Forest plants.

Nothofagus (Fagac.), southern-beech, consists in New Zealand of 5 species (all endemic) and at least 2 great hybrid swarms, × N. diffused and × N. soltruncata. N. cliffortioides (Hook, f.) Oerst., mountain southern-beech, ranges epharmonically from a tree 6 to 15 m. high to a stunted, spreading, gnarled shrub. The tree (the general form) has a straight trunk, 20 to 60 cm. diam. covered with moderately smooth bark about 4 mm. thick. Where not crowded, the tree is symmetrical with numerous wide-spreading branches to its base which branch abundantly in a more or less distichous manner. The final twigs bear, on their flanks, the numerous hard, stiff, coriaceous, small, glossy, dark-green, ovate, ovateoblong, or rounded-ovate leaves 4 to 18 mm. long which are clothed beneath with white adpressed hairs. The distichous arrangement of branchlets and leaves gives the appearance of close horizontal layers of foliage one above the other. The flowers are monoecious, the staminate being extremely abundant, and, when a tree is in full bloom, quite showy from their red colour. Nothofagus Solandri (Hook, f.) Oerst., black southern-beech, is a lowland tree closely related to N. cliff ortioides but taller and more massive. Nothofagus Menziesii (Hook, f.) Oerst., silver southern-beech, when lowland or montane, is a tall and massive tree, but in the subalpine belt it approximates to N. cliffortioides in size, and like it may occur merely as a shrub. The trunk of large trees are frequently buttressed at the base. The bark is, at first, thin and silvery, but eventually becomes furrowed. The head of the subalpine tree is small and open; the branches are frequently gnarled. The leaves are small, coriaceous, rather thick, bright-green, but yellowish in page 235the mass and broadly ovate or rhomboid with crenate margins; on the under-surface are fringed domatia. Nothofagus fusca (Hook, f.) Oerst., red southern-beech, in the lowlands, is a still larger tree than N. Menziesii. It ascends only to the montane and lower subalpine belts. The trunk is frequently 2 m. diam., covered with deeply furrowed bark and furnished at the base with massive plank-buttresses. The leaves are rather thin, 2.5 cm. or more long, broadly ovate, bright-green and deeply serrate. N. truncata (Col.) Ckn., hard southern-beech, is a lowland species closely allied to N. fusca.

Libocedrus Bidwillii Hook. f. (Cupress.), southern kawaka, is hardly more than 12 m. high in the subalpine belt, but is frequently of smaller dimensions. The trunk, covered with pale chestnut-coloured loose flaking bark, is remarkably straight and often some 54 cm. diam. The upper third of the tree consists of a dense, tapering conical head made up of short branches and leafy twigs forming somewhat horizontal layers. Adult and juvenile shoots are distinct, the latter having a row of flattened acute leaves some 3–4 mm. long on each flank, and an inconspicuous upper and under row of quite minute appressed triangular leaves. The ultimate shoots of the adult are tetragonous, 1.5 mm. diam. and the leaves closely appressed, triangular and minute.

Phyllocladus alpinus Hook. f. (Podocarp.), mountain-toatoa, varies from a small tree some 7 m. high with a trunk about 25 cm. diam., covered with a moderately smooth blackish bark to a shrub 1–2 m. high. The branches are numerous, stout and finally give off many flexible straight opposite branchlets, naked for their lower half or third and then give off cladode-bearing stems. The cladodes, which exactly resemble leaves, are numerous, frequently arranged in threes, moderately close, patent or semi-vertical, pale-green, waxy beneath, thick, coriaceous, oblong to rhomboid in shape and variable in size. The flowers are monoecious.

Hoheria Lyallii Hook, f. and E. glabrata Sprague et Summerh. (Malvac), mountain ribbonwood, are small deciduous trees, 4 to 6 m. high, usually much-branching from near the base and of a rather twiggy habit. The bark is smooth, pale-coloured and may be peeled off in long strips. The leaves are dimorphic; they vary from the lobed, more or less orbicular juvenile of both to the but little hairy cordate adult of H. glabrata furnished with a drip-point, and the broadly ovate adult, still faintly lobed, with truncate base and almost tomentose under-surface of H. Lyallii. The bright green colour of the leaf of H. glabrata resembles that of European deciduous trees; that of H. Lyallii is paler. The flowers of both species are large, white, showy, abundant, and not unlike cherry blossoms.

Dracophyllum Traversii Hook. f. (Epacrid.), mountain neinei, is a small tuft-tree varying from about 9 to 5 m. in height, with an erect trunk 60–25 cm. diam. covered with smooth, reddish-brown bark which scales off in papery flakes. At about its upper fourth, the trunk gives off a few very stout page 236branches, which, curving outwards and upwards and branching 3 or 4 times in candelabra-fashion, bear on their ultimate stems great rosettes of reddish leaves which are thick, coriaceous, 30 to 60 cm. long and 5 cm. wide at the base and taper gradually into extremely long, fine points. The inner leaves of the rosette are not fully developed and erect and overlapping, but the outer spread out radially and are strongly recurved, the long points hanging downwards.

Shrubland plants.

Shrubby Compositae belonging especially to the genera Olearia and Senecio (Compos.) are a striking both from their multitudes of daisy-like flower-heads, generally rounded habit — branching much after the manner of Rhododendron ponticum — and diversity of foliage which is usually coriaceous and tomentose beneath the leaves. With the exception of a few small-leaved species of the divaricating-form these composite shrubs have the same life-form (the "rhododendron-form"). This consists of a generally quite short trunk from which radiate upwards and outwards at about an angle of 45° stout, stiff branches, which branching several times, 2 or 3 branches passing off in close proximity, a close, wide, leafy head is formed. As development proceeds, the lower branches in large measure die and are cast off, so that the shrub is quite open below, but above consists of a rounded mass of dense, short twigs the outer being leaf-bearing. Several species attain the stature of small trees with stout, frequently semi-horizontal trunks, from which hang long strips of papery bark (Fig. 60) e. g. Olearia ilicifolia, 0. arborescens, 0. avicenniaefolia, 0. lacunosa, 0. Colensoi, Senecio elaeagnifolius. Polymorphic hybrids between several of the species occur in great abundance.

Divaricating-shrubs are common in the high mountains. This life-form (Fig. 31) consists of much-branched, stiff, wiry, sometimes flexuous stems closely pressed together and interlaced, the branching being frequently at, or about, a right angle. There is considerable variation from great rigidity to extreme flexibility. As already seen, the form occurs abundantly in many lowland formations, but it is also characteristic of montane and subalpine river-bed and terrace scrub. Taking the whole New Zealand Region there are 51 species of this life-form, including those where it is confined to the juvenile stage, which belong to 16 families and 20 genera.

The erect shrubby species have a special life-form, the chief characteristics of which are: — stiff, erect stems of a more or less fastigiate habit; branching at a narrow angle and vertical, needle-like leaves, sometimes of considerable length, with sheathing bases. Besides D. Traversii, already dealt with, 3 species are of the tuft-tree or tuft-shrub form, the most important being D. Menziesii (Fig. 54).

Plants of tussock-grassland, herb-field, fell-field and related formations.

The species of Celmisia (Compos.) found in the high mountains number about 47. The genus is dominant above all others in New Zealand mountains above the forest-line. Go where you will on subalpine and alpine herb-field or fell-field and their silvery foliage strikes the eye, it may be in stately rosettes of dagger-like leaves, in circular mats trailing over the ground or in dense cushions. Their aromatic fragrance fills the air; from early till late summer some of their white heads of blossom may be seen, while, in due season, gregarious species clothe both wet herb-field and dry, stony slopes with sheets of white. The following characters, with but few exceptions, are common to all the species. They are semi-woody, and the leaves persist throughout the winter. The leaves are stiff, coriaceous, and crowded rosette-fashion, at the extremities of the stems to which they are attached by broad sheaths, the outer enclosing the inner and the whole forming a terete, stem-like mass; or they are arranged spirally along the branches their sheats tightly overlapping; the under-surface is densely clothed with tomentum which varies much in character in different species, being silky, woolly, cobwebbly, kidglove-like &c.; the upper surface is often covered with a silvery pellicle; the sheaths remain attached to the plant long after the blade has decayed, and, as a wet, rotting mass, enclose the stem. The roots are stout, long and cord-like. There are the following types of life-form: — (1.) The leaves are long, the innermost upright and the outer often more or less recurved above making a large semi-erect rosette; the branches of the stem are short so that the rosettes stand closely together and form a circular mass (Fig. 55); (2.) the stems are prostrate, much-branching and put forth adventitious roots at intervals. The leaves are shorter than in the foregoing class, the rosettes, if the leaves are sufficient crowded to form such, less erect and the plant forms wide circular mats, or trails over the face of rocks or banks; (3.) the stem branches so frequently as to bring the rosettes into very close proximity so that a page 239cushion may be formed, especially when abundant peat is produced within the plant from its dead parts.

The giant species of Aciphylla (Umbel), of which A. Colensoi is the most wide-spread, are of special physiognomic importance owing to their life-form which resembles that of certain species of Yucca (Fig. 56) rather than one of the Umbelliferae. Each individual consists of an upright circular mass of erect, stiff, hard, bayonet-like leaves from the centre of which arises the extremely stout flower-stalk furnished with bracts resembling the leaves in miniature, in the axils of which are small umbels on stout, short, branched pedicels. Average plants have a diameter of about 86 cm. and a height of 50 cm. The leaves are yellowish green, 30 to 60 cm. long and so stiff, thick and rigid as to be almost motionless in a heavy gale; they are pinnate or bi-pinnate with leaflets 6 cm. or more long terminating in sharp, stiff, long spines. The rootstock is quite short and the plant is firmly anchored by means of a very long, flexible, rather fleshy, deeply-descending taproot. Aciphylla maxima (Fig. 57) is far larger in all its parts than the above; when in flower it is a most striking object. The flowers of all are dioecious.

The large-leaved species of Ranunculus, all of which have strikingly beautiful flowers of great size, in certain localities occur in sufficient numbers to dominate the landscape. The famous mountain-lily (Fig. 85, 91) is the most noteworthy. It is confined to South Island and is common on the wet mountains from the south of the Spenser Mountains to Stewart Island. The Western district is its headquarters. It forms colonies many square metres in extent to the almost complete exclusion of all other plants. Each individual consists of a very large fleshy, broad, thick rhizome furnished with abundant descending stout, flexible roots. As the plant grows, one end of the rhizome decays while the apex increases in length, the plant thus slowly occupying new ground. From the apical end of the rhizome, long-petioled, peltate leaves are given off, the petioles vertical and the blades horizontal, thus effectively shading the ground beneath. These leaf-blades are smooth, bright-green, flexible, coriaceous and frequently form a concave saucer-like surface which is filled with water after rain. The petioles are stout; they measure 30 cm. or more in length and the blade may be 24 cm., or more, diam. The flowers, borne on tall branched stalks, rise high above the foliage. They are pure white, the petals at times so numerous that the flower looks semi-double, and 30 blossoms to a stalk, each 7 cm. diam. are quite usual. It may easily be seen then, what a glorious spectable is a hillside clothed as far as the eye can see with close colonies of this noble plant! Nor is it when in bloom alone that it is striking, for, when not in flower, the great leaves, almost knee-deep show more plainly their unusual form. In the North-western and Ruahine-Cook districts, Ranunculus insignis occupies a similar place to the above. The flowers are golden-yellow, 4 to 5 cm. diam. page 240and each tall flower-stalk may bear 12 blooms or more. The leaves are dark-green, glossy, somewhat coriaceous, rounded-cordate and about 15 cm. diam.; their petioles are stout and some 16 cm. long. R. Godleyanus (W.) is another giant yellow buttercup. R. Buchanani differs from any of the above in its smaller much-cut leaves; its abundant large, white flowers are a striking feature of the alpine belt of the Fiord district. It forms many polymorphic hybrids with R. Lyallii, R. Simpsonii, and, in a well-marked variety, with R. Scott-Tho?nsonii.

The species of Raoulia (Compos.) are either mat-plants (Fig. 46) — often circular — or cushion-plants, but the life-forms are constructed on the same plan, intermediates between them occur and the difference is merely one of degree. There is a central woody main stem and a deeply-descending chief root. From near the base of the main stem rooting prostrate branches pass off radially. These branch abundantly, the branches tending to grow upwards, while frequent branching and consequent increasing density hinders their horizontal extension. Such closeness of growth, shutting off the light, causes the death of all the interior leaves and many of the stems, the interspaces becoming filled in the case of the thicker cushions with peat from their own decay, and in that of low cushions and, patches with windblown silt &c. (Fig. 59). According to the relation between horizontal spread and vertical growth, so are mat-plants or cushions produced. The leaves are small, generally more or less imbricating and frequently tomentose. The ultimate shoots are in some species pressed so closely together that they form a hard unyielding surface as in the case of those cushions, the "vegetable-sheep" (R. eximia, R. Buchanani, R. Goyeni &c). In these, large quantities of peat accumulate in the interior and the upper branches put forth adventitious roots by means of which the plant gets most of its water and salts. Haastia pulvinaris (NE.) has exactly the same life-form and equals Raoulia eximia in size (Fig. 58).

Gentiana corymbifera T. Kirk is a noble plant which lights up the rather desolate montane and subalpine tussock-grassland with its multitudes of large delicate white flowers. From the centre of a rosette of short yellowish green leaves rises up a stout, yellowish, smooth unbranched peduncle, some 40 cm. high, which bears on its summit an umbel or cyme 15 cm. or more diam. of white flowers each 2.2 cm. diam. The species is abundant on the drier mountains of South Island.

The species of Ourisia belong to 2 classes, the one with a stout, creeping rhizome, large leaves in rosettes, and erect peduncles bearing whorls of white flowers much in the same fashion as Primula japonica; and the other, creeping mat-plants with much shorter, more slender peduncles and smaller flqwers. Ourisia macrophylla (North Island; NW., NE.) is typical of the first class. There is a thick, semi-terete, half-buried rhizome by means of which the plant is capable of rapid vegetative increase and forms wide page 241colonies. At short intervals, leaves are given off from the flanks of the rhizome so closely as to touch. The blades are ovate, crenate, rather thick, vivid green above, but purplish-red beneath and concave, so that they collect water which finds its way to the rhizome by means of the deeply channelled, stout, fleshy leaf-stalk. The flowers are in about 8 whorls on stout peduncles 25 cm. high; each measures about 1.6 × 2.5 cm,, they are white on the lips but citron-yellow in the corolla-tube. The two varieties of 0. macrocarpa (W., F.) and 0. Macphersonii (F.) are of the same class. The wide-spread 0. caespitosa represents the second class.

Senecio scorzoneroides Hook. f. (Compos.), in many parts of the wetter high mountains of South Island plays as great a part in the floral physiognomy as Ranunculus Lyallii and many hectares of virgin herb-field in the Southern Alps may be white with the abundant blossoms of this plant. The leaves which are summergreen are in erect rosettes from a stout root-stock; they are some 15 cm. long, broadly lanceolate, moderately thick and glandular-pubescent. The flower heads are in corymbs on tall peduncles, each head being 6 to 8 cm. diam. and the ray-florets long. The species crosses freely with the allied, but quite distinct, yellow-flowered S. Lyallii, so that hybrids constantly occur with yellow, lemon and cream-coloured flowers.

Chrysobactron Hookeri Col. (Liliac.) is a compound species of which all the jordanons are summergreen herbs with short rootstocks and tuberous roots. The leaves are tufted, linear, grass-like, rather fleshy, brownish-green, 30 cm. or so high. The scape is slender 30 to 60 cm. high and bears a raceme some 10 cm. long of bright-yellow hermaphrodite flowers about 8 mm. diam. on short, slender pedicels. The species when in full bloom is very conspicuous through its multitudes of golden-yellow flowers. It has increased greatly with the settlement of the country, since owing to its perennial subterranean tuberous roots it can reappear after the grassland is burned, while also its leaves are not eaten by stock.

Many species of the tussock-form are a most conspicuous feature of the vegetation. Certain lowland grasses (dealt with in Section II) are equally common in the high mountains. At low altitudes, Festuca novae-zelandiae dominates but, at higher levels, it is the great tussocks of Danthonia Raoulii var. flavescens and, especially on low passes, the latter and var. rubra, together with their many hybrids. Another tussock, Schoenus pauciflorus Hook. f. (Cyperac.) bestows a reddish-brown hue, recognizable from afar. The plant itself consists of a bimched-up mass of close, erect, stiff but slender terete, grooved stems, 30 to 50 cm. high, and more or less purplish-red in colour. Phormium Colensoi Hook. f. (Liliac), really of the tussock-form, must be included here.