A genus of about 35 species, scattered through the temperate and tropical regions of the Old World. The New Zealand species constitute the section Gymnelæa, characterized by the absence of the corolla, and by the stamens being hypogynous.
| * Leaves of young plants broader than those of the adult. | |
| Leaves of adult trees 1½–3 in. × 1-1½ in., elliptic-oblong. Racemes glabrous | 1. O. apetala. |
| ** Leaves of young plants narrower than those of the adult. | |
| Leaves 3–6 in. × ¾–1¾, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate. Racemes stout, pubescent, 8–18-flowered | 2. O. Cunninghamii. |
| Leaves 2–4 in. × ⅓–¾ in., lanceolate. Racemes slender, glabrous or nearly so, 6–12-flowered | 3. O. lanceolata. |
| Leaves 1½–3½ in. × ¼–⅓ in., linear or linear-lanceolate. Racemes slender, glabrous, 5–10-flowered | 4. O. montana. |
1. O. apetala, Vahl Symb. Bot. iii. 3.—A much-branched diœcious shrub or small tree 8–20 ft. high, everywhere perfectly glabrous; bark greyish-brown, thick and furrowed; branches spreading, often tortuous. Leaves very variable, in young plants larger and broader, 3–5 in. long, 2–3 in. broad, broadly oblong or ovate, subacute; of adult trees 1½–3 in. long, 1–1½ in. broad, elliptic-oblong or elliptic-ovate, acute or acuminate, shortly petiolate, coriaceous, glossy, both surfaces slightly rough to the touch, quite entire, midrib prominent. Racemes axillary or on the branches below the leaves, glabrous, 1–1½ in. long, 10–18-flowered; pedicels slender. Flowers minute, 110 in. diam., females alone seen. Calyx-lobes unequal. Petals wanting. Ovary 2-celled; stigma large, 2-lobed; lobes spreading. Drupe oblong, ⅓ in. long, red.—Endl. Prodr. Fl. Ins. Norf. 56; Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iii. 165; Forest Fl. t. 27, 28.
North Island: Whangarei Heads, Buchanan! T. F. C.; Taranga Islands (Hen and Chickens), Great and Little Barrier Islands, Kirk! T. F. C; Fanal Island, Miss Shakespear! Cuvier Island, T. F. C.
I have followed Kirk in identifying this with the Norfolk Island plant described by Endlicher, but I have had no opportunity of comparing the two.
2. O. Cunninghamii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 175.—A lofty diœcious forest-tree 30–60 or even 70 ft. high, with a trunk 2–5 ft. diam.; young branchlets pubescent. Leaves coriaceous, very variable; of young plants long and narrow, 6–10 in. long, ⅓–⅔ in. broad, narrow linear, acute; of adult trees 3–6 in. long, ¾–1¾ in. broad, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or subacute, shortly petiolate, glabrous, slightly rough on both surfaces; veins impressed above, somewhat obscure, midrib prominent beneath. Racemes ½–1 in. long, stout, densely pubescent, 8–18-flowered; pedicels short, stout; bracts ovate, concave, deciduous. Flowers minute, apetalous. Calyx unequally 4-lobed. Male flowers with 2 large exserted anthers and an abortive ovary;
