Floral Characters of Pittosporum dallii Cheeseman

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 84, 1956-57, Page 640

Floral Characters of Pittosporum dallii Cheeseman By Judith A. Hay [Received by the Editor March 8, 1956.] Flowers of Pittosporum dallii are described from life and figured for the first time. The flowers of this species have seldom been seen, the only herbarium specimens being those collected by F. G. Gibbs, in 1913, which are now in poor condition owing to insect attack. They have never been figured nor described from living specimens. The description in Cheeseman's Manual is evidently taken from dried specimens, as the petals are not “conspicuously veined” in living flowers. The fruits were described and figured by L. B. Moore and N. M. Adams, in 1947. Two well-grown trees of Pittosporum dallii growing on the Cobb Ridge, North-west Nelson, above the State Hydro-electric dam workings, were first recognized as such by G. B. Petterson in November, 1951. His specimens are in the Botany Division Herbarium. This is the first record of the species at any distance from the type locality, Boulder Lake, which, measured on a map, is 16 miles away to the north-west. The territory between is rugged and mountainous, with the Haupiri, Anatoki, Snowden and Lockett ranges intervening. One of these trees has since been destroyed by bulldozing, as it was growing near the levelled area on which the concrete-mixing machinery stands, but many young saplings have been noted in the vicinity. A single fruiting inflorescence had been found on the other tree at the time of the first discovery, and this tree has been under observation by interested persons every summer since, in the hope of finding it in flower. So far it has been found to bear only one inflorescence in a summer, or none at all, though it is quite a large tree, about 16 feet high, with a trunk 6 inches in diameter. In early January of this year, 1956, Mr. K. H. Marshall found and brought back a solitary flowering spray from which the following description and drawing were made. The specimen has been deposited in the Botany Division Herbarium. Description. Inflorescence terminal on a branchlet, a small dense compound cyme about 6 cm diameter consisting of a central peduncle bearing 9 irregularly placed pedicels, and 5 radial peduncles each bearing 2 to 4 terminal pedicels. Radial peduncles 2 to 7 mm long, 2 mm thick; pedicels about 15 mm long, 1 mm thick; peduncles and pedicels pale green and thinly pubescent. Bracts brownish, membranous, lanceolate, attenuate at tips, 1 to 1.5 cm long, 0.5 to 2 mm broad, the broader ones nearer the base of the inflorescence. Flowers creamy-white, very fragrant, in appearance and fragrance similar to those of P. eugenioides, but larger; 1.5 cm diameter when first opened but the petals elongating further to give a final diameter of 2 cm. Sepals brownish, membranous, narrow-linear-subulate, attenuate at tips, 4 to 5 mm long. Petals spreading from the base, opaque creamy-white, linear-oblong, rounded at the tips, 7 mm long and flat when first expanded, later elongating to 10 mm and becoming slightly curled and twisted. Stamens spreading; filaments white, 7 mm long, anthers yellow, 2 mm long. Ovary pale green, very shortly stalked, oblong, 2 to 3 mm long, 1 mm diameter, narrowed to a slender style 2 mm long crowned with a small rounded knob-like stigma. N.B.—The leaves vary on different trees, or on the same tree, from sharply and coarsely serrate to entire or with only one or few serrations. Most of the specimens in cultivation are from Duncan and Davies nurseries, propagated from a tree originally collected by F. G. Gibbs These have almost all the leaves entire. All the trees which I have seen in the wild have several to many serrations on the leaves. References Cheeseman, T. F., 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora ed. 1, p. 1134 (Appendix). Wellington. ——, 1925. Manual of the New Zealand Flora ed 2, p. 496, Wellington. Moore, L. B., and Adams, N. M., 1947. Fruit characters of Pittosporum dallii Cheesemn Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z. Vol. 77, Part 2, pp. 250–252, Plate 33. Mrs. G. B. Petterson, M.Sc. West Road, Takaka, Golden Bay.

Pittosporum dalli Cheeseman 1.—Branchlet bearing inflorescence. Slightly reduced. 2 and 3.—Two views of a newly opened flower. Magnified.