Chatham Islands: Abundant in woods, H. H. Travers! Cox and Cockayne! Stewart Island: Not common, G. M. Thomson, Kirk! August–September.
5. M. Coxii, Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxiv. (1902) 318.—A closely branched shrub 8–15 ft. high; bark rough, dark-brown; ultimate branchlets more or less pubescent with short stiff white hairs. Leaves alternate or crowded on short lateral branchlets, ½–¾ in. long, narrow obovate, obtuse or emarginate, gradually narrowed into a short petiole, entire, coriaceous, glandular-dotted, veins finely reticulated on both surfaces; margins flat, ciliated when young. Flowers in fascicles of 2 or 3 on the branches below the leaves, rarely solitary in the axils of the leaves, small, almost sessile but the pedicels lengthening in fruit. Calyx 4-lobed; lobes deltoid, ciliate. Petals 4, quite free, obovate-oblong, obtuse, ciliate, marked with reddish glands. Anthers almost as large as the petals. Stigma sessile, capitate. Fruit about ¼ in. diam., globose, purplish, 1-seeded.—Suttonia Coxii, Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxv. (1903) 359.
Chatham Islands: Not uncommon in swampy forests, Cox and Cockayne! July–August.
Closely allied to the preceding, but distinguished by the smaller size, smaller and proportionately narrower leaves, few-flowered fascicles, and almost sessile flowers. Mr. Cockayne informs me that it has creeping underground stems, which at intervals put up erect branches.
6. M. montana, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 184.—A perfectly glabrous shrub or small tree 8–15 ft. high; bark dark red-brown. Leaves alternate, ¾–1¼ in. long, narrow-obovate, obtuse or emarginate, gradually narrowed into a short slender petiole, coriaceous or almost membranous, quite glabrous, glandular-dotted, veins reticulated on both surfaces, cuticle beneath sometimes loose and wrinkled when dry; margins flat or slightly recurved, sometimes obscurely sinuate towards the tip. Flowers in 2–5-flowered fascicles on the branches below the leaves, rarely solitary, small, ⅛ in. diam., unisexual; pedicels rather slender, about ⅙ in. long. Calyx 4-lobed; lobes oblong, rounded. Petals 4, quite free, obovate-oblong, obtuse, revolute, ciliate. Anthers nearly as large as the lobes. Female flowers not seen. Fruit globose, 110 in. diam.—M. neo-zealandensis, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxii. (1890) 479. Suttonia montana, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 334; Mez in Pflanzenreich, Heft 9, 334. S. neo-zealandensis, Mez, l.c.
North Island: Ruahine Range and Hawke's Bay, Colenso! South Island: Marlborough—Mount Stokes, McMahon! Nelson—Maitai Valley, T. F. C.; near Westport, W. Townson! Sea-level to 3000 ft.
Mez keeps up M. neo-zealandensis as a distinct species, but an examination of the type specimens in Mr. Colenso's herbarium has convinced me that it cannot be retained even as a variety.
