Flora of New Zealand Series

Aralia crassifolia Sol. ex A. Cunn. in Ann. nat. Hist. 2, 1839, 214.

Panax crassifolium (Sol.) Decne et Planch. in Rev. hort., Paris 1854, 105.

Panax longissimum Hook. f. Handbk N.Z. Fl. 1864, 102 (based on non-flowering juvenile plants).

Panax coriaceum Regel in Gartenflora 1859, 45.

Hedera crassifolia Gray Bot. U.S. Expl. Exped. 1854, 719.

Tree up to 15 m. tall, trunk up to c. 5 dm. diam., lvs very thick and rigid. Seedlings with submembr. ovate to lanceolate deeply toothed lvs, deeply lobed near base, passing rapidly into narrow-linear lvs. Unbranched juveniles with narrow-linear deflexed lvs up to 1 m. or more long, distantly sharply toothed, with stout midrib. At branching stage the lvs become shorter, c. 30-15 cm. long, and may be unifoliolate (var. unifoliolatum Kirk For. Fl. 1889, 61) or 3-5-foliolate (var. trifoliolatum Kirk loc. cit.) or mixed. Flowering is exceedingly rare in the unbranched, rare in the branched juvenile stage. Adult trees round-headed, with lvs c. 10-20 × 2-3 cm., narrow elliptic-cuneate to lanceolate or linear-obovate, acute or obtuse, entire to sinuate or coarsely serrate. Umbels terminal, irregularly compound; primary rays c. 5-10, c. 6 cm. long; umbellules sts racemosely arranged. Ovary 5-loculed, 5-ovuled, style-branches 5, connate, sts free at tips. Fr. subglobose, c. 4-5 mm. diam.

DIST.: N., S., St. Lowland to lower montane forest and shrubland throughout. Horoeka, lancewood.

FL.- FT. 1-4.

A. Cunningham (loc. cit.) gives: "1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Shaded woods, on the shores of the Bay of Islands, Wangaroa, etc." and cites Solander's ms. In the type folder at K is a Forster specimen labelled Xylophylla Forster. This consists of 2 lvs of the primary juvenile form. Forster's account (Prodr. 1786, 23) is "Xylophylla longifolia foliis linearibus, ramis tetragonis. M. S.V. p. 296. n. 1."