Flora of New Zealand Series

Towai, Tawhero.

Type locality: "dry woods" between "Hokianga and the Bay of Islands". Type: BM, A. Cunningham 1826.

Tree up to 15 m. tall or more; trunk up to 1 m. diam.; young branchlets, petioles, peduncles and pedicels ± densely pilose-pubescent. Lvs of seedlings simple to 5-jugate, some pairs trifoliolate, membr.; lflts up to 3 × 1 cm., elliptic to elliptic-obovate in outline, incised-serrate. Lvs of juveniles and of reversion shoots up to 10-jugate, membr.; lflts ovate-elliptic to elliptic or elliptic-oblong, acute to subacute; terminal lflt up to 8 × 3 cm., on petiolule c. 1 cm. long; lateral subsessile, diminishing downward from 6 × 3 cm. to 2.5 × 2 cm. Lvs of adults of two main forms (intermediate forms not infrequent): (a) lflts mostly obtuse, 3-5-foliolate, rarely simple, coriac., bluntly crenate-serrate to serrate, obovate-oblong to broad-elliptic or elliptic; terminal lflt 4-6 × 2-3 cm., on petiolule c. 1 cm. long; lateral 4-3 × 2 cm.;- (b) lvs 3-5-foliolate, rarely simple, coriac., lflts mostly acute to subacute, serrate to crenate-serrate, elliptic; terminal lflt 4-7 × 2-3 cm., lateral 7-4 × 3-2 cm. Racemes 8-12 cm. long, many-fld, pedicels 2-3 mm. long, ∞ axis; sepals c. 1 mm. long, narrow-ovate to subulate-obtuse, persistent; petals c. 1·5 cm. long, ovate to oblong, white to pale rose; stamens exserted; styles 2.5-4 mm. long, persistent. Capsules 4-5 cm. long, glab. or nearly so; seeds with tuft of hairs at apex and base.

DIST.: N. Forest and forest margins from lat. 35° to 38°.

FL. 9-12. FT. 11-2.