or linear-obovate, flat, acute. Flowers small, yellow, solitary and terminal, almost sessile or on very short peduncles, always exceeding the leaves. Calyx-lobes short, acute. Petals usually connate at the middle to form a tubular corolla but often altogether free, linear, acute or acuminate, tips recurved. Stamens 3 long and 2 much shorter; anthers glabrous. Ovary 3-lobed; style very short, 3-cleft. Cocci obovoid, smooth, 1 or 2 ripening, seldom 3.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 42; Kirk, Students' Fl. 90. S. uniflora, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 258.
North Island: Hawke's Bay—Open downs on the east coast, Colenso; Waipawa County, H. Hill! South Island: Nelson—Mount Arthur Plateau, Wangapeka, T. F. C.; Spenser Mountains, Kirk! Canterbury—Ribband-wood Range, Haast; Broken River, Enys! Burnham, Kirk! Central Otago, not rare, Petrie! Sea-level to 4000 ft. December–January.
Sir Joseph Hooker describes the flowers as occurring in few-flowered spikes, and the anthers as pubescent; but I have not seen any specimens answering to this.
Order XVIII. RHAMNEÆ.
Trees, shrubs or woody climbers; branches sometimes spinescent. Leaves simple, alternate, rarely opposite, entire or toothed. Stipules small, often caducous, sometimes metamorphosed into thorns. Flowers regular, hermaphrodite or unisexual, small and inconspicuous, usually arranged in axillary or terminal cymes or panicles. Calyx 4–5-cleft, valvate. Petals 4–5, rarely wanting, inserted on the throat of the calyx-tube, small, usually hood-shaped or involute. Stamens 4–5, perigynous, inserted with the petals and opposite to them; filaments short; anthers often concealed within the involute tips of the petals. Disc perigynous, adnate to the calyx, of very various shape. Ovary free or immersed in the disc, altogether superior or more or less adnate to the calyx-tube, 3-celled, rarely 2- or 4-celled; style short; ovules solitary in each cell, erect, anatropous. Fruit free or girt by the persistent calyx-tube, drupaceous or capsular, 1–4-celled. Seed solitary, erect sometimes arillate; albumen fleshy, rarely wanting; embryo large, erect, radicle inferior.
A well-marked order, distributed over most parts of the world. Genera about 40; species under 500. The jujube (Zizyphus) produces a wholesome and agreeable fruit, but as a rule most of the species possess bitter or astringent properties, and some are purgative. The 2 genera found in New Zealand both extend to Australia, and 1 of them (Discaria) is found in South America as well.
| Tomentose, unarmed. Leaves alternate. Ovary inferior | 1. Pomaderris. |
| Glabrous, spiny. Leaves opposite or wanting. Ovary superior | 2. Discaria. |
1. POMADERRIS, Labill.
Shrubs, more or less covered with hoary or ferruginous stellate tomentum. Leaves alternate. Flowers pedicellate, in small cymes
