Dicotiledones.

Nat. Ord. Cruciferæ; Cress Fam.; Genus Cardamine.

1.	Panapana, small cress, growing abundantly in most damp, shady places; it has a diminutive white flower; the leaf, in taste, resembles the common cress.
2.	Hanea, larger kind; an aquatic species, found by the side of rivers; it bears a yellow flower, and somewhat resembles the Ladies' Smock.
3.	Nau, large plant very similar in size and appearance to the common wall flower; it is found in rocky places, and bears a white flower.

Nat. Ord. Eleocarpeæ.
Hinau Eleocarpus, Hinau Dæcira dentata.

A beautiful and valuable timber tree, producing a berry with a hard stone. The berry is edible, but unless prepared in the native way it has a very harsh taste. Before it is used as food the natives steep it for several days in running water, after which the farinaceous part is easily separated from the stone and becomes a fine meal of an olive colour, which is kneaded into cakes; these are are highly prized, so page 93 that there is an old saying, “a hungry man should not be awoke from his rest unless it be to eat Hinau bread.”

Nat. Ord. Oxalidaceæ.

Reti-reti, Tutaekahu, Oxalis Urvillei. There are four varieties of the sorrel; the largest, and most abundant, bears a pretty yellow flower and is found on the sand hills, by the sea side, as well as in the woods; it is a wholesome vegetable when boiled.

Nat. Ord. Rosaceæ.

Taraheke, leafless kind.

Taramoa; there are three varieties of the bramble; the more common one is abundant in the forest, where it climbs to the tops of the loftiest trees, and sometimes is found with a stem eight inches in diameter; its fruit is small with large seeds, but it has an agreeable flavour, and might be improved by cultivation.

Nat. Ord. Piperaceæ.

Kawa kawa; Piper excelsus; this elegant shrub bears a fruit similar in shape and taste, before it is ripe, to the Jamaica long pepper; when fully ripe it is of a yellowish cream colour, with black seeds, and has an agreeable flavour; the leaves are infused as tea, and when brewed, make a very refreshing beer.

Nat. Ord. Myrtaceæ.

Ramarama, Rohutu, New Zealand Myrtle; it produces an ill flavoured, though edible berry.

Kahikatoa, Manuka, Lepto spermum scoparium; the leaves of this shrub are a very common substitute for tea; it produces also a saccharine substance, like manna, called Pia and Tohika, which is eaten.

Nat. Ord. Umbelliferæ.

Pinaikere, Fæniculum; this plant grows in great abundance in the interior plains; it has a strong smell of the aniseed or fennel; both the leaves and root are eaten; the latter resembles the carrot in size.

Kuweo, He Paipai, Taramea, thorny plant abounding in the central plains; its tender shoot and carrot shaped root are both eaten.

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Nat. Ord. Passifloreæ.

Aka, Popohue, Kohia, Kohi, Powiwi, Tawiwi, passion flower of this country; it bears a fruit of a bright orange colour, about the size of a cherry; the seeds are embedded in a crimson pulp, and from them the natives formerly expressed a fragrant oil; the pulp has an agreeable flavour.

Nat. Ord. Onagrariæ.

Kohutukutuku, Kohutuhutu, Kotukutuku, Konini, Fuschia excortica; the fruit is of the size and shape of a horsebean, of a deep purple color; it is sweet, though rather insipid.

Nat. Ord. Ficoideae.

Naupiro, Mesembryanthemum; pig's ear; this plant produces an insipid fruit, which can be eaten; the leaves make a very good pickle; it is generally found in the vicinity of the sea.

Nat. Ord. Compositæ.

Korau, Poronea, Puwa, Rauriki, Aotea, Puroa, sowthistle, springs up spontaneously in every spot which has been cultivated, and is generally used as a vegetable by the natives.

Nat. Ord. Eriaceæ.

Patotara, diminutive shrub bearing a bright orange berry, as large as a currant.

Nat. Ord. Epacrideæ.

Tarakupenga, low shrub growing on sandhills; it produces a small edible berry, like a currant.

Nat. Ord. Convolvulaceæ.

Pohue, Panapa, Pohuehue, Calystegia sepium, Calystegia solbanella, convolvulus edulus; there are three varieties of the Convolvulus, each having a long fleshy root which was formerly used as a vegetable.

Nat. Ord. Coriaræ.

Tupakihi, Tutu, Puhoa, Taweku, Coriaria sarmentosa; there are three varieties of this shrub, each diminishing in size; the least not growing more than three inches high; they all bear fruit, which is produced in clusters, not unlike page 95 a bunch of currants, with the seed external, of a purple colour and of an agreeable flavour; but it can only be used by expressing the juice and carefully separating all the seeds and seed stalks, which are very poisonous. It is the native wine, and when boiled with Rimu, a seaweed, forms a jelly which is very palatable; when fermented, it makes a sort of wine; the juice contains so much colouring matter that it may be used as a dye.

Nat. Ord. Solanae.

Poroporo, Turunui, Koheuheu, Raupeti laciniatum; there are two or three varieties of this family; one, a large shrub, producing a berry about the size of a gooseberry, which is eaten. The leaves of the other, Raupeti, resembling the common English night shade, are eaten by the natives either raw or cooked.

Nat. Ord. Chenopodeæ.

Rengarenga, Tetragonia expansa, New Zealand Spinach; it was first brought into notice by Captain Cook, who found it useful as an antiscorbutic; the natives use it as food; it is chiefly found in low swampy grounds near the sea, and is easily propagated from seed; it is perennial; there are several varieties.

Nat. Ord. Coniferae.

Rimu, Dacridium cupressinum; a noble tree, and by far the most beautiful of the New Zealand pines; it produces a small fruit, with the seed externally attached, which is much prized by the natives, the smallness of the size being made up by its abundance; this tree produces a resin which is both sweet and bitter; the wood, also, possesses the same qualities; an infusion might be used for beer.

Te Mai, Matai, Taxus matai: this pine resembles the English Yew in the form of its leaf; the fruit is a black, or purple berry, about the size of a wild cherry; it is sweet and rather slimy, but of an agreeable flavour.

Miro, Podocarpus ferruginea; the fruit of this pine is about the size of a small plum, rather flattened; it is a bright red externally, with a yellow pulp inside, which covers a large hard stone; the flavour is sweet but rather bitter, very page 96 aromatic, resembling that of the nutmeg; it is the favorite food of the Kereru, or wood pigeon.

Kahikatea, Podocarpus excelsus; the fruit of this pine is similar to that of the Rimu; its wood and resin also have the same qualities as the former; Captain Cook brewed beer from it for his men during his stay in New Zealand.

Nat. Ord. Laurineae.

Karaka, Corynocarpus laerrigator; this beautiful Laurel produces a fruit about twice the size of a large Acorn, of an orange colour, having somewhat the flavour of an apricot, but by far too strong to be agreeable; the kernel is as large as an Acorn; until it has been cooked and steeped in a running stream for a fortnight it is very poisonous; after it has undergone this process it is much prized as an article of food by the natives.

Tawa, Laurus Tawa; the fruit of this tree has some-what the appearance of a wine-sour plum, and it is very sweet with a slight flavour of turpentine; the kernel, when cooked, is also eaten; the bark, when infused, furnishes the traveller with a wholesome, as well as a grateful beverage, which does not require the addition of sugar.

Kohe, Kohekohe, Laurus Kohekohe; the large leaves of this beautiful tree are extremely bitter, and may be used in the same way as Peruvian bark.

Taraire, Laurus macrophylla; this tree produces a long, oval fruit, about the size of the date; the pulp is sweet, but has too strong a taste of turpentine to be agreeable.

Nat. Ord. Amentaceae.

Titoki, Tokitoki, Topitopi, Alectryon excelsum; this tree bears a singular looking fruit, more agreeable to the eye than to the taste; it is contained in a calyx, which bursts open and discloses the fruit of a bright red fleshy appearance, having a black seed in the centre, from which the natives extract an oil; the fruit is sweet, but has a very rough taste.