1. P. corymbosa, Forst. Char. Gen. 134.—A small slender tree 15–35 ft. high; branchlets, petioles, and inflorescence pubescent. Young stage a straggling bush with numerous spreading flexuous and interlaced slender branches; leaves distant, alternate or fascicled, cuneate, ¼–½ in. long or more, 3-lobed or 3–6-toothed at the tip. Leaves of mature plants shortly petioled, alternate, 1–4 in. long, obovate oblong-ovate or oblong, obtuse, sinuate or irregularly toothed or lobed, rarely entire. Flowers small, white, fragrant, diœcious. Males: Panicles and flowers larger than in the females. Filaments exceeding the petals; anthers large, oblong-sagittate, versatile, pendulous. Ovary rudimentary. Females: Filaments shorter than the petals; anthers erect. Ovary oblong; stigma 3-lobed. Drupe black, fleshy, about ⅓ in. long.—A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 368; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 576; Raoul, Choix, 50; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 35, t. 12; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 41; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 77, 78; Students' Fl. 88.
North and South Islands: From Kaitaia southwards, but local to the north of the Waikato River. Ascends to 2000 ft. Kaikomako. November–December.
Wood formerly used by the Maoris to obtain fire by friction; now occasionally employed for turnery, furniture, &c.
Order XVII. STACKHOUSIEÆ .
Perennial herbs, usually of small size. Leaves alternate, narrow, quite entire, often somewhat fleshy. Stipules wanting or very minute. Flowers regular, hermaphrodite, in terminal spikes or rarely solitary. Calyx 4–5-lobed or -partite, imbricate. Petals 5, perigynous, inserted on the throat of the calyx, linear or spathulate, claws long, free at the base but more or less connate above, limb reflexed. Disc thin, clothing the base of the calyx-tube. Stamens 5, inserted on the edge of the disc. Ovary free, globose, 2–5-lobed, cells the same number; style single at the base, 2–5-lobed above; ovules 1 in each cell, erect, anatropous. Fruit of 2–5 globose angular or winged indehiscent 1-seeded cocci. Seed erect, with a membranous testa; albumen fleshy; embryo straight, radicle inferior.
A small order of 2 genera and 15 species. With the exception of the New Zealand plant and another found in the Philippine Islands, the whole of the species are confined to Australia.
1. STACKHOUSIA, Smith.
Characters as above.
1. S. minima, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 47.—A minute slender glabrous herb, with numerous creeping often matted underground stems, and short slender erect leafy branches ½–2 in. high. Leaves crowded or distant, rather fleshy, 16–13 in. long, linear or linear-oblong
