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Chapter XI: The Plants

“An organized living body affixed to, and deriving sustenance from, the inorganic world”—The Dictionary.

The above definition is not all-embracing, and it is said that an entirely satisfactory definition of a plant has not yet been invented. However, it will serve.

After the great eruptions which are supposed to have occurred some seven thousand years ago (but a few thousand or even millions of years is nothing to geologists) the pumice area must have been a dreadfully desolate dead region. All life, animal and vegetable, absolutely destroyed. Doubtless the first plants to appear were lichens, mosses, fungi and dwarf raoulia. The death and decay of these would provide subsistence for a gradually ascending plant life.

At the time of my arrival it would seem that the pumice itself had arrived at the stage of disintegration, at which it was ready to decompose into soil. The land had become clothed with tussock grass, not of a very good quality, but horses would live on it and cattle eat it when hard pressed: but I think a sheep would sooner have died than taken a mouthful of it. When in seed it is really first-class feed for horses — as good as oaten-chaff.

Following the tussock in the wide valleys and low levels appeared a shrub with reddish leaves which the Maoris call †manoao. It is a dracophyllum — a species of grass tree or spider page 174 wood. All gramnivorous animals eat it, but I fear it is not very nutritious. Driven sheep attack it as though it were as palatable as clover: but, when left on the country, they do not appear to graze it very much. If the stem is cut across with a sharp knife the likeness of a spider in the centre of a geometrical web is revealed. This shrub is highly inflammable and if a lighted match be dropped in it on a hot day, with a light breeze, the whole countryside is soon ablaze. When burning, the larger bushes emit a curious resonant note. The dry sticks are unsurpassed as kindling-wood.

In the swamps †flax, †raupo, rushes and †nigger heads grew with varied degrees of luxuriance. All these plants were also readily eaten by live stock. Thus the country supported great mobs of wild horses, many cattle of good weight and substance, numerous pigs and occasional sheep besides multitudes of hares and an increasing number of rabbits.

About fifteen years before my arrival †manuka began to invade and gradually occupy the country. It grew on the dry poor-looking banks; it extended into the swamps; it hugged the hot earth. It became dominant. Its rate of growth was much greater than I have observed in any other district and the stems straighter and less branched. Manuka is of two kinds. The larger (leptospermum ericoides) grows on what appears to be the very poorest soil consisting of lumps of pure pumice from the size of one's fist to that of one's head. It reaches fifty or sixty feet in height and the trunk is usually from two to five feet in circumference. In the open it forms large branches and might be mistaken at a distance for a pine. The flowers are small and occur singly or in bunches. The smaller variety of †manuka (leptospermum scoparium) is much the more abundant. On good soil the stems are thin and close together. Sometimes the thicket is practically impenetrable. The flowers are single and are much larger than those of the ericoides. Manuka page 175 is peculiarly adaptable to its environment — for instance it creeps over hot soil almost like a vine. The occasional pink-flowered bushes are not a true variety, but only sports.

About the same time as the manuka, †fern and †tutu — sometimes very heavy — made their appearance particularly on the upper levels. Other growth on these higher lands comprised gaultheria, coprosma (mostly robusta), several kinds of pittosporum, †five finger, †lancewood, †koromiko, native †broom, hill flax, and the like. On the river flats among the tall manuka there was a sprinkling of Olearia virgata. These trees I saved when possible and they rewarded me with a fine display of white flowers. Along the riverbanks there grew a number of yellow †kowhai which I had difficulty in preserving: the Maoris persisted in stripping the bark for making one of their native medicines.

On the Rainbow Mountain vast numbers of the †toru shrub grew in thickets. Nowhere else have I seen this shrub in anything like such masses.

The deadly native nettle was found in some parts. One hill was named from it †Maunga-ongaonga (a splendid word for the new-chum to practise on).

In this area there is a distinct tendency for the country to come into bush, and I make bold to say that the whole of the land between Broadlands and Rotorua would by now be under bush, had infatuated fools refrained from firing the fern and scrub.

The common †cabbage tree (botanically a lily) occurred not only along the creeks and in the swamps, but was also fairly common on the uplands.

Under this top growth the whole surface was covered with moss, raoulia, pimelea and insignificant native grasses, the whole forming a dense mat or “skin” as it is called in some districts. There were great quantities of the handsome †reindeer moss but page 176 the tramping of stock soon destroys it: also in the soft swamps huge masses of sphagnum moss. The principal native grass was a creeping, useless variety somewhat resembling Indian doob. It has been identfiied as Triodia exigua and is said not to exist in any other part of the North Island. Other insignificant native grasses occurred especially after fires. They were usually shortlived. †Microlaena grew in fair quantities under the tall manuka. The bottoms of the valleys — often quite wide — were occupied by hardy exotic grasses such as †Yorkshire fog, †poa pratensis, †suckling clover, and †white clover, with a sprinkling of others. All pasture was closely grazed by wild stock.

Of native weeds †bidy-bidy is the commonest and much the most troublesome. Prior to my arrival there was little or none, but sheep from infected areas introduced it, and it spread with great rapidity.

Exotic weeds were not numerous. Of all such plants the first to appear is dandelion, hawkweed, or †cat's-ear. It is not trouble-some and affords excellent sheep-feed in season. There were a very few plants of †blackberry. At the time of my arrival there were only two visible plants between Broadlands and Rotorua. One near the seventeen-mile peg I used myself to slash down while the good old horse-coach waited patiently for a few minutes. The other was at my neighbour's hot spring, and he refused to have it destroyed because his children liked eating the fruit. Despite my protests, he gave young plants to the Maoris, so that they also might enjoy a cheap fresh-fruit diet. In consequence the district is now past redemption. The dreaded †ragwort had not yet appeared but was not far away. †St. Johnswort flourished along the roadside near the old forty-mile stables. †Water groundsel, which many people mistake for ragwort, was abundant. It may easily be distinguished from ragwort by its smell. Its leaves when crushed emit a pleasant aromatic odour; whereas the leaves of ragwort have a sour, page 177 unpleasant smell. A small wild †forget-me-not was abundant in the swamps: and I have found isolated plants of the handsome blueflowered weed known in England as †viper's bugloss which is botanically allied to the forget-me-not.

†Sorrel, though not a native weed, appeared spontaneously even in the remotest spots whenever the land was cultivated or even when the scrub was cleared. A geranium would also spring up after a fire. On the good damp flats near the homestead there was a lot of sweet-briar or dog-rose. It was not difficult to destroy this.

Many weeds — †broom, †gorse, †blackberry, †ragwort, †golden rod and the like are now abundant on the road-side. I have frequently drawn the attention of the authorities to this state of affairs but nothing has been done to check the incursion.

†Tar weed was very prevalent among recently sown grass.

At the time of my arrival there was not a single grass plant on the roadside between Broadlands and Rotorua. On one occasion in the early days I was driving to Rotorua with Messrs. H. R. and W. G. Butcher when we saw a green spot. We stopped the buggy. True enough it was a small plant of white clover. We stood reverently around and worshipped it. The next plants I observed were of †red-top near the old forestry head camp at Waiotapu.

Now the whole roadside, and many extensive flats, have become quite well grassed — in parts luxuriantly — with English pasture plants and not a seed sown, and no cultivation or manure. This tendency to come into grass naturally is most valuable. The plants most noticeable are †danthonia pilosa, †poa pratensis, †brown top, †yorkshire fog, †white clover, †suckling clover, and in the last two or three years lotus major, which has become particularly abundant and looks as though it will take possession of the countryside. Not only is this a valuable fodder but its growth greatly enriches the soil. Here and there odd page 178 plants and patches of cocksfoot are appearing. The Public Works Department has sown pasture seeds on the roadside — mostly white clover — with the object of holding up the fillings. The result has been remarkable.

There was no pasture †danthonia in the district when I arrived: but, after I had introduced the Hawkes Bay variety (pilosa), it spread of its own accord very quickly. It is a most valuable grass and extremely hardy. It is the only grass in the Pumice Country which may be held in the autumn for use in the winter. It is not affected by frost.

When land is shut up, as in the grounds around my house, the most valuable of all native grasses — an †agropyrum, but whether scabrum or multiflorum I do not know — spontaneously makes its appearance. Stock are so fond of it that it is soon eaten out of pasture to which they have access. Other noticeable features of land which is not grazed are: first, the marvellous mass of vegetation which accumulates, thus greatly improving the soil; and, secondly, the remarkable manner in which cocksfoot asserts itself. It will come up through dense masses of inferior grasses and finally suppress them.

Of flowering plants the small native †daisy was the most common, appearing mostly some considerable time after a fire. Clematis (not the conspicuous indivisa, but a smaller variety named parviflora) was fairly common, also another creeper leaving a seed resembling that of clematis: but I have never seen the flower. The Maoris use it for one of their medicinal decoctions. Another vine is the †convolvulus. The native white †violet is to be found now and again and the common ground orchid is well distributed.

The interesting Drosera or sundew is by no means rare. There are two kinds of Astelia in the district. One grows in the swamps and the other on dry land.

Once, wandering afar, I found a musk plant in an page 179 out-of-the-way situation and rushed to try it out. Alas I found that, in common with all its tribe throughout the earth, it had joined in the mysterious strike against usefulness. Its delightful aroma had vanished. The musk plant having lost its savour wherewith shall it be scented?

As I have pointed out the common †bracken fern arrived about the same time as the †manuka and I have seen occasional small patches of †hard fern and †water fern. Other ferns were not very abundant. The soil is rather dry for them and shelter is wanting. In the damper locations under tall manuka the small tree fern, almost trunkless and known to science as Dicksonia lanata, was fairly common, and other tree ferns grew in potholes in the ground. But these never attained any size. The doodia family was common. The Lomaria tribe appeared in moderate quantities. Gleichenia also, and in the bush the common kinds, including the †kidney fern. I have also found todea (or leptopteris) hymenophylloides, but not the superba (Prince of Wales feathers).

Lycopodium occurred in masses visible from the Rotorua Road but I have not seen it on Broadlands.

Fungi exist in great numbers and many varieties. The ordinary edible †mushroom appears in extraordinary abundance. It favours old pasture paddocks, especially those heavily stocked with sheep. The giant variety — up to fifteen inches in diameter — appears in similar situations and I have found it at all seasons of the year. There is another edible mushroom of a brown colour which I have gathered off bare furrows, and from under the manoao scrub where no cultivation had ever taken place, and where live stock have seldom or never trod. “†Puff balls” are common. The remarkable “†shepherds' baskets” make their appearance around the garden and grounds. Besides these, fungi vary from the †filthy-looking brown masses, usually near pine trees, to the beautiful and often delicately-shaped and page 180 brilliantly-coloured kinds varying from scarlets and mauves to browns and greys and whites.

There was very little bush on Broadlands, the principal area being named Aputahou. This was supposed to comprise three hundred and fifty acres, but I doubt whether it really covered as much. It was the ordinary taxad rain forest, the principal timbers being †totara and †matai. Many of the totaras were magnificent specimens. We split a few thousand posts here for our back fence, getting as many as five hundred out of single trees. These noble totara trees, in common with the giant manuka, flourished on areas of purest pumice stones from the size of a man's fist upwards. This seems to prove that there is substance and sustenance in pure pumice. †Tawa and †rewa rewa were also present, and much giant †manuka — the tallest and heaviest I have ever seen. Several varieties of †rata and the native †fuchsia were fairly common. Immense quantities of †supplejack were a great impediment to progress, as also was our old friend the †bush-lawyer. †Beeches were not present, but were not far away and on them grew the handsome scarlet †mistletoe.

Among introduced plants, grasses and clovers are of course the most important, and they flourish in a remarkable manner. In two years from the native scrub I have produced paddocks equal to anything in the Province — and that is to say in the world. New Zealand does really lead the world in grass farming — and that scientifically and profitably and not disastrously as in lunatic legislation and frenzied finance. I have had the most wonderful cuts of hay — as high as the fences and very dense.

Turnips flourish remarkably and with the roughest of cultivation — ploughed straight out of the scrub, roughly worked down, sown with twelve ounces of seed and three hundred-weight of manure to the acre. I have taken scores of prizes in all the principal shows in the North Island.

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Oats do well and are free from rust. I have had crops of up to three tons of chaff to the acre.

In the garden, vegetables grow luxuriantly, and flowers are abundant and brilliant. Small fruits — currants both red and black, gooseberries, strawberries — yield wonderful returns; but the strawberries I had to treat in the manner of the great President Roosevelt — dig them in. The housekeepers' youngsters would assert their rights as common inheritors of human achievements and resources: and they “beat me to it” for the berries. In the end they beat themselves also — as will soon be experienced in poor old New Zealand in other more important departments of human affairs.

In the orchard, apples, pears, cherries and most English fruits yield an abundance of exceptionally well-flavoured fruit: but early plums are likely to have the setting fruit frosted, while peaches, apricots, and the like, are rather frost-tender for the average season. Citrus fruits will not yield a crop.

Wild cherries were quite a feature of the district. When there were only a few Europeans in the neighbourhood, we used to have an annual picnic to the principal grove, where there was an extraordinary abundance of fruit. The trees were scarlet with the beautiful red cherries, and one could have loaded a wagon without making a great impression on the supply. Even the birds of the air were fairly beaten. Most lamentably, however, when greater numbers arrived the fruit was rushed before it was ripe and the trees themselves badly damaged.

Many plants, supposed by the older residents to be too tender for the climate, I have grown successfully: eleagnus, bamboo, chamaerops palms, and so on, and in the garden every year: tomatoes, sweet corn, french beans (most prolific), vegetable marrows (the larger and best I have ever seen), pumpkins, rock melons, and the like. Sometimes these tender vegetables must be covered with scrim at night to save them from Jack Frost.

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The germination of seeds in pumice soil is perfect. I contrived from the first to keep exotic weeds (except sorrel) out of the garden, but pansies, calendulas, poppies, antirrhinums, and the like, sprang up in thousands and were almost as great a nuisance as thistles, chickweed, milkweed, and the like: while asters and sunflowers came up spontaneously in more than sufficient numbers to replenish the flower beds.

Mortality, again, is remarkably low. Slugs and snails are not common, and the birds avoid the house as they get plenty of food elsewhere. The only enemies are caterpillars, and among them the larvae of the white butterfly and the diamond-backed moth constitute the only real dangers.

In working the garden I used no sheep manure as that introduced white clover (very useful in the paddocks, but a perfect pest in the garden): very little stable manure (as that induced sorrel) and not much chemical manure. I relied almost entirely on the burial of vegetable refuse with the addition of some ground limestone.

An account of the millable forests of the area is contained in a special chapter.