Flora of New Zealand Series

D. spathulata Smith in Rees Cyclop. 12, 1809, n. 2.

Dioec. glab. shrub or tree up to 6 m. tall or occ. much more, but us. flowering when ± 2 m. tall; sts prostrate in coastal strongly insolated places. Bark reddish brown, falling in flakes; young branchlets compressed to triangular, viscid. Lvs alt. to subopp., occ. three close-set, on petioles up to 10 mm. long. Lamina thinly coriac., ± 4-10 × 1-3 cm., pale green, entire, narrow-obovate to narrow-elliptic, obtuse (rarely subacute, sts minutely retuse) gradually narrowed to base. Infl. a terminal rather densely fld panicle, ± 3-4 cm. long. Fls greenish to yellowish or reddish, on pubescent pedicels ± 4 mm. long. ♂ with 4 c. oblong sepals; 8-10 stamens, filaments very short. ♀ with 4 narrower sepals; style 2-fid, far exserted. Capsule ± 15 × 15 mm. including broad wings, compressed. Sts 3 wings are present.

DIST.: N., S., Ch. Coastal and lowland from North Cape to Banks Peninsula on east and a little south of Greymouth on west. Akeake.

FL. 9-1. FT. 11-3.

As understood at present D. viscosa is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions and has many forms. Radlkofer (Pflanzenr. 98g, 1933, 1369) places a Berggren specimen from Bay of Islands and a Cockayne specimen from Chatham Id under his var. vulgaris (lvs of obovate to oblong order), and a specimen collected by H. H. Travers near Wellington under his var. angustifolia (lvs of linear-lanceolate order).