Page:Manual of the New Zealand Flora.djvu/58

18 scapes, 2–6 in. high. Rootstock short, rather stout, with numerous fibrous rootlets. Leaves many, all radical, 1–5 in. long, membranous, rarely subcoriaceous; petioles slender, sheathing at the base; blade linear-oblong in outUne, pinnately divided; primary pinnæ 2–6 pairs, entire, 3-lobed, 3-partite, or again pinnate; ultimate segments oblong, cuneate at the base, acute or subacute. Scapes 1–3, longer than the leaves, naked, slender, pilose, 1-flowered. Flower ½–¾ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong, silky. Petals 5, linear-obovate, rounded at the tip, with a single gland near the base. Ripe achenes not seen.—Kirk, Students' Fl. 12.

20. R. hirtus, Banks and Sol. ex Forst. Prodr. n. 525.—Stout or slender, erect or rarely decumbent, more or less branched, 6–24 in. high, usually clothed with soft spreading or rarely appressed hairs. Radical leaves numerous, on petioles 1–3 in. long, 3-foliolate; leaflets usually stalked, oblong to broadly ovate, rounded or cuneate at the base, coarsely and irregularly toothed or 3–5-lobed, or again 3-partite. Flowering-stems usually branched, with several cauline leaves, the lower of which are similar to the radical, the upper smaller, more sessile, and less cut or entire. Flowers small, seldom more than ½ in. diam. Sepals 5, oblong, reflexed, fugacious, shorter than the petals. Petals 5, obovate, with a single gland near the base. Achenes forming a small rounded head, glabrous, compressed, margined; style short, hooked.—''A. Cunn. Precur. n. 634; Raoul, Choix de Plantes, 47; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 9; Kirk, Students' Fl.'' 14. R. plebeius, ''R. Br. ex D. C. Syst. i. 288; Hook. f. Handb. N. Z. Fl. 7; Benth. Fl. Austral.'' i. 13. R. acris, ''A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 289 (non Linn.'').


 * Abundant throughout, ascending to 4500 ft. October–January. Also plentiful in Australia.

A very variable plant. The typical state can be recognised by the copious soft spreading hairs, sparingly branched stem, and trifoliolate leaves with broad coarsely toothed or lobed segments. Mr. Kirk's var. robustus (Students' Fl. 14) is simply a large state with the stem more copiously branched and the achenes slightly larger, and passes imperceptibly into the usual form. Var. membranifolius (Kirk, l.c.) recedes in the opposite direction by its reduced size, more slender stems, thin 3-lobed leaves, and smaller flowers. The following varieties are more distinct:—