Journal Number 110
November 2008

THE TYPE LOCALITY

The 70 Mile Bush and Earina alba Col.
By Ian St George

In 1885 William Colenso described Earina alba [1].

The chief difference between this and E. suaveolens, he claimed, was the presence of the two
crescent shaped calli on the labellum (he contrasted that with what Hooker had written of
Earina, ie that the disk was "eglandular"), along with smaller size, and flowers that lacked
the speckles mentioned in Hooker's description of E. autumnalis.

In 1906 Thomas Cheeseman wrote, "Mr. Colenso apparently published his E. alba under the
supposition that E. suaveolens has no glands on the lip, but they are always present" [2].

Cheeseman reinstated E. autumnalis Hook.f. for E. suaveolens Lindl (Lindley had mistakenly
thought E. autumnalis was a synonym for E. mucronata, so had described the former as
E. suaveolens [J50]). Thus Earina alba Col. is presently regarded as a synonym for Earina
autumnalis Hook.f., and that species is regarded as variable in size, depending on habitat.

COLENSO'S DESCRIPTION

E. alba, sp. nov.
Stems stout, 8-10 inches long, sometimes branched at or near base. Leaves alternate, sessile,
sub-linear-acuminate, acute, broadest near base, thickish, rather harsh and sub-rigid; petioles
long, clasping, decurrent, extending to within the petiole below, black margined. Flowers terminal
in compound panicles, 2-4 inches long, rather close-set, sub-distichous, each sub-panicle usually
containing three flowers; bracts numerous, imbricated, striate, brown, the lower acuminate and
fimbriate, the upper obtuse with a small mucro. Perianth pure white, 5-6 lines diameter, segments
of equal length, spreading, recurved, obscurely 3-nerved, very obtuse; sepals ovate-oblong, margins
entire; petals broadly obovate, crenulately notched on the middle of the upper margin; tip broadly
oblong (or sub-5-sided), entire, obtuse or slightly retuse at apex, margins corrugated and incurved,
two small ochraceous-yellow spots near the centre of tip, and two small greenish crescent-shaped
calli beyond those spots and near the base. Column sub-hooded, tip ochraceous-yellow (exactly
same hue as the two spots); appendages overhanging in front below anther, and produced in 4
small obtuse teeth and a minute tubercular wing on each side, with 2 minute mammillary-like dots
in front, immediately below stigma. Ovary long, cylindrical, striate, twisted.

Hab. On edges of rocky cliffs and on dry stony declivities, and about the dry exposed roots of
Fagus solandri; banks of River Mangatawhainui, Seventy-mile Bush,County of Waipawa; 1878-85: W.C.

Obs. This plant in appearance closely resembles E. autumnalis, Hook. fil., of which it may (by some
botanists) be considered as a variety. It possesses, however, sundry characters which that species has
not, or which, at all events, are not given in any published description of it that I have seen.

Indeed, Hook. fil., says of the genus, "disk eglandular;" whereas the disk of this species possesses two
crescent-shaped greenish calli. E. autumnalis, which is so very common in the woods at the N., is a
larger and fresher-looking plant, with flowers "speckled and sweet-scented," and is always epiphytical.
Can difference of situation bring about change in characters as well as in habit? This plant is very
plentiful in the locality named, causing those dry woods and stony cliffs to look lovely in the autumn
season. It has given me a deal of repeated trouble and research, extending over several years, as for
a long time I only took it to be a variety of E. autumnalis.

The Type specimen is in WELT.

Around Norsewood Today

The Seventy Mile Bush

I discussed the Bush in relation to Colenso's finding Microtis longifolia in J108 p14.

As school inspector, Colenso had visited the new towns and villages of the Bush in 1874,
Norsewood and Dannevirke having been cleared by the Scandinavian settlers two years
earlier.

In the refound youth of his early seventies, he travelled by train from Napier and made
daylong excursions from "headquarters in village hotels". [3]. Colenso also stayed with
friends a kilometre or so west of Norsewood in a house called Fernhill [J109: p17].

In 1878-85 he would have taken Gundry Road WNW toward the Ruahines, crossing the
Mangatawhainui 4km from Fernhill. Or the main road ( now SH2 )which crosses the river
a few hundred metres from Fernhill, on his way to Matamau, a favourite haunt. (Both Colenso
and Bruce Hamlin have pointed out to the authorities that "Mangatawhainui" [hill of the big
beeches] is the correct name, and that "Mangatewainui" makes little sense, but the authorities
seem obdurate)

Coal was discovered, and a shaft was driven horizontally in the bank of the Mangatawhainui
river, but the coal was of poor quality, and the mining project was abandoned. During the
1908 bush fire the coal caught fire and burned for two years. [4]

What's up the Mangatawhainui now?

The river is deep and gorged where Gundry Road crosses, and this, I thought, is probably
Colenso's site. Indeed, 200m upstream from the crossing, an old Earina grows, its 100cm
stems pendant from near the top of the 4m banks, under beech. It was in bud when we found
it on 23 February: it had to be Earina alba Col. We had to wait for its flowering, and when I
returned on 12 April it was in full bloom - its perfumed flowers completely indistinguishable
from Earina autumnalis, with its orange crescentic calli at the base of the labellum (photo below).

The river is gorged where SH2 crosses, and there are big old beeches there too. I searched for
some time there for Earina. I found big lumps of brown coal in the stream, but no Earina on
its banks.

Earina autumnalis

The banks of the Mangatawhainui above Gundry Road, where Earina autumnalis grows.		Old beeches and steep banks below the SH2 bridge over the Mangatawhainui. No Earina there now.

Conclusion

Lindley was wrong - E. autumnalis was not a synonym for E. mucronata. And Hooker was wrong -
the flowers of E. autumnalis are not speckled (where did he get that from? Perhaps Colenso's
specimen No. 1607, "Earina rupestris, W.C., dry rocks, base of range, banks of R. Makaroro;
labellum curiously dotted, &c"). And Colenso was wrong - Hooker may have written that the
disk of Earina is eglandular - but he had noticed the lumps at the base, and had actually written
of the genus, "Labellum... basi sub-2-tuberculatum, disco nudo"; ie, two tubercles at the base,
disk nude.

E. alba Col. was probably just an "alba" form of E. autumnalis Hook.f., simply lacking its red
pigment. "Alba" forms are said to be common for many species, but I have never seen an
alba form of Earina autumnalis: has anybody else?

References
1. Colenso W. Trans. NZ Inst. 1886; 18: 267.
2. Cheeseman TF. Manual of the New Zealand Flora. 1st edition. Wellington, Government Printer, 1906.
3. Bagnall AG, Petersen GC. William Colenso... Reed, Wellington, 1948. p423
4. Andersen AL, Etheridge DC. Norsewood - the Centennial story. AL Andersen, 1972.