Flora of New Zealand Series

D. setifolium Stchegl. in Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. 32, 1859, 23?

Shrub or tree to c.2 m. tall; branches ± fastigiate, slender; bark dark brown to blackish; branchlets very slender, flexible. Lvs with sheaths ± 10-15 mm. long, narrow, margins submembr., passing by truncate to auricled shoulder into filiform, erecto-patent lamina ± (6)-10-16 cm. × 0·5-1 mm.; apex triquetrous. Racemes ± 25 mm. long, (4)-6-9-fld, terminal on slender lateral branchlets. Sepals ± = corolla-tube, broad-ovate, acuminate, margins ciliolate. Corolla-tube c. 5 mm. long, lobes broad-ovate. Capsule 3-4 mm. diam., invested by persistent calyx.

DIST.: N. Us. montane to subalpine shrubland, fellfield, rocky places from Mount Maungapohatu southwards.

Type: Hooker (loc. cit. 170) says: "Hab. Northern Island. Auckland, Stephenson. East Coast, Ruahine mountains etc. Colenso." Oliver (loc. cit. 1952, 10) says: "Type of D. filifolium from Ruahine Range collected by W. Colenso, about 1850, in Kew Herbarium." The type folder at K has 3 sheets: (a) "No. 77, W. Stephenson, N.Z. 1843-4". Pencilled on sheet is

"Auckland". In Lond. J. Bot. 3, 1844, 411 Hooker gives the names of a collection of plants by W. Stephenson, "we believe, all gathered in the neighbourhood of Wellington." No. 77, the only Dracophyllum, is named D. latifolium A. Cunn. The specimen at K appears to be D. filifolium (b) D. virgatum Col., the Olsen specimen. (c) D. pungens Col., the Hill specimen. I did not find the specimen referred to by Oliver.

The sp. has many "forms" as at present understood. Oliver (loc. cit. 1925, 695). under D. filifolium remarks: "This form has been much misunderstood, Cheeseman for instance recording it as occurring from the Bay of Islands to Stewart Island. Evidently several species as defined in this paper are involved in this conception." Cheeseman, however (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 706), gives the distribution of his var. filifolium of D. urvilleanum as "Bay of Islands to Wellington". Hooker (loc. cit.) had emphasized for his sp. "its very slender flexible branches, and almost filiform leaves, 5-8 inches long, arising from comparatively very broad nearly square sheaths, with membranous margins, truncated or almost 2-lobed at the tip."

Colenso describes 3 spp., us. now considered as absolute synonyms of D. filifolium : D. pungens Col. in T.N.Z.I. 28, 1896, 602 from "Ruahine Mountain-range, east side: Mr. H. Hill; 1895." The description includes: "branchlets . . . subopposite and subfascicled, very slender, 1 in.-2 in. long, 1/30 in. wide . . . Leaves erect, subrigid, filiform, 21/2-2 3/4 in. long, 1/2 line wide . . . tips pungent . . . sheaths large. 5 lines long, 2 lines wide . . . Corolla red, campanulate, 4 lines long . . . lobes large, deltoid acuminate". The specimen at K is one small piece. Lamina c. 5 cm. × 1 mm., on sheath ± 7·5 mm. long; bracts c. 5 mm. long. D. virgatum Col. loc. cit. 605 from "Ruahine Mountain-range, east side: Mr. A. Olsen; 1895." The description includes: "branches virgate, 10 in.-14 in. long . . . branchlets . . . slender, 1/20 in. diameter, erect. Leaves pale-green, filiform, 41/2 in. -5 in. long, 1/30 in. wide, acute . . . sheathing bases 1/2 in. long, 2 lines wide . . . auricles acute . . . flowers alternate with 3 (sometimes 4) long leafy bracts at base of raceme . . . Corollao small, dark red". The type sheet, in W, bears Olsen's label (loose) stating that the fls are white; there is no Colenso label. The lvs have subtruncate sheaths c. 9 × 3 mm., laminae c. 9·5 cm. long, filiform, tapering to very fine point. The sheet at K has three small pieces, two with racemes. They compare well with Stephenson's material. D. heterophyllum Col. loc. cit. 605, from "Ruahine Mountain-range, east side: Mr. E. W. Andrews; 1895." The description includes: "branchlets opposite, 3, subfascicled . . . Leaves rather numerous, of irregular lengths, linear, erect, nearly rigid, dull-pale-green, terminal-on main branch 41/4 in. long 1/20 in. wide, on lowermost branchlets 3 in. long, and on two uppermost branchlets 11/2 in. long-and filiform, sub 1/30 in. wide". I have not seen specimens.

D. angustifolium Col. loc. cit. 603 from "Ruahine Mountain-range, Mr. H. Hill; 1895." The description includes: "Leaves numerous, imbricate . . . subulate, thickish, 3-9 lines long, 1/40 in. wide, tips obtuse with a callous mucro". There is a sheet in W labelled, not by Colenso, "Type of D. angustifolium Col." but this belongs to the filifolium group, with lvs ± 9·5 cm. long. In the type folder at K is one sheet with 3 imperfect pieces, very closely resembling D. subulatum, where Oliver (loc. cit. 1929, 691) places it.

Oliver (loc. cit. 1952, 10) remarks: "Different habits of growth are shown by members of the species filifolium in different localities. They may be defined as varieties.

" Var. centrale var. nov. Frutex, foliis parvis, 40-80 mm. longis, racemis parvis, paucis floribus parvis. These small, upright, rather dense shrubs are common in scrub and bog. Leaves filiform, 40-80 mm. long. Flowers small in few-flowered racemes. Type from Mount Ruapehu collected by W. R. B. Oliver, February, 1949, in Dominion Museum.

" Var. filifolium. This is the typical form very common on Mount Egmont and on the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges. Leaves long, up to 200 mm. Racemes rather large with more and larger flowers than centrale.

" Var. collinum. D. collinum Oliver, l.c. [loc. cit. 1929, 696]. In the South Island the leaves are of moderate length and the flowers, which have broad bracts, are borne in conspicuous clusters of racemes." Oliver's description under the sp. name is: "Frutex erectus; foliis angustatis, subulatis, 80-100 mm. longis, 1·5 mm. latis; floribus racemosis, 6 mm. longis, bracteis persistentibus, sepalis acuminatis. Type locality, Tinline Valley, Marlborough." He had seen it only from the type locality.

Oliver (loc. cit. 1952, 10) gives the distributions as: " Var. centrale.─Ruapehu, Tongariro and Hauhungatahi mountains. Waimarino Plain. Ohakune (in bog). Var. filifolium.─The northern limits of its distribution are indicated by the following localities: Mount Kakaramea, Maungapohatu, Kaimanawa Range. Generally distributed on Mount Egmont and the Ruahine, Tararua and Rimutaka Ranges to Cook Strait. Var. collinum.─D'Urville Island, Mount Stokes, Mount Arthur, mountains above Tinline Valley, Mount Fyffe, Dun Range, West Wanganui Inlet, Whangamoa Saddle, Pelorus River, Tophouse, St. Arnaud Range."