1. C. novæ-zealandiæ, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 12, t. 6.—A perfectly glabrous perennial herb 1–6 in. high. Rootstock stout, with fleshy rootlets. Leaves all radical, spreading; petiole variable in length, ½–4 in., grooved, base dilated, membranous, sheathing the stem; lamina ⅓–1 in. long, ovate-oblong, entire or sinuate, notched at the apex, deeply 2-lobed at the base, the lobes (auricles) turned upwards and almost appressed to the surface of the leaf. Scape solitary, naked, 1-flowered, ½–5 in. long, short at first but lengthening as the fruit ripens. Flowers pale-yellow, sweet-scented, ½–1 in. diam. Sepals 5–7, narrow, linear-subulate, tapering from the base into an almost caudate point, 3-nerved. Stamens 15–20. Carpels 6–12, ovate, narrowed into a short stout style. Follicles spreading, with a short hooked style; seeds few, 2–5.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 9; Kirk, Students' Fl. 21. C. marginata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxiii. (1891) 382.
North Island: Ruahine Mountains, Colenso! Tararua Mountains, Buchanan, Townson! South Island: Not uncommon on the higher mountains as far south as Stewart Island. Altitudinal range 2500 to 5500 ft. October–January.
2. C. obtusa, Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxiii. (1901) 312.—Smaller than C. novæ-zealandiæ, seldom more than 2 in. high. Leaves smaller; blade broader, wide-ovate or almost rounded, coarsely dentate, notched at the apex, 2-lobed at the base, lobes turned upwards and appressed to the surface, toothed. Flowers white, ½ in. diam., at first sessile among the uppermost leaves, but the scape elongates in fruit. Sepals 5, oblong, obtuse or subacute, broadest above the middle. Stamens 10–15. Carpels 5–8, narrow-ovate; style long, slender. Ripe fruit not seen.
North Island: Herb. Colenso! (probably from the Ruahine Range, but without locality or collector's name). South Island: Mountains at the head of the Broken River, Canterbury, 5000–6000 ft., T. F. C. Otago—Mount St. Bathan's and Dunstan Mountains, 5000–6000 ft., Petrie! Black Peak, 6000 ft., Buchanan!
The white flowers and blunt oblong sepals distinguish this at once from C. novæ-zealandiæ, but in a flowerless state it is easily mistaken for a dwarf form of that plant, although the leaves are always broader and coarsely dentate. The sepals are markedly different from the long tapering almost caudate sepals of C. novæ-zealandiæ. I have not been able to compare it with the Australian and Tasmanian C. introloba, F. Muell., which is said to have white flowers, but judging from descriptions it can hardly be the same.
Order II. MAGNOLIACEÆ.
Trees or shrubs, often aromatic. Leaves alternate, entire or toothed, stipulate or exstipulate. Flowers axillary or terminal, solitary or fascicled, often large. Sepals 3, seldom more, deciduous. Petals 3–6, in several rows, hypogynous, imbricate in the bud. Stamens indefinite, hypogynous; anthers adnate. Carpels either many and imbricated on an elongated receptacle, or few in a single
