bifariously pubescent. Leaves all opposite, somewhat remote, ¼–¾ fin. long, ovate or ovate-oblong, obtuse or subacute, shortly petioled, obscurely denticulate or almost entire, perfectly glabrous. Flowers few, axillary, near or remote from the ends of the branches, large, white, ¼–⅓ in. diam. Calyx-lobes lanceolate, acute, glabrous, much shorter than the petals. Stigma shortly clavate, emarginate. Capsules 1–2 in. long, erect, glabrous; peduncles elongating much as the fruit ripens, 2–4 in. long. Seeds minutely reticulate.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 58; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 78; Haussk. Monog. Epilob. 309, t. 22, f. 93a; Kirk, Students Fl. 179.
North Island: Ruahine Range, E. W. Andrews! Petrie! Rangipo Plain, Petrie! Tararua Mountains and Wainuiomata, Buchanan! South Island: Abundant in mountain districts throughout. Altitudinal range 1500–4500 ft. December–March .
The slender glabrous habit, distant ovate leaves, large flowers, and long fruiting peduncles separate this from all its allies.
18. E. gracilipes, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvii. (1895) 351.—Stems numerous from a woody base, 3–6 in. high, decumbent below, erect or ascending above, vviry, reddish, bifariously pubescent. Leaves opposite or the uppermost alternate, remote, ¼–⅔ in. long, ovate, subacute or obtuse, shortly petiolate, coriaceous, reddish below, obscurely and remotely denticulate. Flowers 1–3, solitary in the upper axils, small, white, 15 in. diam. Calyx-lobes oblong-lanceolate, acute, shorter than the petals. Stigma obliquely clavate. Capsules 1½–2 in. long, slender, glabrous; peduncles elongating much as the fruit ripens, often over 2 in. long. Seeds minutely papillose.—Students Fl. 178.
South Island: Canterbury—Broken River, J. D. Enys! Kirk! Craigieburn Mountains, Cockayne! Bealey, T.F.C. Westland—Kelly's Hill, Cockayne! 2000–4000 ft. December–February.
A handsome little plant, which approaches E. macropus on the one side and E. nummularifolium on the other.
19. E. crassum, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 328.—Stout, fleshy, perfectly glabrous, smooth and polished. Stems woody at the base, prostrate, creeping and rooting at the nodes, 2–6 in. long; branches short, densely leafy, ascending at the tips. Leaves opposite, crowded, thick and fleshy, ¾–1½ in. long, obovate-oblong or obovate-spathulate, obtuse, gradually narrowed into a long and broad sheathing petiole, obscurely and remotely denticulate. Flowers few, in the axils of the upper leaves, rather large, ⅓ in. diam. or more, white or rose. Calyx-lobes lanceolate, much shorter than the petals. Stigma clavate. Capsules stout, erect, rigid, perfectly glabrous, 1½–2 in. long; peduncles longer than the leaves when fully mature. Seeds minutely papillose.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 78; Haussk. Monog. Epilob. 309, t. 22, f. 93a; Barbey, Gen. Epilob. t. 18, f. 1; Kirk, Students Fl. 178.
