Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: "Dry woods on the shores of the Bay of Islands". Type: K, A. Cunningham, 1826.

Slender rather sparingly branched glab. shrub up to ± 1 m. tall; branchlets spreading, reddish. Lvs on rather slender petioles ± 6 mm. long. Lamina submembr., elliptic-cuneate to obovate-elliptic; (4)-5-10-(14) × 2-3-(4) cm.; ± glaucous below; bluntly crenate-dentate to coarsely and distantly lobed, the different forms often on same plant. Infl. of 2-5-fld fascicles or fls solitary. Fls 10-15-(20) mm. long; calyxlobes 4-5, triangular, acute. Corolla-tube slightly flaring, crimson; lobes 4-5, greenish to reddish, acute, Berry broad-oblong in outline, red, 7-10 × 5-7 mm.

Also recorded by Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 881) from "Marlborough(Rai Valley, J. Rutland; Pelorus Sound, J. H. Macmahon; Mount Stokes, T. Kirk," The specimens from South Id that I have seen are referable rather to A. pusilla Col.

DIST.: N. Lowland forests from lat. 35º to 39º 30'. Further distribution uncertain.

FL. 8-7. FT. 9-1-?

Cunningham (loc. cit. 210) describes his A. ilex thus: "foliis elliptico-oblongis subacuminatis obtusis integerrimis lobatisve, floribus lateralibus terminalibusve fasciculato-racemosis, ramulis glabris . . . Shaded woods in the country between the Bay of Islands and Hokianga River.(1826, A. Cunningham.(1833, R. Cunningham." The type material at K is in very poor condition; lamina 4-5 × 2.5-4 cm. (some broken lvs appear to be much longer); margins very irregularly coarsely lobed or toothed. I have not been able to match it very closely with specimens in N.Z. herbaria, and the sp. was probably based on hybrid material, perhaps banksii × quercifolia.

Kirk (Stud. Fl. 1899, 227) described his var. glauca thus: "Erect, spreading, 3 ft.-5 ft. high; branches slender. Leaves oblong-obovate, 2 in.-3 in. long, 3/4 in.-1 in. broad, glaucous beneath, entire. Flowers few, restricted to the upper axils. Marlborough: Pelorus Sound, McMahon! Mount Stokes T.K. Rai Valley Rutland! Ascends to 2,800 ft". In Kirk's herbarium in W I have found only a scrap determined by him as var. glauca. This is a terminal shoot with six lvs ("Rai Valley, 20/11/1876, T. Kirk"). Lamina 3·5-8 x 1·5-2.5 cm., elliptic-obovate, subentire, apiculate; berry (dry state) 7 mm. long. It seems referable to A. pusilla.