Flora of New Zealand Series

Lobelia angulata Forst. f. Prodr. 1786, 58.

L. rugulosa Graham in Edinb. new phil. J. Oct.-Dec. 1829, 186?

Herb, glab. or nearly so; stems slender, sparingly to much branched, creeping, rooting at nodes, ± ascending at tips, forming small to rather large patches. Lvs of diverse dimensions on different plants, on petioles 1-2-(5) mm. long. Lamina ± 3-12 × 1-8 mm., ± orbicular to broad-ovate, us. rather coarsely sinuate-dentate, membr. to sub-succulent. Peduncles slender, > lf, up to 6 cm. long. Fls of diverse dimensions, 7-20 mm. long; calyx-tube ± 2-5 mm. long, lobes narrow-triangular to linear, ± 1·5 mm. long. Corolla white; lobes linear to oblong, with purplish veins; 2 lower anthers awn-tipped. Berry sub-globose to broad-ovoid, ± 7-12 mm. diam., purplish red; seeds ∞.

DIST.: N., S., St. Frequent in lowland to subalpine damp places in open forest, streamsides, grassland and herbfield throughout. FL-

FT. 10-4-(6).

The above is a generalized description. P. angulata, as at present understood, is both polymorphic and plastic. There is some evidence that P. angulata and P. perpusilla may hybridize. In herbaria one may find specimens of Isotoma fluviatilis in folders with the above 2 spp. of Pratia. I have not described any named vars, as I have not seen the type of P. angulata.

Forster (loc. cit.) gives: "Caule prostrato simplicissimo, foliis subrotundis repando-dentatis, pedunculis axillaribus solitariis unifloris. F. Nova Zeelandia." This would apply to most of the forms now known, before branching had commenced. A. Cunningham (Ann. nat. Hist. 2, 1839, 50) cites Lobelia angulata Forst. f. as collected by G. Forster in 1773 ("Middle Island") and by himself "Valley of Wangaroa.(1826". He describes a new sp. thus: "423. L. littoralis (R. Cunn.) procumbens, glaberrima, caulibus adscendentibus gracilibus, foliis subrotundo-ovatis grosse dentatis, pedunculo ebracteato florifero plus duplo brevioribus floribus axillaribus solitariis pedunculis fructiferis valde elongatis . . . On the shores of the Keri Keri and Kana Kana rivers, Bay of Islands.(1834, R. Cunningham." The type specimen, at K, has lvs ± 7 × 5 mm., rather coarsely repand-dentate; frs c. 7 mm. diam., in dry state. Hooker (Fl. N.Z. 1, 1853, 157) treats L. littoralis as a synonym of P. angulata, and describes 2 vars of the latter: "Var α; foliis rotundatis sinuato-dentatis breve petiolatis, pedunculis elongatis. Var.β; elongata, foliis obovatis repando-dentatis, pedunculis longissimis, calycis lobis subulatis."

There is a specimen in K labelled Pratia Treadmanii, "Cult. in Hort. Bot. Reg., A. D. 1932". This was received from the Botanic Garden, Dunedin, under that name. The lvs are ± 5-6 × 3-5 mm., broadly ovate-oblong, rather coarsely dentate in upper half, on petioles ± 1 mm. long; peduncles up to c. 2.5 cm. long; fls ± 15 mm. long. I have not seen specimens or a description of P. rugulosa Graham. Carse (T.N.Z.I. 60, 1930, 307) describes his var. minor thus: "Caules tenues, conferti 3-7 cm. longi. Folia orbiculares vel late oblonga, integra, sub-angulata vel cum 1-2 dentibus obtusis utrinque. Flores illis typi congruentis sed multo minores, circiter 7 mm. longi. Baccae ad illos type similes sed minores . . . Hab., North Island: In various parts of Waimarino Plain in pumice sand." Type: Carse Herb. 1419/1, "In damp pumice sand, Waimarino Plain, late December 1920", in CM.

Three main groups may provisionally be distinguished: (a) stems slender; lvs 10-15 × 10-12 mm., sinuate, bluntly dentate; peduncles ± 4 cm. long; fls 15-20 mm. long; corolla-lobes ± 5 mm. wide. Apparently more common in mid North Id. (b) stems very slender; lvs ± 5-10 × 5-7 mm., sinuate, rather sharply dentate; peduncles ± 3·5 cm. long; fls 10-15 mm. long; corolla-lobes 2-3 mm. wide. Common throughout, (c) stems capillary; lvs ± 2-5 × 1-3 mm., sinuate (sts obscurely so), sparingly dentate; peduncles ± 2 cm. long; fls ± 10 mm. long; corolla-lobes 1-2 mm. wide. Apparently local. Carse's var. minor comes here.

A specimen in W, collected by Kirk at Lake Whangape [Raglan Co.] May 1870, has the final branchlets bearing much reduced lvs densely clad in stiff white hairs, and the fls hardly > 4 mm. long.