long, obliquely ovate or oblong, rounded at the tip, very unequal-sided at the base, bright yellow-green, glossy, very thick and leathery; petiole short, stout. Panicles axillary or subterminal, much branched, 3–6 in. long; rhachis and pedicels pubescent. Flowers minute, greenish; females apetalous. Berry ⅓ in. long, fleshy, dark-purple, usually 1-celled. Seed solitary.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 639; Raoul, Choix, 46; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 98; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 105; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 41; Students' Fl. 225. Scopolia lucida, Forst. Char. Gen. t. 70.
North and South Islands: Not uncommon in woods from the North Cape to the Bluff. Puka. October–November.
2. G. littoralis, Raoul, Choix, 22, t. 19.—A round-headed tree 30–50 ft. high; trunk short, irregular, gnarled or twisted, 2–5 ft. diam.; bark rough, furrowed. Leaves 1–4 in. long, ovate or oblong-ovate, rounded at the tip, less unequal-sided at the base than in G. lucida and sometimes almost symmetrical, pale yellowish-green, thick and coriaceous, veins obscure; petiole rather slender, ½–1 in. long. Panicles axillary, 1–3 in. long, smaller than in G. lucida and sometimes reduced to a simple raceme; rhachis and pedicels pubescsnt. Flowers minute; both male and female with petals. Berry ¼ in. long, oblong. Seed solitary.—Hook, f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 105; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 42; Students' Fl. 225. Pukateria littoralis, Raoul in Ann. Sci. Nat. Ser. iii. 2 (1844) 120.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: From Mount Tutamoe (Northern Wairoa) and the Little Barrier Island southwards, but rare and local to the north of the East Cape; abundant in the South Island. Sealevel to 3500 ft. Kapuka; Papaumu; Broad-leaf. October–November.
Timber strong, close-grained and durable; frequently used for house-blocks, fencing-posts, &c.
Order XXXVI. CAPRIFOLIACEÆ.
Erect or climbing shrubs or small trees, rarely herbs. Leaves opposite, seldom alternate, simple or rarely pinnate, usually exstipulate. Flowers hermaphrodite, regular or irregular. Calyx-tube adnate to the ovary; limb 3–5-toothed or -lobed. Corolla gamopetalous, epigynous, rotate or funnel-shaped or tubular; limb often irregular or 2-lipped; lobes 4–5, imbricate, rarely valvate. Stamens 4–5, inserted on the tube of the corolla and alternating with its lobes, equal or unequal. Ovary inferior, 2–5-celled (rarely 1-celled), usually crowned with an epigynous disc; style long with a capitate stigma, or short and 2–5-lobed; ovules 1 or more in each cell, pendulous, anatropous. Fruit usually a berry or drupe, rarely a capsule, 1- or many-seeded. Seeds with copious albumen; embryo usually minute, radicle superior.
