Flora of New Zealand Series

W. betulina A. Cunn. loc. cit.

Type locality: "damp woods on the east coast". Type: BM, A. Cunningham 1826.

Lflts obovate, crenate, us. 3-foliolate; terminal lflt 2-3·5 × 1·5-2 cm., on petiolule c. 1 cm. long or less; lateral 2-3 × 1-1·5 cm., subsessile.

DIST.: N. Bay of Islands, Coromandel Peninsula, Great Barrier Id.

Seedling and juvenile forms are diverse, and have not been adequately related to adult forms. Adults show a range from 5-jugate to simple lvs, and the forms intergrade also in lflt size and form. The whole complex needs much further investigation. A. Cunningham, loc. cit., gives "acuminate" for the lflts of both W. silvicola and his W. fuchsioides; subacuminate tips may be found on lvs of semi-juvenile plants, but I have not noted them on adult lvs of flowering plants. Cunningham further differentiates W. fuchsioides by "petalis lato-ovatis . . . Folia . . . subtus rubro-venosa ut in Fuchsia . . . Capsulae subrotundae." (Type locality: Bay of Islands). Its status remains uncertain. At the south of the range of W. silvicola, where it meets W. racemosa, forms of probably hybrid origin occur.