Hoheria sexstylosa Colenso
H. populnea var. lanceolata Hook. f. Fl. N.Z. 1, 1852, 30.
Original localities: "Skirts of woods and thickets, Norsewood, Matamau, and Tahoraiti, County of Waipawa; 1883-84: W.C. Flowering in March and April."
Tree up to c. 6 m. tall; branches rather slender, ascending; indumentum of sparse stellate hairs on older parts, of ± dense stellate hairs on younger parts and infl. Branchlets slender, bark us. dark red brown. Juvenile plant a twiggy shrub with subdivaricate branches; lvs rather distant, on very slender petioles ± 5 mm. long; lamina 10-15-(30) × 10-15-(25) mm., broad-ovate to suborbicular in outline, cuneately narrowed to base, irregularly ± deeply 3-5-lobed or incised, teeth dentate. Adult plant with lvs on pedicels 5-10-(20) mm. long; lamina of lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate order, mostly acuminate (some lvs obtuse to broadly rounded at apex), cuneately narrowed to base, (5)-15 × (1)-5 cm. Fls c. 2 cm. diam. (sts larger), in 2-5-fld cymose fascicles to solitary, on pedicels 2-3 cm. long. Calyx campanulate, ± 6 mm. long, teeth triangular, indumentum us. dense; petals white, obliquely oblong, notched, 10-15 mm. long; styles (5)-6-7, stigmas capitate; anthers white. Carpels (5)-6-7, compressed, wings broad.
DIST.: Lowland to lower montane forests, especially marginally. N. From lat. 36° 30' southwards. S. N.W. Nelson and drainage area of Buller River (mostly in a form with elongate narrow-linear lvs), Banks Peninsula; near Gore, D. Petrie.
FL. 3-4. FT. 4-6.
Colenso's description includes: "Tree erect, 12-14 feet, fastigiate, much branched. Leaves rather distant, glabrous, very variable in size and shape, mostly, however, lanceolate on the main and flowering branches, 2-23/4 inches long, acuminate, sometimes truncated at tips, cuneate . . . sharply and deeply serrate . . . Flowers numerous, white, 1 inch and more diameter . . . mostly 3-4 together . . . calyx . . . lobes large, deltoid-acuminate . . . petals . . . 7 lines long, 3 lines wide . . . anthers . . . white . . . styles 6-7 . . . stigmas capitate . . . ovary . . . 6-7-ridged.
Of the 14 sheets in the Colenso herb. in W, only 2 have original Colenso labels and not one has any indication of locality. There is a heterogenous mixture of lf-forms. The mounted specimen in a cover labelled "H. sexstylosa Col." in Colenso's handwriting is taken as the type. This has petioles 5-7 mm. long; lamina 4-7 × 1·5-3 cm., lanceolate, acuminate, cunately narrowed to base, coarsely and somewhat irregularly serrate-dentate. A few lvs are c. 3 × 1·5 cm., a few smaller and broadly rounded at apex. Pedicels up to ± 2 cm. long, the fls badly damaged by insects.
Kirk (For. Fl. 1889, t. 54) illustrates several forms. In his Stud. Fl. 1899, 71-72 he distributes them as follows, under H. populnea :
"Subsp. lanceolata. Leaves in young state ovate, rounded-ovate or elliptic-ovate, toothed, lobed, or deeply cut; mature state coriaceous, ovate lanceolate or lanceolate, acute or acuminate, sharply toothed. Petioles shorter.- T. Kirk, Forest Fl. N.Z. t. 54, f. 2; t. 55, f. A.
"Var. dentata. Leaves lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, sharply and doubly serrate or dentate. Fascicles 3-4-flowered.- T. Kirk, Forest Fl. N.Z. t. 54 A, f. 1 and 2.
"NORTH and SOUTH Islands: from Whangarei to Canterbury; local in the north. Thousand-jacket. Houhere. Feb. to April.
"Subsp. obtusifolia. Leaves membranous, elliptic-lanceolate or oblong, subacute or obtuse; sharply toothed or spinulose-toothed; petioles short. Fascicles 3-4 flowered.- T. Kirk, Forest Fl. N.Z. t. 54, f. 1; t. 54 A, f. 3.
"NORTH Island: chiefly in the Whanganui district. Dec., Jan."
