H. alata, Jacq. Misc. ii. 332.—A coarse erect or suberect branching herb 1–3 ft. high; stems sharply 4-angled, minutely scabrid. Leaves opposite, petiolate, very variable in size, ½–3 in. long, ovate-lanceolate to oblong, coarsely and sharply serrate, acute or acuminate. Flowers minute, solitary or clustered, in leafy racemes terminating the branches; pedicels short, curved, drooping. Calyx-tube 4-angled; lobes small, broad. Petals twice as long as the calyx-lobes. Stamens 8. Fruit rather small, 1/10 in. long, ovoid, with 4 ribs more or less dilated into wings; interspaces smooth or rugose.—Forst. Prodr. n. 180; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 62; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 65; Benth. Fl. Austral. ii. 479; Kirk, Students' Fl. 148. Cercodia erecta, Murr. in Comm. Gotting. iii. (1780) 3, t. 1. C. alternifolia, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 527.

Var. cartilaginea.—Shorter and stouter. Leaves ½–¾ in., broadly ovate, obtuse or subacute, coarsely serrate, very coriaceous, margins cartilaginous. Fruit conspicuously rugose.—H. cartilaginea, Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxix. (1897) 390.

Kermadec Islands, North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Abundant, especially in lowland districts. Sea-level to 2000 ft. Toatoa. November–January. Also in south-eastern Australia and the island of Juan Fernandez. Var. cartilaginea: Cliffs at the North Cape, T. F. C.

H. tetragyna, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 62.—A rigid and wiry much-branched herb 6–15 in. high, usually scabrid with white appressed hairs; stems prostrate or decumbent at the base, erect or ascending above, tetragonous. Leaves opposite, shortly petioled, ¼–¾ in. long, elliptical-ovate or oblong to lanceolate, acute, sharply serrate, coriaceous; floral leaves or bracts usually alternate. Flowers minute, sessile or nearly so, solitary in the axils of the floral leaves, forming slender leafy terminal spikes, which are sometimes branched and paniculate. Stamens 8. Styles 4; stigmas plumose. Fruit 1/10 in., broadly ovoid, 4–8-costate, transversely rugose or muricate.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 65; Benth. Fl. Austral. ii. 484; Kirk, Students' Fl. 148. Goniocarpus tetragynus, Labill. Pl. Nov. Holl. 39, t. 53. A. Cunn. Precur. n. 529. Cercodia incana, A. Cunn. l.c. n. 528.

Var. diffusa, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 65.—Stems slender, spreading, prostrate. Leaves ¼–½ in., broader and more obtuse, with fewer teeth.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island: The typical form confined to the district between the North Cape and the Bay of Islands. Var. diffusa abundant throughout the Islands. The species is widely distributed in Australia, and is also found in China and Malaya, and in the Khasia Mountains of India.

H. depressa, Walp. Rep. ii. 99.—A small slender wiry much-branched herb 1–5 in. high, usually scabrid with short white hairs; rhizomes slender, creeping, often much branched; stems prostrate or suberect, tetragonous. Leaves opposite, sessile or nearly so, ¼–½ in. long, ovate or ovate-oblong, sometimes almost cordate, subacute, with 1–4 deep and narrow serratures on each side, coriaceous, margins strongly cartilaginous; floral leaves similar but smaller, usually all opposite. Flowers minute, sessile, axillary and solitary, forming short terminal spikes. Fruit 1/10 in. long, 4-angled, 4–8-costate; interspaces smooth and shining, not tuberculate.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel.i. 63; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 65; Benth. Fl. Austral. ii. 485; Kirk, Students' Fl. 148. H. bibracteolata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxii. (1890) 462. Gonicarpus depressus, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 531.

Var. aggregata, Kirk, l.c. 149.—Flowers clustered at the tips of the branches, forming small heads.—H. aggregata, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iv. (1872) 224, t. 13.

Var. serpyllifolia, Benth. Fl. Austral. ii. 485.—Stems 1–4 in., usually creeping and matted, often forming a dense sward. Leaves 1/10–¼ in., narrow-ovate to lanceolate, acute at both ends. Flowers fewer, often solitary on the branches. Fruit smaller.—H. uniflora, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. ix. (1877) 548. Gonicarpus serpyllifolius and G. vernicosus, Hook. Ic. Plant. t. 290, 311.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Abundant throughout, ascending to nearly 4000 ft. Also in Victoria and Tasmania.

A very variable plant. Some forms approach very close to H. tetragyna, but usually it can be easily separated from that species by the opposite flowers and the smooth interspaces of the fruit.

H. spicata, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix. (1887) 325.—A slender erect or ascending sparingly branched herb 4–10 in. high, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves few, opposite, shortly petioled, ⅓–⅔ in. long, ovate or elliptic-ovate, acute or subacute, coria ceous, serrate, pubescent. Flowers in slender terminal branched panicles, sessile in the axils of minute opposite or alternate bracts; terminal 1–3 Flowers female; lower Flowers apparently all male, but many of the bracts empty in my specimens. Calyx-lobes 4, triangular. Anthers 4; filaments short. Stigmas plumose. Fruit 1/10 in. long, 4-angled; interspaces smooth or slightly wrinkled.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 149.

South Island: Otago—North end of Lake Hawea, altitude 1100 ft., Petrie!

A very curious plant, agreeing with H. depressa in the leaves and fruit, but differing widely in the paniculate inflorescence. I suspect that it will prove to be an abnormal state of H. depressa.

H. micrantha, R. Br. ex Sieb. and Zucc. Fl. Jap. i. 25.—A tufted much-branched procumbent or ascending herb 2–6 in. high; stems and branches slender, wiry, glabrous or slightly scaberulous. Leaves opposite, very shortly petioled, ⅕–⅓ in. diam., broadly ovate or almost orbicular, obtuse or subacute, coriaceous, crenate-serrate, the crenatures broad and rounded. Flowers. minute, drooping, in slender almost filiform racemes terminating the branchlets; pedicels very short. Petals 4, more than twice as long as the triangular calyx-lobes. Fruit 1/20 in. long, broadly oblong, 8-costate, interspaces smooth and shining.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 66; Benth. Fl. Austral. ii. 482; Kirk, Students' Fl. 149. H. tenella, Brong. in Duper. Voy. Coq. Bot. t. 68, f. 6; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 63. H. minima, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 259. Gonicarpus citriodorus, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 530.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island: Abundant from the North Cape southwards. Sea-level to 3500 ft. November–January.

Extends through Australia and Malaya to the Himalayas, China, and Japan. All the fruits that I have examined are 1-seeded by abortion.