Art. IV.—Description of a New Celmisia.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 46, 1913, Page 21

Art. IV.—Description of a New Celmisia. By T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., Curator of the Auckland Museum [Read before the Auckland Institute, 3rd December, 1913.] Early in January, 1912, I received a packet of plants collected by Mr. P. G. Morgan, the Director of the Geological Survey, in the Westport district, and among the specimens I at once noticed a curious Clemisia. that appeared to possess indubitable claims to be considered a distinct species. Unfortunately, Mr. Morgan has not been able to recall the exact locality in which he gathered the plant, but as it must be somewhere in the narrow district between Westport and the Ngakawau River the want of more precise knowledge is not of very great, importance. Mr. Morgan has done excellent service in collecting the plants of north-west Nelson, and I have pleasure in dedicating the species to him. Celmisia Morgani Cheesen. n. sp. C. longifolia Cass. var. graminifolia T. Kirk affinis, sed differt foliis flaccidis, multo majoribus et latioribus. Folia numerosa, 15–50 cm. longa, 1·2–4 cm. lata, lineari-lanceolata, acuminata, membranacea, flaccida, supra glabrata, subtus sericeo-tomentosa et nervo medio prominente. Petioli graciles, basi latissime scarioso-membranacei et proinantes. Scapi 2–4, gratiaes. Oapitula majuscula, 2–3·5 cm. diam. Achaenia glabrata. Hab.—South Island: Between Westport and the Ngakawau River, P. G. Morgan! near the mouth of the Ngakawau River, D. Petrie! (much more coriaceous and tomentose). Leaves numerous, tufted, 6–20 in. long including the petiole, ½–1¼ in. wide; blade narrow linear-lanceolate, narrowed very gradually towards the base into an exceedingly slender petiole, above the middle tapering into an acuminate point, membranous, often almost flaccid, rarely subcoriaceous; upper surface glabrous or nearly so, usually smooth but sometimes furrowed when dry; under-surface clothed with thin white and silvery tomentum through which the veins are frequently visible; midrib evident beneath, often glabrous; petiole long and slender, greenish or greenishpurple, gradually expanded below into a thin and membranous cottony sheath sometimes ½ in. wide de or even more. Scapes several, equalling or exceeding the leaves, very slender, usually more or less white and cottony but sometimes almost glabrous; bracts numerous, narrow-linear, the lowest sometimes 4 in. long, the upper gradually becoming smaller, the uppermost under ½ in. Heads ¾–1½ in. in diameter; involucral bracts linear-subulate, glabrous or cottony, green or purplish-green. Rays numerous, rather long and narrow. Achene linear, glabrous. This clearly belongs to the same group of species as C. longifolia, and is not very far removed from Kirk's variety graminifolia, a plant which I suspect will some day have to be restored to specific rank. But it has much larger broader and thinner leaves, with remarkably slender petioles, and is quite as distinct from. C. longifolia as C. Adamsii and C. linearis. The whole of the forms at present included in C. longifolia require study in the field; and their identification as a species with the original C. longifolia of Australia should be re-examined.