Flora of New Zealand Series

E. quadrilobata Col. in T.N.Z.I.  15,  1883,  325.

E. aestivalis Cheesem. in T.N.Z.I.  51,  1919,  93.

Original locality: Bay of Islands. Type: "For the fine specimens of this we are indebted to Mr Cunningham".

Plant at fl. to 100 cm. long, us. less. Stem us. drooping, completely clad in sheathing lf-bases. Lf-sheaths c. 2–3 mm. diam., not split, forming tube-in-tube structure, each covering the lower third to half of the one above and flattened in the plane of the ± distichous lvs, the exposed surfaces pale with small dark spots; lamina 6–15–(20) cm. × 4–6 mm., widest near base and tapering very gradually to acute, minutely acicular tip, soon falling and leaving lower half of stem with lf-sheaths only. Rhizome slender, pale except for dark nodes. Panicle to c. 10 cm. long, drooping; racemes 2–6–(10), well spaced on very slender axis, each 3–4 cm. long; floral bracts c. 4 mm. long, barely overlapping, longitudinally ridged, hiding short pedicel. Per. c. 10–12 mm. diam., opening widely, pale, slightly greenish cream. Sepals elliptic, subacute. Petals slightly broader and more obtuse. Labellum much broader and more showy, yellowish to apricot, spreading widely in fl., broadly oblong in overall outline, broad proximal part connected by narrow isthmus with almost equally large distal lobe; near base 2 inconspicuous ridges lead down to small pit (nectary?). Column much shorter, narrow to base, wings obsolete; pollinia long-oval.

DIST.: N., S., St., Ch.

Epiphytic on forest trees, occ. rupestral.

FL. 9–11–(5).

E. quadrilobata. From immediate base of Ruahine Range, east side (rupestral), from Norsewood (epiphytical) and from heights of Mount Kaweka, near Napier. Type: In Herb. Colenso are sheets annotated by Cheeseman as type of E. quadrilobata from Norsewood, H.B.: WELT 22612, 22613, 24266. WELT 24266B has a packet labelled by Colenso E. quadrilobata and containing capsule and fl.-dissections. All appear to belong to E. mucronata.

E. aestivalis. From Muriwai, January 17, 1915. Type: AK 3310, T. F. Cheeseman, flowering and non-flowering shoots. Also recorded by Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 335) from "Mongonui County, in forest near Ahipara, H. B. Matthews! and at Kaiaka, H. Carse! In forest near Muriwai, and near the mouth of the Waitakere River, T.F.C. Forest by the Waikanae River, Wellington, B. H. Morison! Sea-level to 1500 ft. January-February". "The distinguishing characters––viz. stouter and stiffer habit, broader and more rigid leaves, larger flowers, longer lip with broader lateral lobes, and stouter column––are constant throughout". Populations near the coast display some or all of these characters, but not necessarily all together, and most of these characters can be easily altered under cultivation, as can flowering time. Hatch (T.R.S.N.Z. 78, 1950, 102) has recorded very irregular flowering times within single plants, and this can be confirmed. The inter-population differences do not seem to warrant specific recognition; if they did, the type of E. mucronata would need to be examined critically to ascertain to which of the taxa that name belongs and the name E. quadrilobata would have to be precisely allocated. Lindley writes of Cunningham's observations "flowering in September and October, which in New Zealand is the season of spring" and from this circumstance he "contrived the generic name". E. quadrilobata was recorded as flowering in November.