2. U. australis, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 68.—Stems 1–3 ft. high, erect or decumbent at the base, stout, succulent, glabrous or sparingly clothed with short white hairs; stinging hairs few, weak, chiefly clustered at the nodes. Leaves opposite, the upper sometimes ternate; blade 3–6 in. long or even more, broadly ovateor orbicular-cordate, acute, coarsely toothed or crenate, rather fleshy, 5–7-nerved, glabrous or sparsely pubescent or setose; petiole stout, 1–4 in. long; stipules interpetiolar, large, bifid. Eacemes or panicles simple or branched, axillary, longer or shorter than the petioles, the lower male and the upper female, but both sexes occasionally mixed in the same panicle. Male perianth about 112 in. diam., glabrous or nearly so; female rather smaller. Nut ovoid, compressed, smooth, rather shorter than the persistent perianth.—Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 225; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 251.
North Island: "Southern extreme, Bidwill" (Handbook). Chatham Islands: H. H. Travers! Cox and Cockayne! Stewart Island: Not seen on the main island, but not uncommon on Dog Island and other small islands in Foveaux Strait, Kirk! Antipodes Island: Kirk! Auckland Islands: Sir J. D. Hooker, Kirk! December–March.
Remarkable for its stout succulent habit and large leaves. Although reported from the North Island in the Handbook, on the authority of Bidwill, of late years no New Zealand botanist has met with it on any part of the mainland of either the North or South Island.
3. U. Aucklandica, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 68.—A rigid herb, everywhere pubescent with short greyish-white hairs. Stems stout, erect, angled, about 1 ft. high; stinging hairs few, chiefly clustered at the thickened nodes. Leaves opposite, spreading, 2–3 in. long, 1½–2½ in. broad, broadly ovate, acute, usually cordate at the base, rather coriaceous, many-nerved, coarsely serrate or dentate; petioles stout, ½–1 in. long; stipules rather large, interpetiolar, 2-fid or 2-partite. Male flowers alone seen, in short axillary spikes. Perianth-segments 4, rounded, concave, setose on the back. Stamens 4; filaments short.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 252.
Auckland Islands: Near the sea-beach at the margin of woods, rare, Sir J. D. Hooker.
I have seen no specimens of this, and the above description has been compiled from that given in the "Flora Antarctica." It appears to be very close to U. australis, differing chiefly in the smaller size and more rigid habit, and in the dense greyish-whice pubescence.
4. U. incisa, Poir. Encycl. Suppl. iv. 224.—Stems slender, erect or decumbent at the base, much or sparingly branched or simple, sparsely clothed with weak stinging hairs but otherwise glabrous, 1–2 ft. high, rarely more. Leaves on long slender petioles, very variable in size and shape; blade ½–2½ in. long, broadly ovate-deltoid to lanceolate, acute or acuminate, cordate or truncate or cuneate at the base, deeply and acutely toothed, membranous;
