| ** Leaves 1-foliolate. | |
| Small, prostrate. Leaves sharply dentate. Fruit very large | 4. R. parvus. |
1. R. australis, Forst. Prodr. 224.—A tall climber, reaching the tops of the highest trees; stems stout, woody at the base; branches slender, drooping, armed with scattered recurved prickles. Leaves 3–5-foliolate or rarely pinnate with 2 pairs of leaflets and a terminal one; leaflets coriaceous, glabrous, very variable in size and shape, 2–5 in. long, ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate to linear-oblong or almost linear, acute or acuminate, truncate or cordate at the base, sharply serrate; petioles and midribs armed with recurved prickles. Panicles large, much branched, 6–24 in. long, leafy towards the base; pedicels short, glandular or pubescent. Flowers white, ⅓–½ in. diam., dioecious; males larger and more conspicuous than the females. Petals broadly ovate or oblong. Fruit ¼ in. diam., reddish-orange.—A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 340; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 567; Raoul, Choix, 49; Kirk, Students' Fl. 125. R. australis var. glaber, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 53, t. 14; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 54.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Abundant throughout. Ascends to 2800 ft. Tataramoa; Bush-lawyer. September–October.
Distinguished from the other species by its large size, glabrous leaflets cordate or truncate at the base, large panicles, white flowers, and small red fruit.
2. R. cissoides, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 569.—A scrambling or climbing shrub; branchlets slender, unarmed, usually much and closely interlaced, forming a dense bush. Leaves 3–5-foliolate; leaflets 2–5 in. long, narrow-ovate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acuminate, rounded or cuneate at the base, sharply and irregularly serrate or lobed; petioles varying much in length, furnished with fewer and softer prickles than in R. australis. Panicles 2–6 in. long, often reduced to racemes; pedicels pubescent or glabrate. Flowers yellowish-white, ⅓ in. diam., dioecious. Calyx-lobes broadly ovate, tomentose. Petals linear-oblong. Fruit orange-red, much as in R. australis.—Raoul, Choix, 49; Kirk, Students' Handb. 126. R. australis var. cissoides, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 53; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 54.
Var. pauperatus, Kirk, l.c.—Leaves reduced to prickly midribs, sometimes with a minute leaflet at the apex.—R. squarrosus, Kerner.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Not uncommon from the North Cape southwards, chiefly in lowland districts. September–November.
3. R. schmidelioides, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 568.—A scrambling or climbing shrub; branchlets usually unarmed, often intertwined, forming a dense bush; young shoots pubescent or tomentose. Leaves 3–5-foliolate; leaflets 2–4 in. long, orbicular-ovate or ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, coriaceous, acute, rounded or cordate at
