to them; filaments short; anthers erect, adnate, 2-celled, introrse. Hypogynous glands 4, alternating with the stamens. Ovary superior, 1-celled, often oblique; style terminal, variously thickened and enlarged at the top; stigma terminal or lateral; ovules solitary or geminate or many. Fruit either an indehiscent nut or drupe, or a dehiscent coriaceous or woody follicle, more rarely a 2-valved capsule. Seeds exalbuminous; embryo straight, with fleshy cotyledons, radicle inferior.
A large and well-marked order, chiefly found in Australia and South Africa, but extending to the Pacific islands and tropical Asia on the one side and South America on the other; absent in Europe, North Asia, and North America. Genera about 50; species estimated at 950. Several species are cultivated for ornamental purposes, but few possess any useful properties. Of the two indigenous genera, Knightia has 2 species in New Caledonia, while Persoonia is largely developed in Australia. The meagre representation of the order in New Zealand, compared with its abundance in Australia, is a very curious and almost inexplicable feature of the flora.
| Small spreading tree. Leaves entire. Fruit fleshy | 1. Persoonia. |
| Tall fastigiate tree. Leaves serrate. Fruit a woody follicle | 2. Knightia. |
1. PERSOONIA, Smith.
Shrubs or small trees. Leaves entire, alternate or sometimes almost whorled. Flowers small, hermaphrodite, yellowish or white, solitary and axillary, or in axillary or terminal racei^ies. Perianth regular, constricted above the base or cylindrical; segments ultimately separating to the base or nearly so, upper portion revolute. Stamens affixed at or below the middle of the perianth-segments; filaments short; anthers usually all perfect, oblong or linear. Hypogynous scales 4, small. Ovary stipitate; style short and thick, or elongated and filiform; stigma terminal; ovules 2 or rarely 1, orthotropous, pendulous from the top of the cell. Fruit a drupe, either 1-celled and 1-seeded, or obliquely 2-celled and 2-seeded; exocarp more or less succulent; endocarp thick and hard.
Species about 60, all confined to Australia except the present one, which is endemic in the North Island of New Zealand.
1. P. Toru, A. Cunn. in Bot. Mag. sub t. 3513.—A handsome closely branched tree 15 to 30 or 40 ft. high; trunk 6–18 in. diam.; branchlets woody, terete, glabrous or the younger ones minutely puberulous. Leaves alternate, 4–8 in. long, narrow linear-lanceolate, acute or apiculate or rarely obtuse, gradually narrowed into a short petiole, quite entire, very thick and coriaceous, glabrous, smooth and polished on both surfaces, veins very obscure. Racemes axillary, strict, erect, 6–12-flowered, everywhere clothed with ferruginous pubescence. Perianth yellowish-brown, shortly pedicelled, ¼–⅓ in. long, pubescent externally. Ovary almost sessile, glabrous; style short, thick, not reaching the anthers; stigma oblique. Drupe oblong, reddish, ½–⅔ in. long, 1- or 2-celled, with a single seed in each cell.—P. Tora, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 349; Raoul, Choix, 42. P. Toro, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 219; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 241; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 74.
North Island: Not uncommon in woods from the North Cape to Rotorua and the East Cape. Sea-level to 2800 ft. Toru; Toro. October–November.
The specific name was given as "Toru" in Cunningham's original description in the "Botanical Magazine," and according to Mr. Colenso this is the proper spelling of the Maori name. It was, however, changed to "Tora" in Cunningham's subsequently published "Precursor," and was again altered to "Toro" by Sir J. D. Hooker. The wood is dark-red and prettily figured, and is occasionally used for inlaying and ornamental cabinetwork.
2. KNIGHTIA, R. Br.
Trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, coriaceous, coarsely toothed or entire. Flowers hermaphrodite, regular, arranged in axillary or terminal dense-flowered racemes; pedicels in pairs. Perianth cylindrical; the segments at first cohering by their margins, but ultimately separating and revolute to the base. Stamens affixed above the middle of the segments; filaments very short; anthers long, linear, acute. Hypogyuous glands 4, distinct. Ovary sessile, 1-celled; style long, straight, linear-clavate; ovules 4. Follicles coriaceous, 1-celled, 4-seeded. Seeds winged at the top.
A small genus of 3 species, the typical one confined to New Zealand. The remaining two are natives of New Caledonia, and form the subgenus Eucarpha, characterized by the large deciduous bracts.
1. K. excelsa, R. Br. in Trans. Linn. Soc. x. (1810) 194, t. 2.—A tall slender tapering tree 60–90 ft. high, with the narrow fastigiate mode of growth of a Lombardy poplar; trunk 2–4 ft. diam.; bark dark-brown or almost black; branches erect, the younger ones angled and clothed with rusty brown pubescence. Leaves of mature trees 4–6 in. long, linear-oblong or narrow obovate-oblong, obtuse, coarsely and bluntly toothed, very coriaceous, hard, rigid, almost woody, pubescent when young, quite glabrous when old; leaves of young trees not so coriaceous, longer and narrower, 4–10 in. long, linear or linear-lanceolate, often acute, more acutely serrate. Racemes lateral, sessile, 2–4 in. long; peduncles and perianth densely clothed with bright red-brown velvety tomentum. Flowers in pairs on short pedicels, densely crowded, 1–1½ in. long. Perianth cylindric, swollen above; segments separating to the base and coiling up into a twisted mass. Ovary tomentose; style 1–1¼ in. long, stout, erect, clavate above. Follicles 1½ in. long, pubescent, tapering into the persistent style, ultimately splitting into 2 boat-shaped valves.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 350; Raoul, Choix, 42; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 219; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 241; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 35.
North Island: Common in woods throughout. South Island: Southern shores of Cook Strait, Croixelles Harbour, Kirk; Pelorus Sound, Buchanan, J. Rutland! Sea level to 2800 ft. Honeysuckle; Rewarewa. November–December.
A tall handsome tree, easily distinguished by its fastigiate mode of growth. The wood is beautifully variegated, reddish on a light-brown ground, and is much used for inlaying and cabinetwork, ornamental turnery, &c. For an account of the fertilisation of the flowers, see a paper by myself in Vol. II. of the Journal of the Australasian Association.