obtuse, rounded at the base, sessile, rather membranous, glabrous or slightly silky when young. Flowers small, pink or whitish-pink, in small lateral few-flowered cymes or racemes; pedicels slender, glabrous or pubescent. Calyx-tube pyriform, suddenly expanded into a short and broad cup-shaped limb; lobes 5, ovate-triangular. Petals orbicular, shortly clawed, exceeding the calyx-lobes. Stamens slender, ⅓ in. long. Ovary wholly aduate to the base of the calyx-tube. Capsule small, 18–16 in. long, globose, 3-lobed, crowned by the funnel-shaped calyx-limb, loculicidally 3-valved to the base.—Raoul, Choix, 49; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 67, t. 16; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 71; Kirk, Students' Fl. 161. M. subsimilis, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. (1880) 361.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Abundant in forests from the North Cape southwards. Sea-level to 2000 ft. November–January.
The smallest species of the genus. The flowers are occasionally quite white, and are always produced on the old wood, never terminal.
7. M. Colensoi, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 68.—A slender climbing shrub with numerous very slender leafy terete or obscurely tetragonous branches; branchlets densely pubescent or setose. Leaves distichous, often imbricating, sessile or very shortly petioled, ⅓–¾ in. long, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, rounded at the base, almost membranous, densely pubescent when young, often becoming almost glabrous when mature. Flowers small, pink or whitish, in terminal or lateral trichotomous cymes which are rarely more than 1½ in. long; peduncles and pedicels silky-pubescent. Calyx-tube funnel-shaped, much longer than the ovary, pubescent; lobes small, narrow-triangular, acute, as long as or slightly longer than the small orbicular petals. Ovary wholly adnate to the base of the calyx-tube. Capsule small, 16–15 in. long, globose, 3-lobed, crowned by the long funnel-shaped calyx-limb, loculicidallv 3-valved to the base.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 72; Kirk, Students Fl. 162.
Var. pendens, Kirk, l.c.—Branchlets much more slender, almost filiform,, pendulous. Flowers white.—M. pendens, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xii. (1880) 360.
North and South Islands: In forests from the Bay of Islands (Handbook) to Nelson and Marlborough, but far from common. December–January.
Allied to the preceding species, but easily distinguished by the much more slender habit, pubescent branchlets, and by the thinner much more acuminate and usually pubescent leaves. I have seen no specimens from the north of the Waikato River.
8. M. robusta, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 557.—A tall and stout forest-tree, 60–80 or even 100ft. high; trunk irregular, 3–8 ft. diam. or more; branches spreading, forming a huge rounded head; branchlets 4-angled, puberulous. Leaves decussate, 1–1½ in. long, elliptic-oblong or ovate-oblong or elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse, glabrous,
