Flora of New Zealand Series

Fls axillary or on naked wood, solitary or in small cymose fasicles; pedicels bracted. Receptacle adnate to ovary; sepals 5-4, ± united at base, valvate; corolla funnelform to tubular, long, valvately 5-4-lobed. Stamens 5, inserted near throat. Disk epig., anthers exserted; ovary 2-loculed, locules 2-5-ovuled. Style filiform, elongate; stigma clavate to capitate. Berry ellipsoid to globose; seeds with bony reticulate testa; endosperm cop., fleshy. Erect or spreading shrubs with alt., exstipulate lvs of very diverse size and shape; petioles often expanded and subamplexicaul at base; fls very fragrant; berry us. crimson. Genus endemic to N.Z.

Cunningham (Ann. nat. Hist. 2, 1839, 209-210) described 8 spp. from material gathered between lat. 35º and 35º 30'. Hooker (Fl. N.Z. 1, 1853, 102) accepted 4 of these(macrophylla, quercifolia, banksii, linariifolia (and reduced ligustrifolia to a var. of linariifolia. Subsequent authors have followed practically the same plan. Cheeseman (Ill. N.Z. Fl. 1, 1914, t. 78) remarks: "Of the four species which are generally admitted, A. macrophylla is at once distinguished by its large leaves and flowers. The three others present a very varied series of forms, all of which are exceedingly difficult of discrimination. No doubt some botanists will prefer to call these 'species'; and this was the view taken by Cunningham, who described no less than seven, to which Colenso has added two others."

Carse collected copiously in the original localities, but did not live to publish his findings. He had, however, decided that a large part of the diversity was due to hybridism. In his herbarium are specimens labelled by him as of the following origin: banksii × quercifolia  banksii × linariifolia, ligustrifolia × linariifolia, macrophylla × quercifolia. Cockayne and Allan (Ann. Bot., Lond. 48, 1934, 44), "merely as a preliminary arrangement", suggested further groups: banksii × macrophylla, linariifolia × macrophylla, linariifolia × quercifolia. This scheme provides a complete linkage of all 4 "accepted" spp.! No wonder Kirk (Stud. Fl. 1899, 226) remarked: "The species are so excessively variable that it is impossible to separate them by sharply defined characters." Allan (Genetica 8, 1926, 525) illustrated some of the multitude of forms.

Despite the great taxonomic and horticultural interest no further real study in the field and experimental garden has as yet been made. From what study I have been able to make I conclude that Cunningham was nearer the truth than later authors and that Colenso's two spp. were relegated to mere synonymy without sufficient study.

Fig. 25. ALSEUOSMIA. Leaves: tracings from type specimens. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X18]