fascicled along the branches, shortly pedicellate or almost sessile. Perianth narrow-campanulate or cylindric, 6-partite; segments narrow, all equal or the 3 inner rather longer. Stamens 6, inserted at the base of the segments, shorter or longer than them; filaments fihform or flattened; anthers narrow-oblong, dorsifixed. Ovary 3-celled; style filiform; stigma capitate or shortly 3-lobed; ovules numerous (4–16) in each cell. Berry globose, 3-celled, at first more or less succulent, but often dry when the seeds are fully ripe. Seeds few or many in each cell, sometimes solitary by abortion, usually curved; testa black, shining.
About 10 or 12 species are known, scattered through India, Malaya, Polynesia, and New Zealand, together with one species in South America. With the exception of the wide-ranging C. terminalis, all the species found in New Zealand are endemic.
| A. Leaves contracted into a long and narrow canaliculate petiole. | |
| Leaves 1–2½ ft., broadly oblanceolate or narrow-oblong; lateral veins fine. Panicle 1–2 ft.; branches simple, spreading. Flowers lilac | 1. C. terminalis. |
| Leaves 3–6 ft., linear-lanceolate; lateral veins strong, prominent. Panicle 2–5 ft., much branched. Flowers white | 2. C. Banksii. |
| B. Leaves sessile, ensiform, not contracted into a conspicuous petiole. | |
| Stem 15–40 ft. Leaves 1½–3 ft. × 1½–2½ in., rather thin; lateral veins fine, green | 3. C. australis. |
| Stem 5–20 ft. Leaves 2–6 ft. × 4–6 in., excessively thick and coriaceous; lateral veins coarse, conspicuous, red or yellow | 4. C. indivisa. |
| Stem wanting or very short. Leaves 1–3 ft. × ¼–⅔ in., narrow-linear | 5. C. pumilio. |
1. C. terminalis, Kunth in Abh. Aead. Berl. (1820) 30.—Stem slender, 3–8 ft. high. Leaves numerous, crowded, 1–2½ ft. long, 2–5 in. broad, broadly oblanceolate or almost oblong, acute or acuminate, gradually narrowed into a long petiole, thinly coriaceous, pale-green, midrib distinct beneath but obscure above; lateral veins numerous, fine, distinct, oblique; petiole 2–6 in. long, deeply canaliculated above, obtusely keeled beneath, dilated and sheathing at the base. Panicle 1–2 ft. long, broad, laxly branched; branches spreading, the lower ones again divided. Flowers solitary or 2–3 together along the branches of the panicle, sessile or very shortly pedicelled, ⅓ in. long, lilac; bracteoles 3, small, deltoid. Perianth-segments equal, longer than the tube. Stamens not exceeding the segments. Berry globose, ⅓ in. diam.—Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 21; Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx. (1888) 174. C. Cheesemanii, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxviii. (1896) 508.
Kermadec Islands: Lower portions of Sunday Island, not common, T.F.C. North Island: Formerly cultivated by the Maoris in the Bay of Islands and other northern districts, now nearly extinct. Ti-pore. July–September.
