Var. apice-nigra, Kirk, Students' Fl. 302.—Leaves more densely tomentose, white with soft woolly hairs. Outer involucral bracts black at the tips.— R. apice-nigra, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xi. (1879) 464.

Var. lutescens, Kirk, l.c.—Smaller. Leaves densely imbricating, shorter, 1/20–1/12 in. long. Heads smaller; involucral bracts bright-yellow.

North Island: From the East Cape and the Upper Thames Valley southwards, but often local. South Island: Abundant throughout. Stewart Island: Mason Bay, Kirk! Sea-level to 5500 ft. December–January.

A very variable plant, especially in the size and shape of the leaves, and the extent to which they are clothed with white tomentum. Mr. Colenso describes his R. albosericea as having few florets and few pappus-hairs; but the specimens in his herbarium are long past flowering, and have evidently lost most of the florets and much of the pappus, and apparently do not differ from the type in any essential character.

Var. pusilla, Kirk, Students' Fl. 302.—Smaller, glabrous or nearly so, much more closely branched; branches ⅕–½ in. high. Leaves 1/20–1/12 in., linear, acute, concave. Female florets almost twice as numerous as the hermaphrodite ones.

North and South Islands: Not uncommon from the Thames goldfields southwards, usually on gravelly or sandy river-beds. Var. pusilla: Rimutaka Range, Kirk! mountains flanking the Wairau Valley, T. F. C. Sea-level to 5000 ft. December–January.

Easily distinguished by the slender habit, narrow acute or apiculate leaves with greyish tomentum, and brown-tipped involucral bracts.

South Island: Nelson—Waiau Valley, Sinclair, Travers; Amuri, Kirk! Clarence Valley, T. F. C- Canterbury—Kowai River, Haast! Upper Waimakariri and Broken River, Kirk! T. F. C. Otago —Kyeburn Crossing, Maniototo County, Petrie! 1000–3000 ft. November–December.

Separated from R. tenuicaulis by the shorter leaves with broad bases and ovate-subulate tips, and by the narrower few-flowered heads.

South Island: Not uncommon in dry gravelly and sandy places in Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago. Sea-level to 3500 ft. November–January.

Easily recognised by the uniform greyish-white colour, linear spreading and recurved leaves, and narrow heads with brown-tipped involucral scales.

R. glabra, Hook. f. -Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 135.—Stems long, slender, prostrate, much branched, forming lax patches 3–24 in. across; branches ascending, 1–3 in. long. Leaves pale yellow-page 331green, laxly imbricated or somewhat remote, spreading or erecto-patent, ⅛–⅕ in. long, linear-ligulate or linear-oblong, acute or obtuse, flat or nearly so, 1-nerved, glabrous or slightly silky, sometimes with a minute pencil of hairs at the tip. Heads rather large, ¼–⅓ in. diam.; involucral bracts in 3–4 series; outer green, ovate-oblong, acuminate; inner longer, linear-oblong, with white radiating tips. Florets numerous, 30–50; female in 2 series, rather less in number than the hermaphrodite ones. Achene puberulous. Pappus-hairs copious, soft, not thickened at the tips.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 149; Kirk, Students' Fl. 303.

North Island: Tararua and Rimutaka Mountains, descending almost to sea-level to the north of Cape Palliser. South Island: Abundant throughout in mountain districts. Ascends to 4000 ft. December–January.

South Island: Abundant in mountain districts throughout. 1000–4500 ft. December–January.

Very closely allied to R. glabra, but generally recognised without difficulty by the more compact habit, silky leaves, rather larger heads with more conspicuous white tips to the inner involucral bracts, and by the pappus-hairs being slightly thickened above.

South Island: Canterbury — Mount Dobson, Lake Tekapo, Mount Ollivier, T. F. C. Otago—Mount Alta, Buchanan! Lake Wanaka, Hector Mountains, Old Man Range, Ida Valley, and elsewhere in Central Otago, Petrie! 2500–5500 ft. December–January.

Mr. Petrie's specimens and my own agree with Mr. Buchanan's figure, and exactly match a specimen which he gave me from Mount Alta, the original locality. In Mr. Kirk's herbarium it is placed under Helichrysum Youngii; but that species differs widely in the larger leaves clothed with softer tomentum, much larger heads with very much longer acute inner involucral bracts, and in the more numerous florets.

South Island: Nelson—Mountains above the Wairau Gorge, Sinclair, T. F. C. Canterbury—Mountains above Arthur's Pass, T. F. C.; Rangitata Valley, Armstrong! Otago—Lake district, Hector and Buchanan! Hector Mountains, Mount Pisa, Mount Tyndall, Petrie! 4000–6500 ft. December–January.

A well-marked species, not closely related to any other.

South Island: Nelson—Mount Peel, T. F. C. Canterbury—Mount Torlesse, Haast, Kirk! Enys! Petrie! Cockayne! T. F. C.; Mount Dobson, Haast, T. F. C.; Mount Cook district, T. F. C. Otago—Lake district, Buchanan! Mount Ida Range, Petrie! 4000–6000 ft. December–January.

A most remarkable plant. It is probably not uncommon in alpine situations all along the eastern side of the Southern Alps from Nelson to Otago, but I have only quoted those localities from whence I have seen flowering specimens. In a barren state it is very easy to confound it with R. mammillaris.

There are several forms closely related to R. eximia respecting which further information is much wanted. Mr. Townson sends a variety from Mount Frederic, near Westport, remarkable for the branches being quite flat at the tips, and so closely compacted that the tips show on the even surface of the hummock like mosaic. On the other hand, specimens collected by myself in the Mount Cook district are much less dense, the tips of the branches forming conspicuous mammillary knobs. I have seen no specimens of Mr. Kirk's var. lata, apparently distinguished by the broader and shorter less closely imbricate leaves. Nor are there any specimens in his herbarium of R. Brownii, Kirk, provisionally separated from B. eximia on account of the linear-oblong acute leaves.

Var. mollis, Buch. ex Kirk, Students' Fl. 305.—Smaller and not so rigid. Leaves not so closely imbricated, broader and softer, cottony at the base, not so silvery at the tip. Heads smaller. Florets 6–10. Achenes glabrous. Perhaps a distinct species.

South Island: Canterbury—Mount Dobson Range, T. F. C. Otago—Lake district, Hector and Buchanan 1 Mount St. Bathans, Hector Mountains, Mount Pisa, Ben Lomond, Petrie! 4000–6500 ft. December–January. Var. mollis: Mount St. Bathans, Petrie!

North and South Islands: Frequent in mountain districts from the East Cape and Taupo to Foveaux Strait. 3000–6000 ft. December–January.

This has a different habit to any of the other species included in the genus, and would be far more appropriately placed in Helichrysum.

South Island: Canterbury — Mount Dobson Eange, T. F. C. Otago— Mount Ida and Mount St. Bathans, Petrie! 3500–5500 ft. December–January.

A remarkably distinct species, at once recognised by the loosely tufted habit, long slender branches, spreading and recurved leaves, and numerous florets.

South Island: Nelson—Mount Starveall, Bryant ("Students' Flora"). Canterbury—Mount Torlesse, Haast (Handbook). Otago—Alps of the Lake district, Buchanan! 4000–6000 ft. Vegetable sheep.

The conspicuous white radiating tips to the inner involucral bracts distinguish this at a glance from B. eximia, but in the absence of flowers it is by no means easy to separate the two species. The leaves of R. mammillaris, however, are shorter and broader, with shorter hairs which do not project so far beyond the tip of the leaf as in R. eximia. The only specimens I have seen are Mr. Buchanan's, which are in full flower, and unmistakable. The Mount Starveall locality is given on the authority of Mr. Kirk, but there are no specimens from thence in his herbarium.

North Island: Mount Holdsworth, Tararua Range, alt. 4500 ft., Buchanan! T. P. Arnold! January.

I have only seen very imperfect specimens of this, and the above description is mainly founded on that originally published by Buchanan. Its nearest ally appears to be R. mammillaris.

South Island: Otago—Mount Alta, Buchanan!

A very remarkable plant, the exact position of which must remain doubtful until the flowers have been observed. It is probably nearest to P. Goyeni. The leaves differ from those of any other species in the broad truncate tips densely hairy above, but glabrous and wrinkled beneath.

Stewart Island: Rakiahua, P. Goyen! Kirk! Smith's Lookout and Mount Anglem, Kirk! 1000–3300 ft.

South Island: Common on the mountains of Nelson and Marlborough. Canterbury—Mount Torlesse, Cockayne! Black Range, T. F. C.; Craigieburn Mountains, Petrie! Otago—Mount Pisa and the Hector Mountains, Petrie! 3500–6500 ft. December–January.

Easily distinguished from R. eximia, R. mammillaris, &c, by the hairs on the leaves not enveloping them so as to conceal their shape.