the dilated bases, spreading above, ⅙–⅓ in. long, linear or linearoblong, obtuse and tumid at the tip, deeply concave in front, convex on the back, rather fleshy; margins ciliate-denticulate along their whole length. Leaves of young plants linear, irregularly lobulate or pinnatifid, glabrous. Flowers small, white, ⅙–¼ in. diam., usually arranged in axillary 2–4-flowered spikes near the tips of the branches, the spikes often forming a subcapitate head, more rarely the flowers are solitary and axillary. Calyx deeply 4-partite; segments linear-oblong, obtuse, margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube short; lobes 4, spreading, orbicular-oblong, obtuse, almost equal, but the dorsal one slightly broader and the anticous one slightly narrower than the others. Stamens 2 or very rarely 4; filaments very short, altogether included. Style included. Capsule exceeding the calyx, ovoid-oblong, subcompressed, seated within a cupular disc.—Logania ciliolata, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 737. Mitrasacme Hookeri, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 348, t. 29, f. 1.
South Island: Nelson—Mount Arthur and Mount Owen, T. F. C; Mount Mantell, Mount Buckland, W. Townson! Mount Franklin, F. G. Gibbs! Mount Percival, T. F. C; Amuri, Kirk! Canterbury—Arthur's Pass and Waimakariri Glacier, Kirk! T. F. C, Cockayne! Browning's Pass and Rangitata Valley, Haast! Mount Cook district, T. F. C. Westland–Kelly's Hill, Petrie! Mount Alexander, Cockayne! Otago—Mount Alta, Buchanan! 3000–5500 ft. December–March.
A very remarkable and distinct species, quite unlike any other.
47. V. tetrasticha, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 212.—A small much-branched shrub forming depressed patches 4–12 in. diam.; branches very numerous, decumbent below, erect or spreading above; branchlets acutely tetragonous with the faces more or less concave, with the leaves on 112–110 in. diam., black when dry. Leaves most densely quadrifariously imbricated, opposite pairs connate at the base and forming a short ring clasping the branch, spreading above, 114–110 in. long, ovate-deltoid, narrowed into a short subacute tip, thick and coriaceous, concave in front, rounded or flat on the back, not keeled; margins ciliolate. Leaves of young plants linear-spathulate, flat, spreading, ciliolate and sparsely hispid. Flowers in short 2–4-flowered spikes near the ends of the branchlets, small, ⅛–⅙ in. diam., white; rhachis and peduncle villous. Calyx deeply 4-partite; segments linear-oblong, obtuse. Corolla-tube short; limb with four equal spreading rounded lobes. Stamens 2, at first included, but the filaments lengthen before the flower withers. Ovary seated in a cupular disc. Capsule twice as long as the calyx, obovoid, compressed, obtuse.—Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii. (1881) 351; Kirk, l.c. xxviii. (1896) 521; Cockayne, l.c. xxxi. (1899) 377 (development of seedling).
South Island: Nelson—Wairau Mountains, Travers, T. F. C.; Mount Captain, Kirk! Canterbury—Mount Torlesse, Cockayne! Black Range, Enys! Kirk! T. F. C., Petrie! Cockayne! Hopkins River, Haast. 3000–6000 ft. December–March.
