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CompositaeM.
Aster subulatus Michx. Two species of Aster has been recorded from New Zealand, namely, A. imbricatus Walp. by Kirk (1896: 503–4) from Wellington, and A. subulatus Michx. by Carse (1916: 242) from Mangonui County. Dealing first with A. imbricatus Walp., the species is cited as A. imbricatus Linn, by Allan (1940: 294); now, this is a valid South African species (according to Index Kewensis), and Kirk gathered his specimens off ballast that had been deposited by the ship Silverstream, which had taken in this material from Buenos Aires. Kirk in the same paper records a South African grass, Bromus vestitus Thunb. from this ballast and notes that this is naturalized in the Argentine, but there is no mention that Aster imbricatus Linn. is naturalized there also, so that it is very unlikely that it could be a South African species. The species A. subulatus Michx. recorded by Carse is North American in origin, and has been treated as such by subsequent workers.
Comparison of Kirk's original specimens of A. imbricatus Walp. with available specimens of A. subulatus Michx. showed that the two sets of plants were identical, so that there is only one species involved. I have been unable to match the specimens with descriptions of A. subulatus Michx., but they agree well with A. squamatus (Spreng.) Hieron., a South American species, and pending confirmation of this determination from Dr. A. L. Cabrera La Plata, Argentina, tentatively determine the species under this name. There is evidence that indicates the determination is feasible, for according to Cabrera (1941: 69–71) in his synonymity of A. squamatus (Spreng.) Hieron. there is the citation “? A. imbricatus Walp. Repertorium, 11 (1843), p. 574.”
Therefore, the original record is that by Kirk (1896: 503–4), and Carse's record of A. subulatus Michx. constitutes a new distributional
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record of A. squamatus (Spreng.) Hier., while the name A. subulatus Michx. must be removed from the naturalized flora.
It is worth mention that the species has recently appeared near Kaiwarra, Wellington, 45937, having not been found in this original locality since Kirk's original gathering late last century.
Bidens pilosa Linn. Recorded originally by Richard (1832: 235) without exact locality, the distribution has been given by all later botanists as the northern portion of the North Island. This would appear correct were it not that J. F. Armstrong (1872: 288) recorded “B. pilosus Linn.?” from Canterbury, a record either missed or disregarded by all later workers. Reference to Sherff's monograph of the genus Bidens (1937: 419–24) indicated that Armstrong may have been justified in reporting the species from Canterbury, since Sherff states in his list of material examined “…idem [Le Guillon], Akaroa, Bank's Peninsula, Middle Ist., New Zealand, 1841,” the specimen being deposited in the Paris Museum. He mentions further specimens of the same species from the south of the North Island—“H. H. Travers, introduced, swampy coast places, Wellington, North Isl., New Zealand, October, 1908,” these specimens being in the herbarium of the Bureau of Science of the Philippine Islands, Manila.
In this monograph, Sherff gives B. aurantiacus Colenso (1895: 388), based on specimens from Te Kawakawa, East Cape, as a synonym of B. pilosa Linn. var. minor (Blume) Sherff.
Carduus pycnocephalus Jacq. This species has been found in pasture, Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, 33818; waste land, Upper Hutt, 35585: it has been noted as established about Nelson and suburbs, and is increasing about Blenheim and on roadsides between Blenheim and Seddon.
Senecio elegans Linn. Previously recorded only from the North Island by Allan (1940: 159), this species has appeared in coastal areas, Timaru, R. Mason 45914; Invercargill, 33919.
Hieraceum pilosella Linn. Recorded previously from Canterbury and the Mackenzie Country by Allan (1940: 180) and Hawke's Bay by Healy (1944: 227), it has been found established in modified tussock grassland, “Upton Fells” Station, Medway River, Awatere County.
Soliva anthemidifolia (Juss.) R. Br. This species was recorded by Cheeseman (1883: 285) from “Alluvial flats of the Northern Wairoa River, near Dargaville and Mangawhare,” and its most recent distribution is that given by Allan (1940: 152) as “Occasional in waste places in North Auckland and near Wellington.” While checking the material placed under this species in the Plant Research Bureau Herbarium, it was found that with the exception of one specimen, none would match descriptions of the species; the specimen that actually was S. anthemidifolia (Juss.) R. Br. was one of Cheeseman's original gatherings, and examination of specimens in the main herbaria show that the species has not been gathered since. The plant that has been placed under that name in New Zealand is a very distinct species, which I have tentatively determined with the Chilean † S. valdiviana Phil.
[Footnote] † Denotes species recorded for the first time in New Zealand.
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For identification purposes, a key to the three species naturalized is given below.
| 1. Achene broadly winged, with two lateral lobes | S. sessilis |
| Achene with small wings or wingless, lateral lobes absent | 2 |
| 2. Flower heads large, only near base of plant; achene woolly on each side of beak, surface transversely rugose | S. anthemidifolia |
| Flower heads small, distributed along branches; achene glabrous, not transversely rugose | S. valdiviana ? |
Tolpis umbellata Bertol. This species is established along a railway line, Helvetia, near Pukekohe, 51041; roadsides and waste land near Rotoehu State Forest, Pongakawa Valley, K. W. Allison 36693; waste land, Te Puke, 33969; Kelburn, Wellington, E. H. Atkinson, 5705.