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Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
4. Astelia, Banks and Sol
4. Astelia, Banks and Sol.
Large or small densely tufted perennial herbs, usually more or less clothed with silky or chaffy hairs or scales. Leaves numerous, linear, all radical or crowded near the base of the stem, with broad imbricate sheathing bases. Flowering stem or scape usually long, panicled above and many-flowered, rarely short and few-flowered, usually densely silky or woolly. Flowers small, dioecious. Perianth persistent, 6-partite; segments subequal, connate at the base into a short hemispherical tube or distinct, spreading or reflexed. Male flowers: Stamens 6, affixed to the base of the segments; filaments filiform; anthers oblong or linear-oblong. Eudimentary ovary pre-page 709sent. Female flowers: Staniinodia present. Ovary sessile, broadly ovoid or oblong, 1-celled with 3 parietal placentas, or 3-celled with the placentas in the axis; ovules numerous on each placenta; style very short; stigma 3-lobed. Fruit an indehiscent more or less fleshy oblong or ovoid or subglobose berry. Seeds several, ovoid or oblong, straight or curved, terete or angular; testa black, crus-taceous; embryo small, cylindric; albumen fleshy.
A small genus of 12 or 13 species, with its headquarters in New Zealand, hut with 1 species in south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, 1 in Fiji, 2 or 3 in the Sandwich Islands, and 1 in antarctic America. In New Zealand it forms a prominent part of the vegetation, especially in the northern forests, to which one or two of the species often give a peculiar aspect. The species are by no mea.ns easy of discrimination, partly from a certain amount of similarity in the foliage, and partly from the flowers being diœcious, thus making it difficult to match the sexes. When dealing with fresh specimens these difficulties in great measure disappear, particularly if due attention is paid to the structure of the ovary and the size and shape of the ripe fruit, both of which afford excellent characters. The student will find some valuable remarks on this point in Mr. Kirk's notes on the genus, published in Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. iv., pp. 241–247. With respect to the remarkable diversity existing in the genus in the placentation of the ovary, reference should be made to the "Flora Antarctica," Vol. ii., p. 357.
In the following arrangement I have adopted Hooker's identification of the two species originally described by Cunningham. But Cunningham's diagnoses, such as they are, do not satisfactorily match Hooker's plants, and it has been suggested that he had other species in his mind. The question is one which cannot be settled, if settled at all, without reference to Cunningham's collections, all of which are outside the colony, and beyond my reach. But taking into account Hooker's remarks in the "Flora of New Zealand" (Vol. i., p. 251), where he says, "Cunningham confused all the species and sexes, examined none, and referred at random to Banks and Solander's drawings and notes, substituting names of his own for theirs," it appears highly doubtful whether such an examination would be at all conclusive. An alteration of the present nomenclature, which has received universal acceptance, would be a matter much to be deplored.
I have had much trouble with the species, 10 in all, describad by Colenso in the Trans. N.Z. Inst. Unfortunately, few of them are repr.-sented by named specimens in his herbarium; and his descriptions are so vague, and so much overloaded with trivial details, that it is difficult to come to an opinion respecting them. But I can see no grounds for supp sing that they ara really distinct, or represent anything more than individual differences.
A. Berry 1-celled. Ovules attached to 3 parietal placentas.
Small, subalpine. Leaves 1–8 in., glabrous or scaly. Scape few-flowered. Berry oblong, ⅓–½ in. long 1. A. linearis. Leaves 2–5 ft. x ½–1 in., glabrous or silky. Scape panicled, many-flowered; female prostrate in fruit. Berry globose, ⅕ in. diam. Seeds terete 2. A. Cunning-hamii. B. Berry 3-celled. Ovules attached to the inner angles of the cells.
* Perianth not enlarged or coloured in fruit.
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Leaves 2–6 ft. x ½–1½ in., not conspicuously 3-nerved. Female scape stout, erect in fruit. Flowers ¼ in. long. Berry⅓ in. long, ovoid, purplish-black. Seeds angled 3. A. Banksii.
Leaves 3–6 ft. x ¾–1¾ in., conspicuously 3-nerved and plaited. Female scape prostrate in fruit. Flowers ¼ in. long. Berry⅓ in. diam., globose, red 4. A. trinervia. Leaves 2–5 ft. x 1½–2½ in., conspicuously 3-nerved, not plaited. Flowers large, narrow, ½ in. long. Female scape not prostrate in fruit. Berry ⅕ in. diam., globose, red 5. A. Solandri. ** Perianth enlarged in fruit, coloured within.
Leaves 2–6 ft. x ½–4 in., 3-nerved. Flowers ⅓ in. long, dark purplish-green. Female scape very stout, erect in fruit. Berry ovoid-globose, ½–⅔ in. diam., orange-yellow 6. A. nervosa.
| 1. | A. linearis, Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 76.—A small densely tufted herb. Rhizome creeping, branched, clothed with the shaggy bases of the old leaves. Leaves terminating the branches of the rhizome, all radical, crowded, spreading, 1–8 in. long, 1/10–½ in. broad, narrow-linear, acute or acuminate, sheathing at the base,. thick and coriaceous, nerved, often channelled above, slightly keeled beneath, margins recurved, both surfaces clothed when young with silvery or reddish-brown erect or appressed scales, becoming almost glabrous when old; sheaths broad, appressed, membranous, scarious, thickly covered with narrow hyaline silvery scales. Male flowers: Scape slender, equalling the leaves or shorter than them, simple or forked, 3–9-flowered; bracts 1–2, linear-elongate; pedicels rather long, slender. Perianth-segments silky externally, spreading or reflexed, knobbed at the tip. Fila- ments much shorter than the segments; anthers oblong. Rudi- mentary ovary broad, narrowed into a short thick style. Female flowers: Scape very short, almost concealed at the base of the leaves, 1–5-flowered. Perianth-segments longer and narrower, erect. Staminodia present, minute. Ovary large, narrow oblong- ovoid, 1-celled; stigma-sessile, 3-lobed; ovules numerous, attached in 2 series to 3 parietal placentas. Berry large for the size of the- plant, ⅓–½ in. long, narrow-oblong, obscurely trigonous, fleshy, red- Seeds obovoid, not angled, smooth, black, shining.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 284. A. minima, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst, xxviii. (1896) 611.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Auckland and Campbell. Islands: Moist ground in subalpine localities from, the East Cape and Ruapehu southwards, not uncommon. Usually from 3000 ft. to 5000 ft, but descends to sea-level in Stewart Island and the Auckland Islands. November–January. |
| 2. | A. Cunninghamii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 259.—A densely tufted species, epiphytic or terrestrial. Leaves numerous, 2–5 ft. long, ½–1 in. broad at the middle, drawn out into a long acuminate point, contracted below, and then gradually widened into a broad sheathing base, rigid and coriaceous, glabrous or sparingly silky above, clothed with a thin silvery pellicle beneath, midrib and mar- gins silky, nerves 10–12, usually one stronger than the rest on each page 711side of the midrib, or sometimes a prominent bundle of 2–3 placed close together; margins recurved; sheathing base clothed with long dense white silky hairs. Male flowers: Scape 1–3 ft. long, very slender at the base, stouter above, trigonous, shaggy throughout with silky white hairs, panicled above; branches numerous, slender, often flexuous and interlaced; bracts long, leafy. Flowers numer-ous, small, ⅙ in. long, greenish-yellow or reddish-yellow or maroon. Perianth-segments lanceolate, acuminate, spreading or reflexed, the 3 outer rather larger than the inner. Stamens about half as long as the segments; anthers small, broadly oblong. Female flowers: Scape shorter, with a smaller and more closely branched panicle, branches shorter and more erect. Flowers rather smaller; segments not so spreading. Ovary ovoid-globose, 1-celled; ovules attached to 3 parietal placentas. Berry red, globose, ⅕ in. diam. Seeds linear-oblong, curved, terete, not angled.—Handb, N.Z. Fl 283. A. polyneuron, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 333. (?)A. graminifolia, Col. l.c. xix. (1887) 267. Hamelinia veratroides, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 158, t. 24, excl. fig. c. d.
Var. Hookeriana, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iv. (1872) 244.—Smaller and more slender, seldom exceeding 3 ft. Scape very slender; branches of male panicle seldom interlacing. Flowers rather smaller, claret-coloured. Berry nearly black, placentas very feebly developed. North Island: Abundant in woods throughout. South Island: Nelson —Near Collingwood, Travers; Westport, Townson! Charlestown, Kirk! Sea-level to 2500 ft. Kowharawhara. December–January; ripe fruit November–December. Var. Hookeriana: Lava-fields on the Auckland Isthmus, Rangi-toto Island, Little Barrier Island, &c. April–June; ripe fruit May–June. Very near to A. Banksii in habit and general appearance, but widely differ-ing in the 1-celled ovary and small globose berry with terete seeds. I have quoted A. Richard's Hamelinia veratroides as a synonym, bis drawing of the female panicle exactly corresponding; but the section of the ovary given is that of A. Banksii, probably through some confusion of specimens. |
| 3. | A. Banksii, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 296. — A large densely tufted terrestrial or rupestral species. Leaves very numerous, closely packed, erect, 2–6 ft. long, ½–1½ in. broad at the middle, narrow-linear, tapering into a long acuminate point, narrowed below and then gradually expanded into a broad sheathing base, glabrous or slightly scurfy above, clothed with a thin silvery pellicle beneath, with 3–6 distinct and equally prominent nerves on each side of the midrib; margins recurved; sheathing base most densely clothed with long soft silky hairs. Male flowers: Scape slender at the base, stouter above, trigonous, excessively shaggy with dense white silky hairs, panicled; branches numerous, slender, often flexuous, 4–9 in. long; bracts at the base leafy, with long slender points. Flowers many, about ¼ in. long; perianth-segments ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, spreading, the 3 outer larger than the inner. Stamens shorter than the segments; filaments subulate; page 712anthers oblong. Female flowers: Scape shorter and stouter; branches shorter, crowded, more erect. Flowers smaller; peri-anth-segments ovate-oblong, acute, erect. Ovary ovoid-conical, 3-celled; ovules pendulous from the inner angle of each cell;. stigmas 3, sessile. Berry ovoid, ⅓ in. long, purplish-black when fully ripe, reddish-purple when immature. Seeds sharply angled; testa black.—Raoul, Choix, 40; Hook. f. Fi. Nov. Zel. i. 260; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 284.
North Island: From the North Cape to Hawke's Bay and Taranaki;: usually near the coast. Sea-level to 2500 ft. April; ripe fruit February to March. Usually taller and stouter than A. Cunninghamii, with larger broader-leaves, larger flowers, and much stouter female scape, erect in fruit. The ovary is essentially different, being 3-celled, with the ovules attached to the inner angles of the cells; and the large ovoid berry, with its angled seeds, is altogether unlike the small globose one of A. Cunninghamii, with its terete seeds. It is an abundant plant on the coast-line of the northern half of the North Island, often forming a large portion of the undergrowth on wooded headlands or steep declivities near the sea. |
| 4. | A. trinervia, T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iv. (1872) 246.— A large densely tufted terrestrial species. Leaves numerous, 3–6 ft. long or even more, ¾–1¾ in. broad at the middle, tapering into a long attenuated point, narrowed below and then gradually ex- panded into a broad sheathing base, not so coriaceous as in A. Banksii, pale-green, plaited, glabrous above, clothed with a thin silvery pellicle beneath, conspicuously 3-nerved with less evident, nerves between; margins broadly recurved; sheathing base clothed with long white silky hairs. Male flowers: Scape long, slender, densely shaggy with white silky hairs, panicled; branches slender, flexuous and often interlaced, 6–12 in. long or more; bracts large, foliaceous. Flowers numerous, ¼ in. long; perianth - segments- lanceolate, acuminate, spreading. Stamens shorter than the seg- ments; filaments slender; anthers oblong. Female flowers: Scape as in the male but panicle smaller with fewer, shorter, and more erect branches. Flowers smaller; perianth-segments shorter, erect. Ovary globose, 3-celled; ovules pendulous from the inner- angles of the cells; stigmas 3, sessile. Fruiting-scape usually prostrate. Berry globose, ⅓ in. diam., bright-red. Seeds sharply angled, testa black.
North Island: In woods from the North Cape to Wellington, very plentiful north of the East Cape and Taupo. South Island: Marlborough - Eai Valley, Macmahon! Sea-level to 3000 ft. Kauri-grass. March–May; ripe fruit. February and March. Separated from A. Banksii by the larger size and less rigid habit, broader and softer pale-green conspicuously 3-nerved and plaited leaves, prostrate fruit-ing-scape, and red globose berry. |
| 5. | A. Solandri, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 297.—Large, densely tufted, often forming immense clumps on the limbs and trunks of forest-page 713trees or on rocks. Leaves very numerous, spreading and recurved, 2–5 ft. long,1½–3 in. wide at the middle, linear-ensiform, narrowed above into a long acuminate point, suddenly expanded below into a sheathing base sometimes 4–5 in. across, conspicuously 3-nerved, glabrous and deeply channelled in front, keeled and with a thin white silvery pellicle beneath; sheathing base black, at the extreme base white and fleshy, glabrous or clothed with copious long white silky hairs. Male flowers: Scape stout, much shorter than the leaves, densely silky below, panicled; branches few, 5–8, simple, 3–9 in. long, 1 in. broad with the flowers on; bracts at the base of the branches very large, leafy, acuminate. Flowers very numerous, densely crowded, ½ in. long, pale lemon-yellow; pedicels slender, ¼ in., each subtended by a linear bract. Perianth 6-partite; seg-ments reflexed, linear, obtuse, silky externally. Stamens as long as the segments; anthers linear, erect, sagittate at the base. Female flowers: Scape stout, branched as in the male; but branches longer and more slender, sometimes 12–14 in. long by ¾ in. diam., usually drooping in fruit. Flowers much smaller; perianth with a hemispherical tube closely surrounding the ovary; segments reflexed. Ovary globose, 3-celled; ovules numerous, attached to the inner angles of the cells. Berry rather, small, ⅕ in. diam., globose, bright-red. Seeds small, obovoid, slightly curved, not angled, black.—Raoul, Choix, 40; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 260; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 284; Bot. Mag. t. 5503. A. micro-sperma, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvii. (1885) 251. A. albicans, Col. l.c. 252. A. hastata, Col. l.c. xix. (1887) 265.
North Island: Abundant in forests throughout. South Island: Marl-borough—Queen Charlotte Sound, Banks and Solander; Pelorus Valley, Rutland, Macmahon! Nelson—Common on the West Coast, from Collingwood southwards. Sea-level to 2700 ft. Kahakaha. January–February. A very distinct species, at once known by the broad almost glabrous 3-nerved leaves with a nearly black sheathing base, by the densely placed flowers, the males being much longer and narrower than in any other species, and by the small red globose berry. It is a conspicuous plant in all the forests districts of the North Island, from its habit of growing perched high up on the limbs of tall forest-trees, where it forms huge tufts resembling the nests of some gigantic bird, for which, in fact, it was mistaken when first seen by Cook and his officers in 1769. |
| 6. | A. nervosa, Banks and Sol. ex Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 260.—Stout, densely tufted, often forming large masses in moist or boggy ground. Leaves numerous, spreading, 2–5 or even up to 8 ft. long, ½–3 in. broad, or in large specimens as much as 4 in., linear - lanceolate or linear - ensiform, acuminate, dilated at the sheathing base, coriaceous, many-nerved, one nerve on each side stouter than the rest and with the midrib often coloured red, glabrous above or rarely silky, beneath more or less scurfy or clothed with silky appressed hairs, rarely almost glabrous; margins recurved, usually silky; sheathing base densely villous with long page 714silky hairs. Male flowers: Scape very stout, erect, 6 in. to 2 ft. long, thickening upwards to the base of the panicle, where it is sometimes1½ in. diam., obtusely triquetrous, lower portion shaggy with copious long silky hairs, upper part silky or glabrate. Panicle 4–16 in. long, much branched; bracts very long, lanceolate, acu-minate. Flowers scattered, dark-green or purplish-green, sweet-scented,⅓–½ in. diam.; pedicels 1/10–⅙ in. long. Perianth-segments ovate-lanceolate, spreading, ultimately reflexed. Stamens equalling the segments; filaments subulate; anthers broadly oblong. Female flowers: Scape as in the male but shorter; panicle much shorter and more compact; branches short, stiff, erect. Flowers-smaller, crowded, purplish-black, pedicels very short. Perianth segments smaller, reflexed. Ovary broadly conical, faintly grooved,. 3-celled; ovules numerous, attached to the inner angle of the cells. Berry globose, ½–⅔ in. diam., orange-yellow, base enclosed in the persistent and enlarged tube of the perianth, which is also-coloured yellow inside. Seeds 2–5 in each cell, smooth, black, sharply angled. — Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 284. A. grandis,. Hook./. ex T. Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. iv. (1872) 245. A. fragrans, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xv. (1883) 333.
Var. montana, Kirk, MS.—Smaller in all its parts. Leaves rigid, usually silky on both surfaces, sometimes villous. Scape shorter and panicle smaller, but flowers apparently the same as in the type.—A. Petriei, Cockayne in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxxi. (1899) 419. North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands: Abund-ant throughout. Sea-level to 4500 ft. October–January. An excessively variable plant. Banks and Solander's description and draw-ing, which must be taken to represent the type, exactly match a large broad-leaved form, common in many lowland districts in both the North and South Islands, which has been described as a distinct species under the name of A. grandis. Sylvestral states of this have longer and narrower softer leaves, with a longer and more slender male panicle, but the flowers and fruit present no differences of importance. At higher altitudes, and particularly in exposed localities, the leaves are smaller, narrower, and often rigid, and usually much more silky or villous than the type. Further research may disclose characters sufficient to separate this as a species. |