long, ⅓–⅔ in. broad, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute or subacute, narrowed towards the base, thick and fleshy, pale dull-green, midrib scarcely prominent beneath. Racemes opposite near the ends of the branches, about as long as the leaves, dense-flowered; rhachis and pedicels pubescent; bracts subulate, half as long as the pedicels. Flowers ⅕–¼ in. diam., pale-lilac. Calyx small, deeply 4-partite; segments ovate-lanceolate, acute. Corolla-tube slightly longer than the calyx; limb spreading, 4-lobed; dorsal and lateral lobes subequal, broadly oblong, obtuse, anterior lobe smaller. Capsule ⅙ in. long, ovate, acute, about twice as long as the calyx.
Chatham Islands: Barker, Cockayne!
I fear that this is much too close to V. Dieffenbachii, but my specimens are very indifferent. According to Mr. Cockayne, it differs "in its erect not spreading habit, smaller leaves, shorter racemes, in its extremely pubescent style, and in the midrib not conspicuously raised."
4. V. macroura, Hook. f. ex Benth. in D.C. Prodr. x. 549.—A much-branched glabrous shrub 1–5 ft. high; branches rather stout, spreading, terete. Leaves spreading, sessile or very shortly petiolate, 1-3 in. long, ½–1¼ in. broad, obovate-oblong to obovate-lanceolate or linear-oblong, obtuse or acute, hardly coriaceous, flat, glabrous or the margins minutely pubescent. Racemes longer than the leaves, 2–4 in. long, ½–¾ in. diam., often curved, very densely many-flowered; rhachis and pedicels finely pubescent, the latter slender, spreading or subsecund, often pendulous in fruit. Flowers small, densely compacted, ⅛–⅙ in. diam., white or pale bluishwhite. Calyx deeply 4-partite; segments narrow-oblong, acute, finely pubescent, margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube slender, exceeding the calyx; limb small, with narrow-oblong obtuse lobes. Capsules densely crowded, usually pendulous, small, ovate, compressed, ⅛–⅙ in. long, scarcely twice as long as the calyx.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 191; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 207; Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 351; Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxviii. (1896) 531.
Var. Cookiana, Cheesem.—Stouter and more robust. Leaves larger, 2–3½ in. long, 1¼–1¾ in. broad, oblong or oblong ovate, broad at the base, pubescent on the margins and sometimes on the midrib beneath. Racemes 3–6 in. long, conspicuously curved. Calyx more pubescent.—V. Cookiana, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx. (1888) 201.
Var. dubia, Cheesem.—Smaller; branches very diffuse, often procumbent. Leaves smaller and broader, 1–2 in. long, ½–1 in. broad, broadly obovate to elliptic-oblong, obtuse or acute, subcoriaceous, glabrous except the margins, which are edged with a white pubescent line. Racemes smaller, 1½–2½ in. long, not so dense. Flowers rather larger, ⅕ in. diam. Calyx conspicuously ciliate. Capsules ⅕ in. long.
North Island: Whangarei, Colenso (Handbook); East Cape district, from Hicks Bay to Mahia Peninsula, Colenso! Bishop Williams! H. Hill! Cook Strait, Colenso (Handbook). Var. Cookiana: Table Cape, H. Hill! Var. dubia: Coast north of the Manukau Harbour, T.F.C.
