COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
DAVIS, CALIFORNIA
LIIV
RAKV
usuva&sm of
CALIFORNIA
DAVIS
>
• I
w
>
New Zealand Fruits.
Freycinetia Banksii.
Astelia Cunninjjhainii.
Coprosma, 3 sp. Dysoxylum si)ectabile
BY
M
LAING, B.Sc
AND
W
7
BLACKWELL
With 160 original Photographs by E. W. arid F. B. Blackivell
Notothlaspi rosulatum (h nat. size).
SECOND AND REVISED EDITION.
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA*
CHRISTCHURCH, WE
AND DUNEDIN, N.Z. ;
MELBOURNE AND LONDON :
WHITCOMBE AND TOMBS LIMITED
11)07
^UVLRSIIY OF CALIFORNIA
LIBRARY
COLLECEOF AGRICULTURE
DAVIS
•
< i
Earth's crammed with Heav'n,
And every common bush afire with God ; But only he who sees takes off his sJwes."
R. B. Bkownixg.
*
% *
PEEFACE
The Flora of New Zealand is one of the most remarkable known.
Indeed, it is so highly specialized
these islands
ge
considered to constitute a distinct Botanical Re
r>
Drude
divided the earth into fourteen such Regions, and New Zealand was the
his list
This little colony is therefore hot
mportanoe to districts of
m
vaster
In suite, however
of the fact that our Flora
most interesting on the face
of the earth, there are very few who have any real acquaintanceship
with it. This ignorance is doubtless due to the inaccessibility and technicality of the literature dealing with the subject. In this work an endeavour has been made to give an account of our native plants that will be intelligible to all. As few technical terms as
■
possible have been employed herein, and those used have been explained either in the text or glossary. An attempt has also been made to give as many interesting particulars of the species as the limits of our space will allow.
It is hoped, therefore, that the volume will be of service to all who wish to know something more of a vegetation that is unique. To New Zealand teachers, but especially to those interested in nature study, it should be of considerable value ; as well as to all colonists who have any love for the wild flowers of their neighbour- hood. Tourists, also, will find here the means for readily identifying all the more conspicuous plants that they are likely to meet with, whilst en route through the colony. Though no new species are described here, many fresh facts have been embodied in the text, and a great quantity of botanical information has been culled from
the book. Hitherto the student has only been
m
for
able to obtain much of this material by wide and laborious reading
Hence the
in
English and German publications and -journals.
book will — we trust — be of some value to the botanist who wishes to procure, in small compass, a suggestive guide for further research.
* Handbuch der Pflanzengeographie. In a more recent edition of the book, he con- siders the New Zealand Flora to be composed chiefly of Antarctic and Melanesian plants.
P&0.1 A
VI. PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
The work is not a Flora, and therefore does not include all known species. It deals only with flowering plants, and, amongst these, omits the grasses, and certain less important orders. The grasses have been dealt with in special publications by Mr. Buchanan. The other orders omitted are represented by species little likely to attract the attention of any but the trained botanist. Most of the more important and conspicuous flowering plants, and many of the rarer ones, have been here described. In the larger genera, such as Goprosma, Veronica, Ranunculus, Olearia, and Senecio, we have been reluctantly compelled to content ourselves with a selection
of the chief tvnes.
Such a book as this must be to a considerable extent a compila- tion ; and we have therefore made free use of the labours of our predecessors in the field. Amongst these, especial mention may be made of Sir J. Hooker, Dr. Cockayne, Dr. Diels, and Messrs. T. Kirk, T. F. Cheeseman, G. M. Thomson, and D. Petrie. Indeed, all botanical papers in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institut< have been carefully consulted, and all literature obtainable, bearing on the subiect, has been read. Unfortunately, the profound paper of Dr. Diels on the New Zealand Flora still remains untranslated, and so is inaccessible to most students. We have therefore made free use of it. We have to thank Dr. L. Cockayne for helping us over many slippery places, and for much generous assistance
*
freely given. We are indebted to Mr. T. F. Cheeseman for the identification of many dried specimens, and for other kindnesses. Assistance has been received from Miss Irene Wilson in the preparation of the glossary, and from Mr. J. Christie in the proof reading. We are also under obligations to the following gentlemen for the gift of photographs for reproduction as illustrations : Mr. J. Deans, Mr. A. C. Gifford, Mr. A. Hamilton, Mr. H. Larkin, Mr. S. Page, Mr. J. Crosby-Smith, and Mr. E. Speight.
It should be mentioned that for the first time an endeavour has been made to bring the classification of the New Zealand flowering
plants into accord with modern ideas. We have therefore arranged the families according to Engler's system, and not in accordance with that of Hooker and Bentham, hitherto in vogue. (Unfortunately we have been unable to find room for a synopsis of the families, but
*These are shortly referred to in the foot notes, as Titans.
*%
PREFACE
• •
Vll
this may be obtained in
good modern text-book of botany
The book accordingly starts with the pines, — the lowest group of plants described, — and ends with the Composites, the most highly
alized family
the Vegetable Kingdom
This
raneement
a
is much more in harmony with evolutionary ideas than that usually adopted.
It is hoped that the book will be found up-to-date, and, though its authors are conscious of its many short-comings, they trust it will be of service to all who wish to learn something of the fascinating problems in the Plant World around them.
Eobt. M. Laing.
Ellen W. Blackwell.
s
■
•
■
I
%x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.
General Introduction, p. 1. The open country, p. 3. The fern land, p. 6. The
bush, p. 8. The natural permanence of the bush, p. 10. The destruction of the forest, p. 12. 4< The Passing of the Forest," p. 13 Types of forest, p. 15. Lianes, p. 16. Epiphytes, p. 20. The scrub, p. 21. Alpine vegetation, p. 22.
The
and Affinities of the Flora, p. 24. Oceanic and Continental islands, p. 26.
age of the Flora, p. 27- The affinities of the Flora, p. 30. The Australian element, p. 32. The Melanesian element, p. 35. South American element, p. 36. Sub-Antarctic element, p. 36.
Botanical Introduction, p. 88. Plant Life, p. 38. Root and stem, p. 39. The leaf, p. 39.
The flower, p. 43. The dispersal of seeds, p. 45. Classification, p. 46. Key to the New Zealand families of flowering plants, p- 49.
THE GYMNOSPERMS
The Pine Family, p. 58. The Kauri, p. 60. The Kawaka, p. 66. The Miro, p. 68. The
Totara,p. 69. The Black Pine, p. 69. The White Pine, p. 70. The Red Pine, ]). 74. The Celery-leaved Pine, p. 76.
THE ANGIOSPERMS.
The Monocotyledons, p. 80. The Screw Pine Family, p. 80. The Palm Family, p. 80.
The Lily Family, p. 88. The Iris Family, p. 109. The Orchid Family, p. 109.
■
The Dicotyledons with Free Petals, p. 127. The Pepper Family, p. 127. The Beech
Family, p. 128. The Nettle Family, p. 136. The Mistletoe Family, p. 138. The Bottle-Brush Family, p. 145. The Sandal-wood Family, p. 148. A Family of Root Parasites, p. 149. The Buckwheat Family, p. 151. The Beet Family, p. 154. The Pink Family, p. 156. The Marvel of Peru Family, p. 159. The Mesembryanthemnm Family, p. 159. The Buttercup Family, p. 160. The Magnolia Family, p. 172. The Pukatea, p. 174. The Laurel Family, p. 175. The Wallflower Family, p. 177. The Sundew Family, p. 180. The Currant-Tree Family, p. 185. The 4t Matipo " Family, p. 189. The Rose Family, p. 195. The Pea Family, p. 203. The Geranium Family, p. 215. The Flax Family, p. 218. The Rue Family, p. 218. The Mahogany Tree Family, p. 222. The Spurge Family, p. 224. The Maple Family, p. 324 The Tutu Family, p. 226. Pennantia, p. 230. The Karaka, p. 233. The Buckthorn Family, p. 235. The Lime-tree Family, p. 242. The Mallow Family, ]). 250. The Violet Family, p. 261. The Passion-flower Family, p. 268. The Daphne Family, p. 269. The Myrtle Family, p. 270. The Fuchsia Family, p. 290. The Haloragis Family, p. 295. The Dogwood Family, p. 297. The Ivy Family, p. 300. The Parsley Family, p. 313.
The Dicotyledons with United Petals, p. 323. The Heath Family, p. 323. The Myrsive
Family, p. 331. The Primrose Family, 333. The Olive Family, p. 334. The Nux- Vomica Family, p. 334. The Gentian Family, p. 336. The Periwinkle Family, p. 340. The Bindweed Family, p. 342. The Borage Family, p. 365. The Verbena Family, p. 349. The Thyme Family, p. 364. The Nightshade Family, p. 346. The Snap-dragon Family, p. 367. The Gloxinia Family, p. 366. The Butterwort Family, p. 388. The Madder Family, p. 389. The Honeysuckle Family, p. 399. The Cucumber Family, p. 399. The Canterbury Bell Family, p. 401. The Goodenia Family, ]>. 404. The Daisy Family, p. 405.
t
LIST
OF
ILLUSTEATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
Aciphylla Colensoi
j y
Monroi
Agathis australis (bush)
„ ,, (cones)
(tree)
Aristotelia racemosa Arthropodium cirrhatum
Astelia Banksii
55
5 5
Cunninghamii
nervosa
(Photo by J*. Crosby Smith)
Avicennia officinalis
(aerial roots)
Avicennia officinalis (flower)
(roots) (seed)
5 5
? 5
5 5
5 5
Beech Forest
(Photo by A. C. Gifford)
(seed)
Carpodetus serratus Cassinia Vauvilliersii Celmisia coriacea
5 5
5 5
5 5
longifolia
Clematis indivisa
(staminate form)
Clematis indivisa
(pistillate form) Clematis indivisa
(seed) Clematis parviflora Clianthus puniceus Coprosma arborea
lucida tenuicaulis
J 5
5 5
Cordyline australis (bush)
103
104
6
7
5
75
27
26
24
25
116
115
117 118
37
Beilschmiedia Tarairi Brachyglottis repanda Cabbage-tree bush Carex sexta
(Photo by J. Beans)
Carmichaelia australis (flower) 62
61
51
154
21 2
55 152 144 145 146
46
48
45
46
63
133
132
134
21
318
320
61
65
59
245
103
101
97
99
355
353
357 359 131
176
435
93
5
207 205 187 431 419 421 423 163
165
161
167 209 393 391 395 93
23
69
70
(trees) 71
Cordyline australis (flower) Coriaria ruscifolia Corynocarpus laevigata
(Photo by S. Page)
Corysanthes macrantha Craspedia uniflora Cupressoid Types
(Photo by H. Larkin)
Dacrydium cupressinum Dactylanthus Taylori Dendrobium Cunninghamii
(Photo by A. C. Gifford)
Discaria toumatou
(Photo by Dr. L. Cockayne)
Dracophyllum uniflorum Drosera auriculata
FIG. PAGE
35 153
124
12 42 34
73
5 >
spathulata
108 52 53
(Photo by J*. Crosby Smith)
Dysoxylum spectabile Earina suaveolens
? ?
? y
Elaeocarpus dentatus
> ?
Hookerianus
Entelea arborescens Epacris pauciflora Flax, New Zealand Freycinetia Banksii (flower)
(fruit)
68
31
33
76
77 74
107 28 13 14
95 227 231 234
126 434 374
77 150 123
240
330
181 183
223
117 121
247 249 243 328 105
79
81
Fruit, Group of Fuchsia excorticata Fusanus Cunninghamii Gaya Lyallii Gaultheria rupestris Geniostoma ligustrifolium
Gentiana corymbifera Gnaphalium trinerve Griselinia littoralis
(Photo by B. Berry.)
Hedycarya arborea Helichrysum bellidioides
Frontispiece
94
291
110 335
81 106 111
112
147
95
259 326 336 339 425 299
>>
grandiceps
50 151
150
173 429
428
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
XI
FIG. PAGE
elichrysum species
(Photo by H. Larkin)
Herpolirion novae- Zelandiae
(Photo by J. Crosby Smith)
Hoheria populnea
(var. augustifolia)
Ixerba brexioides Kahikatea berries Karaka grove
(Photo by S. Page)
Kauri bush
yy
11
cones
■
tree
Knightia excelsa Kowhai (yellow)
5 )
(red)
Leptospernium ericoides
5>
scopanum
(bush) .
II
y y
(flower)
Leucopogon fasciculatus Lianes
(Photo by S. Page)
Ligusticum piliferum Luzuriaga marginata
(Photo by J. Crosby Smith)
Macropiper excelsum Mangrove (flower)
yy
m
if
(aerial roots) (stilt roots) (seed)
Melicope simplex
M
II
(nat. size)
Melicytus ramiflorus Meryta Sinclairii Metrosideros hypericifolia
>*
>>
M
>>
>>
(tree)
scandens tomentosa
Microtis porrifolia Miro berries
Mxihlenbeckia axillaris
,, complexa
Myoporum laetum (flower)
» ,, (tree)
(Photo by S. Page.)
124
29
79
78 54 11 71
6 7 5 41 64 63 87 85
86
105 4
102 22
36 115 116 117 118
66
67
82
100 89
robusta (flower) 90
88
92
91
30
8
44
43
120
119
374
108
253
251
186
75
234
61 65 59
147 211 209
277 273
FIG. PAGE
275
324 17
316 94
129 353
355
357 359 219 221 265 310 279 283 278
287 2S5 113 67 154
153 363 362
Myrtus bullata Nertera dichondraefolia New Zealand Flax Ngaio Tree
(Photo by S. Page)
Nigger-heads
(Photo by J. Deans)
Nikau (bud in sheath)
>>
>>
> >
>>
(flower)
>>
(nat. size)
(Grove of) (abnormally branched)
Nothofagus (trees)
(Photo by A. C. Gifford)
>>
Menziesii (flower)
Nothopanax Colensoi Notothlaspi rosulatum
(Photo by B. Speight)
Olearia Forsteri
(Photo by H. Larkin)
>>
>>
furfuracea macrodonta
(Photo by J. Crosby Smith)
insignis
(Photo by A. Hamilton)
j>
>»
nummularifolia
virgata Orchids (group) Ourisia macrophylla
(Photo by A. Hamilton)
Paratrophis microphyllus Parsonsia capsularis Passiflora tetrandra Phormium tenax Pimelea virgata Pittosporum cornifolium
(flower)
93 135
28 119
289 397 105 362
2
5
16 17 18 15 19 37
85 86 87 83 89 131
38 97
135 303
Title Page
142
139
137
140
141
30
130
39
113
33
28 84 57
> y
? y
M
tenuifolium Plagianthus divaricatus
Pleurophyllum speciosum
(Photo by A. Hamilton)
Podocarpus dacrydioides
(seed) 58
56 80
143
1 1
»?
ferruginea totara
10
H
9
Pomaderris phylicaefolia Pseudopanax crassifolium
(flower)
72
99
415
138 409
410
407
411 413 113
385
137 341
267 105 271 192
193 191 255
417
73
67
71
237
308
Xll
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
FIG. PAGE
? y
Schmidelioides
Schefflera digitata Selliera radicans Senecio cassinioides
> >
Lyallii
98
32 49
148
149
131 20
Pseudopanax crassifolium
(tree)
(Photo by H. Larkin)
Pterostylis Banksii Ranunculus Lyallii Raoulia australis
(Photo by H. Larkin)
, , mammillaris
(Photo by H. Larkin)
Rhabdothamnus Solandri Rhipogonum scandens Rhopalostylis sapida (grove of) 15 Rhopalostylis sapida 19
(abnormally branched
specimen) Rhopalostylis sapida (bud in
sheath) Rhopalostylis sapida
(inflorescence of) Rhopalostylis sapida (flower,
nat. size) Rimu (spray of) Rubus australis
16
17
18 12 60 59 101 136 155 156
306
119 169 426
427
387 91 83 89
85
86
FIG. PAGE
87 77 199 197 31.2 404
437
438
Senecio saxifragoides Solanum aviculare Sophora tetraptera (flower)
(seed)
Stilbocarpa polaris
(Photo by A. Hamilton)
Styphelia acerosa Supple-jack Thelymitra longifolia Totara
(Photo by S.Page)
Tree-ferns Tupeia antarctica Tussock Country
(Photo by J. Deans)
Veronica cataractae
lycopodioides
>>
5 >
> J
>>
J )
monticola salicifolia speciosa Traversii
Veronicas (whip-cord)
(Photo by H. Larkin)
Vitex lucens Whip-cord Veronicas
(Photo by H. Larkin)
White Pine
(Photo by S. Page).
157
121
64
65
96
439 365 211 213 301
109
20
30
9
332 91
113 71
3
40
1
7
143
4
129 128 127 125 122 126 123
383 382 381 377 371 379 373
114 123
351 373
10
73
*
-**
Zealand
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
" Oh, when I am safe in my sylvan home, I tread on the pride of Greece and Rome, And when I am stretched beneath the pines, Where the evening star so holy shines, I laugh at the lore and the pride of Man, At the sophist schools and learned clan. For what are they all, in their high conceit, When Man in the bush with God may meet ? ' '
R. w. Emerson
New Zealand is almost in the centre of the greatest water- surface of the globe. It is indeed the Land's End of the world; and as such affords to the geologist, biologist, and ethnologist, material of the highest interest. But not to the scientist alone is it full of fascination. Any lover of Nature will find here an inexhaustible store-house for his wonder and admiration. Life everywhere is infinite in its variety and unfailing in its resourcefulness. In New Zealand it has developed many plants and animals unknown in any other
part of the world. Indeed, three-fourths of the indigenous species of flowering plants are not to be met with elsewhere. This is a much higher percentage of local forms than can be found in any other islands of approximately the same extent. This unparalleled proportion of endemic species is due, partly, perhaps, to the long isolation of the islands, partly to the great
2
2 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
variety of conditions they offer, and partly, no doubt, to the nature of the floras from which their own has been derived ; but also to unknown factors that have not, as yet, come within the ken of the investigator.
Not only does the flora contain a unique assemblage of local species, it also shows an unusually varied assortment of plant families and associations. Nor is this to be wondered at, if we consider the changes of climatic, geographical, and geological conditions to be met with every few miles. We would certainly expect to find many very different kinds of vegetation between the warm sub-tropical ravines of the volcanic Kermadecs, and the wind-swept heights of the sub- Antarctic Auckland Islands ; and we are not disappointed in our search. Hooker, and other early botanists, declared that the plant covering was constant over wide areas ; but this generalization was largely due to an imperfect acquaintance with the distribution of the species, and with the rarer forms of the flora. It has not been borne out by the work of more recent investigators. Many New Zealand plants are very restricted in their distribution.
The altitudinal changes of climate are as well marked as
-
those of latitude. There is often not more than twenty or thirty miles distance between the line of sea-level and that of perpetual snow. Thus, within a comparatively small area, all types of plants may be found, from those of the sea-shore, to those of alpine heights. Great variations in rainfall are also to be met with in places not far apart. This, of course, i& largely due to the presence of high mountain chains, such as the Southern Alps, the Kaikouras, and Ruahines. The smallest average rainfall yet recorded is that of Clyde, with 15 inches, and the highest, 228 inches, at Puysegur Point. The former place is in Central, the latter in South- Western Otago ; and the distance between them is only 150 miles. Indeed, there are few districts of equal extent that can show so many changes of climate, elevation, and surface in such a small
.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3
-
space as New Zealand. It might be expected, therefore, that not many plants would cover large areas of the country to the exclusion of other species ; and this is the case. Except for the beeches, the manuka, the tussock-grass, and the bracken fern, few species monopolize any large tract of country. The constant changes of surface, altitude, and climate must of necessity be reflected in the plant -covering of the land. Even the most careless observer is struck by the great differences in the floras of the eastern and western sides of the dividing range — differences corresponding in a large measure, to increase or decrease of average rainfall. In some places, within a distance of a mile or two, the beech forest of the drier regions changes into the mixed bush of the moister western area.
New Zealand, therefore, presents a field of unsurpassed interest to the botanist. Here he may find plants grouped together into as many different associations as on a continent. All classes of habitat, from the littoral to the alpine, from the arid plain to the lake, from the rock to the peat-bog, from moorland to salt meadow, are well represented. Plants are to be met with in an almost endless variety of situations. We shall, however, at present consider only the plants of the open plains, the forest (or, as it is locally termed, the " bush "), the scrub, and the mountains.
a
The Open Country.
I see again the upland wilds,
Stern, rugged, bleak, and bare ;
The strong winds sweep o'er the hill sides steep
And the tussocks toss in the icy air
Silver and gold in the changing light,
Gold and silver far up on the heights
Of the mountain wild and bare."
David McKee Wright
Throughout New Zealand, from Southland to the North Cape, there are numerous open plains of greater or lesser extent. In England such spaces would be meadow lands, carpeted with
4
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
a grassy sward, which would in spring and summer be spangled with flowers. In New Zealand, they are covered with a
north as Lake
getation of a
y different type. As far
Taupo, it consists chiefly of tussock grass, toe- toe and cabbage tree (palm-lily) . This plant formation is most highly developed
Canterbury, where wide open tussock-clad pi
cover an
of two and a half
The Englishman, on his
arrival here, is puzzled by the appearance of detached hillocks of grass, in place of the continuous turf of the green fields to which he is accustomed. He cannot understand that this dry
-.- -w\- «_. .
;
■
.
■
■
V
■ -
.
■ .
•
: ■
■
»
Fig. 1— Tussock Country.
hard wiry straw can replace, to a large extent, the pasture lands of England. This plant association not only covers much of the flat country, but is found in many places throughout the South Island upon the hills, especially on the eastern slopes of the ranges. The chief species of grasses in it are Poa caespitosa and Poa anceps, but Danthonias and Festucas are also to be met with in such situations.
The tussock country is dearly loved by every New Zealander. It is full of associations for him. The stock-rider, the shepherd, the swagger, and even the sun-downer know every aspect of
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
r>
it.
They have seen it in early morning, when every
tawny thread had its string of clammy mist drops.
They
have seen
it again
at midday, a parched and thirsty land, that seemed to be covered with broken yellow wavelets, flying
before the fierce squalls of the nor'-wester.
They
have stumbled through the entangled tufts at night, too tired to lift their feet. They have slept amongst them, tying
tunnel in which they might be sheltered from the cutting night winds of the plain. In many places, particularly near water courses or shingly
together adjacent bunches to form a
beds, the toe- toe {Arundo consp
largely replaces the
tussock. It is the tallest and most conspicuous grass in the New Zealand Flora. It bears a considerable resemblance to
Fig. 2— Nigger-heads.
the magnificent Pampas Grass of the Argentine, now cultivated all over the world. It is not, however, so large or so beautiful as the American grass ; it flowers at a different season, and may readily be distinguished by the more graceful droop of the flowerstalk. The plumes of the pampas grass are taller, straighter, and stiffer than those of the toe- toe. The edges of streams on the tussock-clad plains are often fringed with flax and bulrush, whilst, in the water itself, stand numbers of blackened stumps about two feet high, bearing on their summits drooping brushes of long, coarse, green, or tawny threads. These are termed by the colonists, nigger-heads.
This plant, (Carex secta) carries out literally the advice of St. Augustine, and makes of its dead-self a stepping stone to
6
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
higher things, for the lower portion of the stump consists of the dead roots of past seasons ; and by growing on these the plant gradually raises itself out of the water of the bog in which it grows, into higher and drier levels.
The edge of the New Zealand swamp has been well described by Mr. A. H. Adams, in a poem called The Brave Days To Be—
" Out in the open, by the swampy pools, The army of waving grasses went ; First in the van the hosts of xraupo reared Long lines of ruddy spears ; close following The green ranks of the 2harakeke came, Lifting aloft their sullen flashing blades,
And sturdy bronze-brown standards ; and, behind, The 3tois* white battalions flaunted far Their dazzling banners and soft silver plumes, While gaunt and motionless upon the hill, The naked 4cabbage- trees stood sentinel."
The Feen Land.
North of Lake Tanpo, the tnssock country ends. Auckland the open land is covered with heath or fern.
In Fern
country is found throughout New Zealand, but becomes more plentiful towards the North. Here there are large areas covered with the bracken, {Pteris aquilina ; var. esculenta).
In many places it grows in great luxuriance, rising to the height of ten feet, and forming miniature forests that cover the land to the exclusion of all other vegetation.
The rhizome of this fern, as is well known, was used by the
Maoris for food when none other could be obtained.
It
therefore held an important place in their dietary, though it can scarcely be described as a staple article of food. To prepare it for use it was soaked, washed, placed on a flat rock,
and repeatedly beaten by a heavy stone pestle
club (patu.)
1. The bulrush (Typha angustifolia) .
2, The flax (Phormmm tenax).
3. Arundo consjricua.
4. Cor&yline australis.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
7
During the beating the fibres were picked out. The material left behind bore some resemblance to arrowroot, but only the pangs of hunger would induce the European to consider it
palatable.
Though there are no other varieties which cover so wide an area, yet the ferns form such a prominent feature in the Flora, that New Zealand is often termed " The Land of Ferns," and a fern frond has been taken as its emblem.
:
Fie. 3— Tree Ferns.
Perhaps there is no country of equal size outside of the Tropics, which has such a large number of different kinds of ferns as New Zealand, and possibly none could show greater magnificence of fern-life. Prominent amongst the species are the tree-ferns. These help to give the forest that semi-tropical appearance, which will shortly be described. There are,
in addition, a
large
number of species of Filmy-Ferns,
(Hymenophyllum), Polypods, Aspleniums, and Lomarias.
The
8 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Club-Mosses (Lycopods) are also exceptionally well developed, and are the largest of the order known. The discovery of a number of the germinating spores of various species in New Zealand is likely, before long, to add consider- ably to our knowledge of the life-history and affinities of this interesting order of plants.
The Bush.
i <
I am Tane — the Tree-God ! Mine are forests not a few-
Forests, and I love them greatly, Moss-encrusted, ancient, stately."
Domett.
The New Zealand bush can scarcely be said to show any typical aspect. It reflects the prevailing lack of uniformity of the plant associations. Consequently, it is impossible to describe in a single epithet its chief characteristic. Indeed, so varied is it, that one can often find in a single forest, as many different kinds of trees as there would be in half of Europe ; and these, not belonging to a few orders as do the European trees, but to the most widely divergent families. Palm and pine, rata and mangrove, cabbage tree and fuchsia, beech and fern — the Malayan and South American plant grow here in apparent, if not real amity. At first sight, it would seem as if the ends of the earth had been laid under contribution for strange forms, which were afterwards assembled on these islands, but a closer examination shows that this has not been the case; for, though the bush has quite a patch- work appear- ance, most of our trees, as will be shown subsequently, have come to us from Malaysia, or at any rate from Melanesia.
There is, however, one undeniable characteristic of the forests. They are gloomy, though it may be doubted whether they are more sombre than those of many other regions. The
dark hue and leathery texture of the foliage, is no doubt due to
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9
the fact that the native trees are evergreen. Leaves that have to last through several seasons are rarely so soft in texture, or light in tint, as those that have only to withstand the storms of a few months. There are but few deciduous plants of any kind in New Zealand. Gaya Lyallii, Plagianthus betulinus, Olearia Colensoi, two species of Milhlenbeckia, a North Island variety of Sophora, the Fuchsias, Discaria toumatou, are perhaps the only deciduous, or partially deciduous, plants to be found here. Hence the tender greens and browns, which in spring delight the eye in the English woods, and the more brilliant tints of autumn, are almost wanting in New Zealand. Some few of the evergreens, however, {e.g., Entelea, Aristotelia racemosd) in addition to the native deciduous species, have leaves of lighter green and softer texture than the ordinary bush tree. Indeed, if a forest is closely looked at from above, it will be found to show many different shades, though the prevailing type of foliage is undoubtedly the dry, hard, glossy, dark-green, simple, more or less oblong leaf.
Nor is the characteristic gloom of the forest relieved by its blossoms, for the flowers of most of the New Zealand trees are quite inconspicuous. They are generally small, and oftentimes green, and completely hidden by the foliage. There are, of course, exceptions. Among these may be mentioned those of the whau, the hinau, pokaka, Gaya, Hoheria and the various species of Metrosideros (rata and pohutukawa). As none of these except the ratas ever form large forests, to the more or less complete exclusion of other trees, it is rare to find the bush showing any great profusion of bloom. Occasionally, however, the rata covers with its crimson flowers the flanks of some great mountain range, and the sight is then well worth going far to see.
Such brilliancy of colouring, however, is rare. Yet, particu- larly in the North Island, the beauty' of the bush is much enhanced by the Nikau Palm, the fern-tree and the cabbage- tree, which are frequently found growing together in great
10 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
profusion. It would then almost seem as if the vegetation of a tropical island from the warm Southern Seas had been dropped in amongst our more sombre flora, for these three plants all bring with them suggestions of a warmer land than this. Indeed, some have said, basing their statements on this and similar facts, that the climate of New Zealand has been, in recent geological times, much warmer than at present. They endeavour to strengthen their argument by adducing in support of it, the evidence afforded by the profusion of climbers and twiners, which often render the bush an almost impenetrable jungle. However, conclusions as to past climate based only on present characteristics of mature plants are of little value. The true explanation of the resemblance between our forests and those of sub-tropical regions is to be found in the fact that nearly all our bush trees are of Melanesian origin. The beeches are the most important exceptions to this rule.
The Natural Permanence of the Bush.
Another erroneous opinion is that the bush is impermanent ; that it actually flies before the advancing footsteps of civili- zation. It is said that whenever tracks are cut through decay sets in on both sides, the undergrowth dies, the ferns and mosses disappear, and even the trees themselves become
gaunt and misshapen, and their leaves few and tattered. This statement can only be regarded as incorrect. Even in the drier districts where the trees are struggling against very adverse conditions, a forest that has been " cut out " will, in time, replace itself, if not subjected to the interference of man and other animals. Surveyors' tracks through damp bush are soon overgrown when left undisturbed ; and, as Dr. Cockayne has shown, a burnt area is soon reforested, in the wetter •districts at least, though not necessarily retaining the same predominant species.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 11
Yet, it must be admitted that the limits of conditions within which the varied life of the forest can maintain itself, are comparatively narrow. Many of the native trees are extremely susceptible to frost. Some of the bush-plants of Otago cannot endure the winters of the more Northern Canterbury Plains, but this is not because the forest is decadent. The climate of these plains is an extreme one. Plants that can nourish there must be able to withstand excess of drought, heat, cold, and insolation. Mr. T. W. Adams, of Greendale, has shown that there are but few foreign trees and shrubs which can adapt themselves to these con- ditions. It is, therefore, scarcely a matter for surprise that this district and the somewhat similar one of Central Otago, should be treeless. Undoubtedly, they were both once partially bush-clad ; but the destruction of their forests was probably not in any way due to an increasing severity of climate. It is susceptible of quite another explanation. In these districts the rainfall does not reach thirty inches a year. Now, the experience of many countries, but particularly of the United States, proves that forests cannot exist permanently in regions with a rainfall of less than thirty inches per annum. If, owing to a cycle of wet weather, accompanied perhaps by other contributing causes, they manage to get a foothold in arid districts, they are always liable to be swept off by fire ; and, being once so destroyed, it is difficult for them, without artificial assistance, to become reinstated.
The soil, unprotected by the shade of the foliage, dries up, and germination is soon made impossible. On hill slopes the spongy mosses no longer retain the moisture. After rain, the rivers and streams become more quickly flooded. Hundreds of acres of soil are thus frequently swept away, and a bare rocky surface replaces the once dense forest. This process is going on throughout New Zealand wherever the bush is being artificially cleared, but the devastation is greatest on the steep hill tops. In America it has been found
12
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
y to take special steps at great expense, to re-forest
the upper mountain sloj
In New Zealand, the Forestry
Department, with admirable foresight, has already secured a number of climatic reserves on mountain summits. These will have to be fenced off to secure the exclusion of sheep and cattle, for such animals work irretrievable havoc in the forest undergrowth, and to them must be attributed much of the apparent decadence of the natural forests, Wherever they have secured admission to the dense bush, seedlings and young trees are soon trodden under foot, broken down, and killed;
-
light is let in, and the bush gradually decays and disappears.
The Desteuction of the Fobest.
As we have already seen, much of the tussock country of the South was at one time forest-clad. The evidence of charred logs on or below the surface of the ground, proves that some of it, at any rate, was cleared by fire in recent times. This may have been started spontaneously, or may have been the work of pre-historic dwellers in the land. The Maoris in the South Island have a tradition that when the Te Kapuwai tribe spread over the country, Invercargill was submerged by water, the forests of Canterbury and Otago were destroyed by fire, and the Moa was exterminated. Canon Stack put this in his list of uncertain traditions , but there is at least nothing inherently improbable in the destruction of these forests about this time. In Auckland, the presence of the kauri gum in vast areas now treeless, or occupied only by the manuka and other heath plants, is proof that at one time the kauri forests were of much greater extent than at present. The cause of their disappearance is unknown.
Whatever may have been the causes in the past, affecting the reduction or increase of forest areas, they fall into insig- nificance compared with the changes artificially wrought since
GENEliAL INTRODUCTION 13
the arrival of Europeans. It is impossible to give any but the roughest estimate of the area covered by forest, when the first white men reached New Zealand, but it was undoubtedly very great, In 1893 the area still bush-clad was estimated at twenty millions of acres. This acreage is being reduced annually by an amount of not less than 100,000 to 200,000 acres. Clearly, our forests will last only a comparatively short time if this rate is maintained. Of course, only a very small proportion of timber is removed and utilized. Most of it is burnt on the spot. Much of this destruction has been inevi-
table, but some of it, unfortunately, has been wanton, The remark of Sir Julius Vogel, " that a swagger would burn down a forest to light his pipe," is perhaps somewhat of an exaggera- tion, though it must be confessed that some of the finest kauri forests have been destroyed by such acts of carelessness. Happily, most of the bush is too damp to be in danger of accidental burning. The bigger trees must first of all be felled, and the forest afterwards set fire to in the drier season of the year. However necessary this clearing may be, it can- not fail to leave with the lover of nature a feeling of sadness. The Hon. W. P. Keeves (High Commissioner of New Zealand in London) has well expressed this sentiment in a noble poem , He has kindly given his consent to its publication here. The final stanza is, we believe, now for the first time printed.
<<
THE PASSING OF THE FOREST."
All cannot fade that glorifies the hills,
Their strength remains, their aspect of command, Their flush of colour when calm evening stills
Day's clamour, and the sea-breeze cools the land. With shout of thunder and with voice of rills,
Ancient of days in green old age they stand In grandeur that can never know decay,
Though from their flanks men strip the woods away.
14 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
But thin their vesture now — the restless grass,
Bending and dancing as the breeze goes by, Catching quick gleams and cloudy shades that pass,
As shallow seas reflect a wind-stirred sky. Ah ! nobler far their forest raiment was
From crown to feet that clothed them royally, Shielding their mysteries from the glare of day,
Ere the dark woods were reft and torn away.
Well may these plundered and insulted kings,
Stripped of their robes, despoiled, uncloaked, discrowned,
Draw down the clouds with white enfolding wings, And soft aerial fleece to wrap them round,
To hide the scars that every season brings,
The fire's black smirch, the landslip's gaping wound ;
Well may they shroud their heads in mantle grey,
Since from their brows the leaves were plucked away!
I
Gone is the forest world, its wealth of life,
Its jostling, crowding, thrusting, struggling race Creeper with creeper, bush with bush at strife,
Warring and wrestling for a breathing space ; Below, a realm with tangled rankness rife,
Aloft, tree columns, shafts of stateliest grace. Gone is the forest nation. None might stay ;
Giant and dwarf alike have passed away.
Gone are the forest birds, arboreal things,
Eaters of honey, honey-sweet of song, The tui, and the bell-bird, — he who sings
That brief, rich music we would fain prolong. Gone the wood-pigeon's sudden whirr of wings ;
The daring robin, all unused to wrong. Wild, harmless, hamadryad creatures, they
Lived with their trees, and died, and passed away*
•
And with the birds the flowers, too, are gone
That bloomed aloft, ethereal, stars of light ; The clematis, the kowhai like ripe corn,
Russet, though all the hills in green were dight ; The rata, draining from its tree forlorn
Rich life-blood for its crimson blossoms bright, Red glory of the gorges — well-a-day !
Fled is that splendour, dead and passed away.
INTRODUCTION 15
Gone are the forest tracks, where oft we rode Under the silver fern-fronds climbing slow, In cool, green tunnels, though fierce noontide glowed
■
And glittered on the tree-tops far below. There, mid the stillness of the mountain road,
We just could hear the valley river flow, Whose voice through many a windless summer day
Haunted the silent woods, now passed away.
Drinking fresh odours, spicy wafts that blew,
We watched the glassy, quivering air asleep, Midway between tall cliffs that taller grew
Above the unseen torrent calling deep : Till, like a sword, cleaving the foliage through,
The waterfall flashed foaming down the steep : White, living water, cooling with its spray
Dense plumes of fragile fern, now scorched away
Keen is the axe, the forest fire streams bright,
Clear, beautiful, and fierce, it speeds for man The Master, set to change and stern to smite,
Bronzed pioneer of nations ! — Ay, but scan The ruined wonder wasted in a night,
The ravaged beauty God alone could plan, And builds not twice ! A bitter price to pay
Is this for progress, — beauty swept away !
Types op Fokest.
Though the bush is generally of mixed type, yet, in certain districts, particular species predominate to the more or less complete exclusion of others. The Oxford and Alford Forests consist almost entirely of Nothofagus Solandri. Nothofagus Cliffortioides often forms the sole species in mountain districts. In the North of Auckland the kauri is found in groves, and sometimes even in forests. There are large areas in the east- central portion of the North Island, in which the totara is the prevailing tree. Throughout the lowland forests of the South Island the rimu is plentiful, but the sub-alpine forests of the
16 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
western ranges consist almost entirely of the various species of Nothofagus. In many districts of the North, particularly in the south of Auckland Province, the tawa is found in immense quantities. In swamps in both Islands large masses of kahikatea (white pine) occur. In other places scattered through the islands the rata is the prevailing tree. The coastal forests usually produce a very great variety of trees. The beech, rata, and kauri forests will be described more fully when the trees themselves are dealt with.
Lianes.
Exulting Nature so delights,
So riots in profusion, she
Twice over does her work for glee !
A tangled intricacy first she weaves,
Under and upper growth of bush and tree
In rampant wrestle for ascendancy,
Then round it all a richer overflow
*
Of reckless vegetation flings,
That here close-moulding on the shrubs below
A matted coat of delicate leaves,
Mantles the muffled life whereon it clings,
Into a solid mass of greenery.
There mounting to the tree-tops, down again
Comes wildly wantoning in a perfect rain
Of trailers — self-encircling living strings
Unravellable ; see how all about
The hundred-stranded creeper cordage swings ! ' '
DOMETT.
Plants which depend upon others for existence, and therefore cannot group themselves into associations, are said to form Guilds. * No description of the bush would be complete without some reference to the guilds it contains. The chief of these are the climbers or lianes, epiphytes, saprophytes and parasites. Of these, only the first two need be considered here. The climbing and creeping plants have had a special fascination
*Ger., Genossenschaften.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
17
Fig. 4. — Lianes.
18 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
for many writers. The term liane, like the blessed word Mesopotamia, seems almost to have been sufficient to bring tears to the eyes of Kerner. In a rapturous passage he alludes to it as the " beautiful word liane " the " sweet word liane." It is difficult to see why the bush climbers should have aroused so much enthusiasm. Possibly, it is because they are comparatively rare in Europe, and have, therefore, been looked upon as symbolizing the luxuriance and strangeness of
the tropical forest. In England there are no climbers that reach the tops of the trees except the ivy and honeysuckle. Lianes reach their highest development in the Tropics, but particularly in the West Indies and Brazil. • In New Zealand, both they and the epiphytes are better represented than in any other extra-tropical country except Chili, whose forests show frequent resemblances to those of New Zealand. j
The advantage of a climbing stem to the bush plant is obvious. Little direct sunlight can penetrate into the cavernous depths of the forest. The interior of the New Zealand bush is immersed in a cathedral-like gloom. Few plants, therefore, can grow upon its floor. Only when some giant of the forest falls, is there room for another to develop. Such seeds as germinate must quickly struggle up to the light overhead or die. There is no time for them to grow into trees. Many, therefore, have developed a climbing habit, in order to be able to ascend rapidly to the surface of the ocean of green boughs, that toss above in the wind under the ' sweet flooding sunshine.' They are careless of the means by which they climb. Their one cry seems to be, " more light, more light ! "*
Amongst our climbers many different methods are adopted for reaching the light. The kie-kie sprawls awkwardly over
* It is easy to be guilty of the " pathetic fallacy," and to read into their upward struggles our human emotions, as Kingsley has done in a well-known passage in At Last; but such an interpretation will not help us towards a real understanding of plant nature. At the same time, in mere description, it is often difficult to avoid the use of words or phrases which may seem to imply in the plant a human motive. Where such may happen to occur in this book, they must be understood purely in the descriptive and not in the teleological sense.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19
the ground until it falls across a tree. Then it fixes its roots into the crevices of the bark, and pulls itself up. It often ends in smothering its living ladder with immense masses of sword-like foliage, whose weight must be tremendous. Similarly, several of the rata vines ascend by ivy-like rootlets. The large rata-tree, however, strangles its support, putting out transverse finger-like roots that cannot fail to impress the ordinary observer with the apparent purposefulness of their grasp. The lawyer, on the other hand, cat-like, fixes its recurved claws into the bark of a tree, and thus drags itself up. The Clematis and Passiflora climb by tendrils. The Supple-jack, Miihlenbeckias, Convolvuli, Parsonsias, Ipomea, and Senecio sciadophilus twine. None of these are strong enough to support themselves, though some of them — particularly the lawyers and Miihlenbeckias — may occasionally be found in the open, where they form mounded heaps, often many feet in diameter, and several feet in height.
Wanderers through the bush are often puzzled by observing cable-like stems that fall pendent from the roof of the forest to its floor, without support. It seems impossible that these climbers, with their flexible stems, could have got into such a position without some external help. Often it will be found that these rope-like lianes belong to a species of Rubus, (the bush-lawyer) . They have originally been endowed with hooks by which they have climbed up a tree. Their weight and upward growth have finally disengaged them from the trunk by which they have ascended, and in the course of years they may be removed by various processes to a considerable distance from it. If the liane is not a Rubus, then its position can only be explained by supposing that the tree up which it climbed has died, probably in an unavailing effort to push up
to the light. Many young trees throughout the forest must perish in this way.
The structure of the stem in lianes is of considerable interest, but for a description of this some text book of botany must be consulted.
20
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Epiphytes.
< <
What a load
That sturdy giant lifts in air !
His mighty arms are strong and broad,
But all with alien growths are furred,
A shaggy hide of creepers rare ;
Their forks are all blocked up and blurred
With tufts of clogging parasites
That crowd till not a spot left bare
Might offer footing for a bird ! "
Domett.
The epiphytes constitute another important plant guild. These are plants which grow upon others, yet receive no nourishment from them. They must be carefully distinguished from parasites, with which they are often confused. The parasite obtains its nourishment more or less completely from the plant on which it grows. Some of the epiphytes, perhaps,
They
owe their existence to the same cause as the lianes. are plants which have assumed a habitat in the forks, or on the branches of trees, in order to obtain more light ; but this explanation will scarcely account for the New Zealand species, as these, without exception, are occasionally found growing on
rocks.
It is obvious that a plant which grows upon the bark of a tree must often suffer from scarcity of water. Hence most of our epiphytes have contrivances to protect them from excessive transpiration. A plant, therefore, which can live epiphytically, is also adapted for living on such a dry situation as a rocky cliff. There, however, it may suffer from an excess of sunshine. The physiological adaptations demanded by the one situation are not necessarily quite the same as those required for the other. Hence, though most epiphytes are more or less commonly found growing on rocks, the converse is by no means true.
Epiphytes, like lianes, are generally supposed to be the mark of a tropical climate. In Great Britain epiphytical
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 21
shrubs and trees are unknown, and the chief plants found on trunks and limbs of trees are accidental epiphytes, such as mosses and ferns. The light spores of these are blown about by the wind, and thus are able to reach lofty situations on the face of a cliff, or in the forks of a tree. The seeds of some dicotyledonous epiphytes, such as those of the rata, may be carried about in the same way, but others are deposited in position by birds. In New Zealand the number of epiphytes is very large, considering the latitude of the country. We must again, as in the case of the lianes, go to Chili to find forests in a similar latitude with an equal abundance of epiphytic growths. Diels suggests that this characteristic is due to large rainfall in the forest regions of both countries. The following list includes the most important of the epiphytic species. amongst the flowering plants: — Astelia Cunning hamii,
A. Solandri, A. spicata, Earina mucronata, E. autumnalis, Dendrobium Cunning hamii, Bolbophyllum pygmaeum, Sarcochilus adversus, Peperomia Urvilleana, Pittosporum cornifoliuni, Metrosideros robusta, M. Colensoi, Griselinia lucida. Diels includes in his list Elatostema rugosum and Gaultheria epiphyta, but is surely in error in doing so. E. rugosum is found only on the sides of creeks and rivers, and in very moist places. It is plentiful, for example, on the rocky walls of the Wanganui River in some parts of its course. G. epiphyta is misnamed, and the error has apparently misled Diels.
The Scrub.
9
Perhaps some mention should be made here of the Scrub, as it is strange to the visitor from the Northern Hemisphere. The light underwood of the English copse or thicket is very different from the impenetrable shaggy scrub of New Zealand. In the wind-swept regions of the south, it is sometimes so
22 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
dense that progress through it is impossible. It must be either avoided altogether or walked over. Anyone who essays the latter method of advance, does so with the risk of falling through the uneven floor of rigid branchlets which supports him. Should this accident happen, he may be much bruised or scratched, though he is not likely to be seriously hurt. The scrub consists chiefly of Coprosmas, but also contains species of Cassinia, Olearia, Myrtus, etc. The leaves of the typical scrub plant are small and sparse, the branches rigid, twiggy, and often pointed. The manuka is often termed a scrub plant, but its characteristics are rather those of the Heath, which will be described later.
The Alpine Vegetation.
In the South Island, the mixed lowland forest is generally replaced at altitudes of from 1,000 feet to 2,000 feet, by the beech forest. Beyond 3,000 or 4,000 feet this passes into the
the region of sub-alpine shrubs, which are mostly Veronicas and Compositae. These, again, gradually give way to the alpine herbs of the mountain meadows, moors, and shingle-slips. With the line of perpetual snow all vegetation ends. In the North Island there are only three peaks which rise over 7,000 feet, the volcanic mountains, Ruapehu, Egmont, and Ngauruhoe. The first of the three is the highest, being just over 9,000 feet. In the South Island, the Southern Alps, which culminate in Mount Cook, 12,349 feet high, have hundreds of peaks which are over 7,000 feet. - Hence the alpine vegetation flourishes best on that range. The perpetual snow-line ranges from about 7,000 feet in Otago, to 8,000 feet in Nelson. The Kaikoura range on the East Coast also has several peaks which are never free from snow. There, too, alpine herbage has been found, but this range has hitherto
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 23
been explored very imperfectly by botanists. The vegetation of the Southern Alps, thanks to Buchanan, von Haast and Dr. Cockayne, is now comparatively well known, though there are doubtless a considerable number of mountain species yet to be discovered. It is to this range, then, that botanists must turn to find the best known New Zealand alpine plants. Nor need they be mountaineers, for many of the species that belong climatically to higher levels, come down to the lower passes, and sometimes descend the river beds almost to the plains. On the top of Arthur's Pass, on the Canterbury- Westland coach road, numerous alpine and sub-alpine species are to be found. Here, in January, the wild flowers blossom in the
-
greatest profusion, forming a garden whose uncovenanted beauty might easily put to shame the stately flower ranks and geometrical foliage beds of many a prized parterre. True, white is the prevailing colour, broken occasionally by gleams of yellow, but though there is no gorgeousness, there is at least no disharmony of tone. Ranunculus Lyallii with its large white cups, and Celmisias of various species, with their large daisy-like flowers, are conspicuous in such an alpine meadow, by the size, beauty, and profusion of their blooms. Even when these plants are not flowering, there is still to be seen that wonderful variety of leafage so dear to every mountain climber's heart. Buskin has well described it, though writing of European forms. " The leaves of the herbage at our feet take all kinds of strange shapes, as if to invite us to examine them. Star-shaped, heart-shaped, spear-shaped, arrow-shaped, fretted, fringed, cleft, furrowed, serrated, sinuated, in whorls, in tufts, in spires, in wreaths endlessly expressive, deceptive, fantastic, never the same from footstalk to blossom ; they seem perpetually to tempt our watchfulness, and take delight in outstripping our wonder."
The alpine plants and foliage must always have a fascination for those who delight in beauty and variety of leaf-form.
M
PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
Their flowers, too, are certainly the most attractive amongst those of the herbaceous plants of New Zealand. Town dwellers, in their nntravelled and untrammelled ignorance, frequently say that New Zealand has no wild flowers. Certainly we have none in the neighbourhood of the cities, or on the plains, that can compare with those of the fields and hedgerows of England. One reason for this is obvious. "Where not too dry, the land has, previous to the advent of the white man, been covered with forest. There have been no damp meadows or shady lanes to provide a home for annual or bulbous plants. But though we have no pale beauty of primrose or deep glow of violet, there is many a handsome plant and many a sweet-scented flower amidst the great lonelinesses of the Alps, for the pleasure of those who care to leave the cities, and live for a time in the fresh air and glorious scenes of the mountain heights.
The Origin op the New Zealand Flora.
The discussion of the relationships of the fauna and flora of Southern regions has given rise to some of the most fascinating speculations of modern science. It has provided us with quite unexpected glimpses into the past history of the earth's surface, and of the climatic conditions then prevailing. We have learnt from it stories of sunken continents,
and of warm seas full of
life,
where now there are
only barren ice-sheets. However pleasant it might be to follow the by-paths of Science in the investigation of such questions, the limitations of our space prevent us from giving them any adequate treatment here. A consideration of the chief factors involved in the present distribution of animal and vegetable life in the South Temperate Zone, would require references to strati- graphical geology, ocean soundings, and to general geological and astronomical theories quite outside the scope of this work.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 25
At present we are concerned solely with the origin of our flora. It is clear, however, that such a question can only be very imperfectly treated, if confined to a discussion of the present distribution of plant life in southern lands. Any conclusions derived from the study of botanical relations alone, must be subjected to such modifications as may be demanded by evidence obtained from the study of the other sciences. For example, the plants of two widely separated districts often show closer relationships than the animals do. This apparent anomaly will be explained, if we remember that stretches of
sea which may prove insuperable barriers to the passage of
land animals, may be crossed by plants. We must, therefore, in our treatment of the subject give conclusions that have been based on a wider discussion than is possible here.
Whilst doing this, we shall consider shortly the evidence of fossil botany, and of the present distribution of plant life throughout the Southern Hemisphere. The first problem that naturally arises in the discussion, is the connection existing between the New Zealand flora and the Australian. This is larger than can be accounted for by mere proximity.
Another question of unusual interest, is the origin of the remarkable South American and Antarctic elements in our flora. Probably the most complete and ingenious theory, yet put forward to account for this connection, is that of the late *Capt. F. W. Hutton, F.K.S. Some of his views have been combated by Dr. A. R. Wallace and others ; but undoubtedly the New Zealand biologist had a much wider knowledge of the present and past conditions of distribution prevailing in the Southern Hemisphere, than any of his critics. We shall, therefore, adopt his views here. In one point all are agreed, and that is as to the past great extension of the Antarctic Continent into sub-temperate seas. The demonstration of this has been recently termed " one of the greatest triumphs of
*In the recent death of this distinguished scientist, New Zealand has suffered a loss that can scarcely be too much deplored.
26
PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
modern science." We are proud to say that this magnificent generalization is in considerable measure due to the work of New Zealand botanists. Before, however, considering the botanical evidence, we must treat shortly of the general characteristics of our fauna and flora.
Oceanic and Continental Islands.
For the purposes of the biologist, islands may be divided into two classes, continental and oceanic. A continental island is one which has at some period of its existence been united to an adjacent land-mass. Its fauna and flora contain few endemic species, and differ little, if at all, from that of the neighbouring continental area. Great Britain is an excellent example of a continental island. The British fauna and flora are simply parts of the European fauna and flora. In quite recent times the Straits of Dover have been dry land. An oceanic island, on the other hand, is one that has never been united to any continental area. Its fauna .and flora are often
very fragmentary, and frequently contain a high percentage of endemic species. Its plants and animals are generally provided with good powers of distribution ; and have reached the island from across the sea. The Azores may be taken as an example of a group of Oceanic islands.
To which of these two classes shall we assign the islands of New Zealand ? It has characteristics both of continental and oceanic islands, and it is, therefore, sometimes termed anomalous. However, there is much evidence to show that it was at one time attached to a land area probably much larger than that of Europe ; and that it is consequently entitled to rank, geographically speaking, as a continental island. Yet its fauna, unlike that of most large land areas, is very fragmentary. The flora, though more complete than the fauna, has also many gaps in it, and both fauna and flora contain
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 27
a larger proportion of endemic species than a typical con- tinental island usually does. Nevertheless, there are many reasons for the belief that the ancestral stock from which New Zealand plant and animal life originated, was a continental one. Before attempting to answer more precisely the question : "Whence has our plant life come?" we must try to decide as far as possible how long the present flora has been in existence, and whether we must look for its ancestry here, or in some foreign land.
The Age of the Flora.
There is a common but erroneous opinion, that the New
Zealand flora shows marks of exceptional antiquity. There are perhaps several groups of facts which have led to this mistake. (1) Many of the New Zealand geological formations are of great age. New Zealand is an old land. (2) The almost complete absence of indigenous mammalia, and the presence of certain ancient forms of animal life, e.g. Peripatus Sphenodon, (the tuatara, etc.), prove the unusual age of the fauna. (3) The remarkable development of fern trees and of club-mosses, and the comparative absence of large and showy flowers seem almost to imply antiquity for the flora.
But none of these facts are sufficient to justify the belief. The high age of part of the rocks and of the fauna is not a necessary proof of the antiquity of the flora. Plants can transport themselves over barriers insurmountable to animals. Few wingless land animals can cross five hundred miles of sea, yet we have evidence that this has been done by the seeds of many plants. Hence, a comparatively young flora may sometimes be found living in company with a much more ancient fauna. We must, therefore, rely .entirely on the evi- dence of the plants themselves for determining their antiquity or otherwise. Hooker, it is true, states that the New Zea- land lycopods " are the largest of the order, and present nearer
28 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
affinities to the fossil Lycopodiaceae of the coal period, than any other existing plants* " ; but this opinion cannot justify the extraordinary statement seen at times in the books of popular writers, that the New Zealand flora is more like that of the Carboniferous than is any other existing flora. As a matter of fact, our species of ferns and lycopods do not show affinities that tend to prove them older than the ferns and lycopods of other lands. Further, the evidence of the flowering plants does not suggest that those of New Zealand are of any high degree of antiquity. Many ancient forms, that once existed in New Zea- land, and still exist in other lands, have been replaced here by plants of a more modern type. One of the oldest orders of the phanerogams is the Cycadeae. We have now no cycads in New Zealand, though fossils show that they formerly existed here. Changes of climate may have driven them out. At one time they formed a considerable portion of the vegetation of the globe, and they are still found in large numbers in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of both hemispheres. Turning to the Monocotyledons, we obtain somewhat similar evidence. These plants are generally supposed to be older than the Dicotyledons, though the testi- mony of the rocks on this point is by no means indisputable. They are, however, assuredly extremely old, and if our flora were exceptionally ancient, we might expect them to be well developed in New Zealand. The contrary, however, is the case. Throughout the southern hemisphere the monocoty- ledons are more poorly represented than in the northern. Again, the facts of fossil botany seem to show that the palms are one of the oldest orders of monocotyledons. In New Zealand we have only one species of palm-tree. This paucity of forms may perhaps be due to climatic or similar conditions. In the tropics they are plentiful. On the other hand, it is to be admitted that we have an ancient monocotyledon in the cabbage-tree (Cordyline) .
*" Handbook of the New Zealand Flora." (p. 387).
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 29
+
Amongst the dicotyledons, one of the oldest groups contains le willow, poplar, oak, hazel-nut, birch, beech, chestnut, and hornbeam. This group is highly characteristic of the Northern Hemisphere, but though once well developed in New Zealand,
is now no longer represented here, except by the genus
Nothofagus, in which are included the " birches " of the sub- alpine forests. The most highly developed family of plants, on the other hand, is the Compositae ; and this, though almost wanting in the bush, is well represented in the open country and in the alpine and sub-alpine scrub by more than 230 species. There is, indeed, little if anything in the distribution of the dicotyledons, to suggest that the New Zealand Flora is older than the European.
Again, it may be suggested that the large number of green, inconspicuous flowers and the separation of the sexes in an unusual proportion of the species are marks of a primitive floral organization ; yet it is doubtful whether they can be so interpreted. The former characteristic is obviously to a large extent dependent on local conditions; for the foreign representatives of New Zealand genera with small flowers have often large and showy blossoms. The New Zealand species of Viola, Passiflora, Myosotis, and of the various genera Orchidaceae have less conspicuous blooms than the corres- ponding species in other lands. This lack of brilliancy of the local forms, obviously cannot be due in all cases, to their greater antiquity, but is much more likely to be the result of the adjustment, or lack of adjustment, of the flowers to the insect life of the country. The unisexual condition of many of the flowers may be susceptible of a similar explanation. It is at any rate not a primitive but a secondary condition, for it can easily be shown that most of our dioecious plants were in quite recent times hermaphrodite. In a word, the long isolation of New Zealand has certainly resulted in the development therein of many unique forms, and also perhaps in the preservation of some antique types, yet it cannot be said there is a sufficient
30 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
mass of facts to justify the statement that the flora as a whole is of an exceptionally ancient type.
One line of evidence that might help us largely is, unfor- tunately, not available at present to any large extent. Of the fossil botany of these islands we know very little. The chief paper on the subject is by the famous palseo-botanist, Baron von Ettingshausen. A translation of this appears in volume xxiii. of the Transactions. If the data contained in it are reliable, it would seem (1) that the living flora has largely been derived from the tertiary flora ; (2) that the tertiary flora was part of the original universal flora from which are descended all plants of the present day ; and (3) that only one part of the tertiary flora has been changed into the living flora, the rest having become extinct. It would appear also that at one time there existed in New Zealand, trees similar to the great redwoods of California, the Norfolk Island pine, the she-oaks and gum-trees of Australia, the alders, oaks, elms, and maples of the Northern Hemisphere, and the fig. With the exception of the gum-trees, and perhaps the fig, these are all old types, now extinct here, though existing elsewhere. These identifications have in most cases been made from fossil leaves only, and in the absence of flowers and fruit ; some of them, therefore, can only be regarded as tentative.
The Affinities of the New Zealand Floea.
The relationships of the New Zealand flora to those of other lands, have given rise to greater discussion than its affinities to those of the past. We have obviously much more material for the investigation of the present distribution of plant life, than for that of times long gone by. Still, many of the problems concerned are verv difficult of solution. Amongst those who have dealt with these questions may be mentioned the late Captain Hutton, Dr. A. K. Wallace, Professor Engler
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 31
%
Mr. G. M. Thomson, and Mr. W. Botting Hemsley. It is impossible to deal fully with the results of their work, but an attempt .will be made to give' an intelligible, though necessarily brief account of it.
Of the 1,400 flowering plants which New Zealand contains, about three-quarters are found nowhere else. A considerable proportion of the remainder is confined to New Zealand and Australia, or to New Zealand, Australia, and other southern districts. A section of the New Zealand flora shows a most striking South American affinity. There are a few cosmopolitan plants, and there is also an element usually termed Scandinavian, which shows a relationship to a certain portion of the flora of the Northern Hemisphere. As, however, the endemic species constitute by far the greater portion of the flora, the foreign affinities are best shown in the genera. Of these, 80 per cent, are found in New Zealand and Australia, 10 per cent, are endemic, and the remaining 10 per cent, are variously distrib- uted. It is clear, therefore, that the basis of the New Zealand flora has either been derived from Australia, or that the element common to both has come from the same source. As a matter of fact, the latter hypothesis is best supported by the evidence. Several lines of argument, as has already been stated, show that at one time New Zealand was more extensive than it is now. It then stretched to the northward, through Lord Howe and Norfolk Island, to New Caledonia, and perhaps even as far as the Solomons. Another continental arm connected Queensland with New Caledonia. Through these northern extensions there passed, though not necessarily at the same time, southward to New Zealand, and westward to Queensland, the ancestral forms of much of the vegetation common to the two countries. In this migra- tion we have an explanation of the sub-tropical fades of the New Zealand forests, and also of the fact that nearly ninety per cent, of our forest flora, has Melanesian affinities. It is probable that this northern extension existed in Eocene
32 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
times, but by the Miocene, much of it had disappeared. Thus far, the problem of the Australian relationships of our flora is comparatively simple, but on further examination we are soon
confronted with the fact, that, although New Zealand plants
show so many Australian affinities, yet most of the prevailing and characteristic Australian forms are entirely absent from our shores. An attempt to explain this anomaly will require a somewhat fuller comparison of the two floras.
%
The Floras of New Zealand and Australia.
Isolation, varied environments, and doubtless other facts,
have been at work for a long time to give New Zealand a unique flora. A visiting botanist would find here only unknown plants around him. He would be puzzled, not only by the strange local species, but also by the large number of dissimilar plant associations to be met with in a small area. Perhaps there is no more difficult flora in temperate regions for the botanical tyro to classify. It seems to be a mixture of many incongruous elements. The visitor from Australia would be little better able to cope with its difficulties, than the traveller from England. In spite of the fact that so many of the New Zealand genera are also to be found on the neighbouring continent, no adjacent floras elsewhere are so unlike as those on either side of the Tasman Sea. Yet the distance between the two lands is little more than a thousand miles. This likeness with unlikeness constrained Sir Joseph Hooker to say : " Under whatever aspect I regard the flora of Australia and New Zealand, I find all attempts to theorize on the possible community of feature, frustrated by anomalies of distribution, such as I believe no two other similarly situated countries on the globe present."
The New Zealand forest is varied and mixed. The Australian often varies little over immense areas of country.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 33
The New Zealand bush is generally an impenetrable jungle, while throughout a great part of Australia • i:-
< (
The land lies desolate and stripped ; Across its waste has thinly strayed A tattered host of eucalypt, From whose gaunt uniform is made, A ragged penury of shade.' '
A mixed bush, somewhat similar to that of New Zealand, is however, found in the wetter regions of South-Eastern Australia* But the enigma which baffled the speculations of the earlier botanists, lies in the fact that the most important of the Australian genera are completely absent from New Zealand. Hence results the lack of superficial resemblance between the floras of the two countries. The gum trees, wattles, she-oaks, bottle-brushes, hakeas, &c, which are so abundant in Eastern Australia,' are without a single representative here. It might
well have been expected that some of these would have found
means of crossing the Tasman Sea.
It is little to be wondered at, then, that Sir Joseph Hooker should have found it difficult to theorize concerning the relation- ships of the two floras. Yet he seems scarcely to have realized
sufficiently that the differences of climate, surface, and geological conditions existing between the two countries, are such, that similar plant associations could not be expected to occur in each. It must, however, be admitted that these differences in themselves do not constitute a sufficient explanation of the absence from New Zealand of the characteristic Australian species and genera. The gum trees, wattles, hakeas, and she- oaks, flourish as well here as in their native land ; and some of these at least can and do maintain themselves without artificial aid in our islands. Of course they have been much assisted in gaining a foothold here by the presence of clearings effected by civilized man, Yet, their complete absence from New Zealand, before the arrival of the European, can be explained only on the assumption that they never before obtained an opportunity of establishing themselves here. As
4*
34 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
we have no large deserts, we could scarcely expect to find in this country the mallee scrub, the myall, the salt-bush and the spinifex of the Australian " bad lands " ; but we might at least have anticipated that forms related to these should occur in New Zealand, modified only by the different conditions obtain- ing here, though their absence may perhaps be explained on the assumption that the specialized Australian forms did not reach the inter-continental bridge, which formerly connected New Zealand with the great northern land-area.
This answer to the problem may prove to be sufficient, but there is at present no consensus of opinion amongst biologists upon the subject. Dr. Wallace, looking rather to an Aus- tralian than to a Melanesian origin of our flora, has put forward a highly ingenious theory to account for the anomalies observed by Sir J. Hooker. This theory, at one time received tentatively, has more recently been subjected to considerable criticism at the hands of Mr. C. Hedley and others. On account, however,
of its general interest, it will probably be worth while to outline it here, without attempting to form an exact estimate of its value. In Cretaceous times, Australia existed as two islands, an eastern and a western. A wide belt of sea, broken by islets, stretched from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the mouth of the Murray river. The western island, according to Wallace's hypothesis, was the more ancient, and already possessed many of the ancestral forms of the peculiar and character- istic flora of to-day. In eastern Australia, however, the flora consisted chiefly of Melanesian and Antarctic species,, with possibly a small proportion of the more typical Australian forms. About this time, or in the Eocene, the eastern island was united by way of a land-bridge to New Zealand, and by this connection the New Zealand flora obtained its Australian element. Subsequently the eastern and western islands became one, the connection with New Zealand was broken, and the Australian types overran the new
*Natural Science, September, 1893, p. 187
%
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 35
continent. This theory seems to lay too much stress on the direct connection of Australia with New Zealand, whereas the facts of the case scarcely require any such connection. Indeed, we have in recent times received from Australia a few species of plants directly across the Tasman Sea. Species of Olearia, Senecio, Epacris, and of the Orchidaceae, have probably reached us in this way. All these plants, however, are provided with seeds that are either small, or furnished with a pappus, so that they may have readily been blown across the intervening ocean by a high wind. The fauna, however, shows that our connection has been with the islands to the north, rather than with Australia. There is evidence of a much more recent connection with New Guinea and Melanesia than with temperate Australia, which has perhaps not been united with New Zealand since the Triassic period.
Oilier Foreign Elements.
Other important elements in the New Zealand flora are the Antarctic and South American. It is difficult to measure their amounts statistically, as they depend not so much upon com- munity of species, as upon the similarity of representative forms in many genera. The American section is that part of the flora which shows resemblances to plants living in temperate or tropical South America. The Antarctic element consists of plants which are related to others found in one or all of the following places : Patagonia, Southern Chili, Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, Tristan d'Acunha, The Crozets, Kerguelen Land and the mountains of Victoria and Tasmania. The term " Antarctic " as applied to these plants has been objected to, as all the districts referred to, lie outside of the Antarctic Circle. Dr. Cockayne has suggested the word " Fuegian," in place of it ; but it is probable that the more correct term, " Sub- Ant arc tic," will be adopted. A few of the plants belonging to this section are also found in South Africa.
36 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
South American Element.
The South American element is better developed in New Zealand than in Australia ; this may be due to our being somewhat nearer to Peru and Chili, than Australia is. The genera Fuchsia and Calceolaria are confined to New Zealand, and temperate or sub-tropical South America. Myosurus aristata, Sophora tetraptera (The Yellow Kowhai), Haloragis erecta, Hydrocotyle Americana, Veronica elliptica, and a few other species, are also confined to the same two districts. It may, however, be questioned whether the forms of these species, occurring on both sides of the Pacific, are exactly the same in every case. Further investigation is required on this point. Probably about a fourth of the New Zealand genera are also found in South America, though not confined to these two places. A connection of such a pronounced nature as this indicates that at some time the two stations must have been united by land, or at least by a chain of islands.
The evidence of animal life shows that the former alternative is the more probable one, and that there has been direct land communication with South America, perhaps in sub-tropical regions. From these and other reasons, Captain Hutton assumed that in the Cretaceous, or Early Eocene, a Pacific Continent connected New Zealand and New Guinea with
Chili.*
Sub-Antarctic Element.
But a much more striking phenomenon is the existence between latitudes 55° S. and 65° S. of groups of islands separated sometimes by thousands of miles of sea, yet often possessing native plants of the same species. This community of species shows that these islands must have been in comparatively close communication with each other in quite recent times. Some of the plants referred to are found in New Zealand, more particularly in the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. A
*" Nature" July 13th, 1905. (This letter is probably the last published scientific writing of the great biologist.)
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 37
few of them -are also found in the Alps of South Eastern
Australia. The following plants may be taken as examples of these sub- Antarctic types. Acaena sanguisorbae is known from the Kermadecs to the Macquaries, and is also found in Australia and Tristan d'Acunha, while A. adscendens occurs from Marlborough to the Macquaries, and also in Chili, Fuegia, and the Falkland Islands. Tillaea moschata is found throughout New Zealand and the Southern Islands, and also in South Chili, Fuegia, the Falkland Islands, Kerguelen's Land, and Marion Island. Oxalis magellanica has been collected in Victoria, Tasmania, South Chili, and Fuegia as well as in New Zealand. Callitriche antarctica is found in the Snares, The Auckland Islands, Campbell Island, the Antipodes, Macquarie Islands, Kerguelen's Land, Falkland Islands, and South Georgia. Other similar examples might readily be given, but these will probably suffice for our present purposes. This remarkable connection becomes even more striking, when we examine the floras of the sub- Antarctic islands themselves. Thus Mr. Hemsley* states that of eighty-four genera found in the Falkland Islands, fifty-six are also represented in New Zealand. More recent research may have modified these numbers, but the proportion will probably not be largely altered. Though these sub-Antarctic islands show such marked resemblances in their plant life, there is no such
similarity amongst them in the distribution of the higher
types of land animals. Obviously, the connection, though a very recent one, has not been a close one. Hence Captain Hutton concluded that in Pliocene times " A number of islands existed in the Antarctic Ocean, which have since then disappeared." According to this theory, there has been no direct connection with the Antarctic continent since the Jurassic period. At that time, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa are believed to have been united by land.
*Challenger Reports : Botany Vol. I., p. 57.
38 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
Such a hypothesis as this is at best only tentative, and its chief value lies in the stimulus it gives to research, and the aid it affords in placing subsequent hypotheses on a more solid foundation. There are numerous other problems of considerable interest in connection with both the internal and external distribution of our indigenous plants, but these will not be dealt with here.
BOTANICAL INTKODUCTION.
Plant Life.
At one time people spoke as if the life of the plant were different from that of the animal. There are few so ignorant now as to think that a distinction can be drawn between plant and animal life. The plant responds to stimuli, reproduces its kind, and grows, just as the animal does. Moreover, every plant has the power of spontaneous motion as a whole, or in some of its parts. Amongst the higher plants, movements are confined to parts of the plant — the tendrils of the vine twine ; the stamens of the barberry respond to a touch with a jumping motion ; the leaves of many plants close at night ; others alter their position with the direction of the light that falls upon them. In all, there are movements in response to gravitation, and to the action of light, and in connection with the processes of growth. In recent times sensation has been claimed for many plants. All apparently have the power of " sensing " gravitation, and some have been recently declared by Haberlandt to possess " ocelli " for perceiv- ing light. However, the life of the plant is so remote from all that man knows of himself, that he can never hope to do more than realize its meaning very imperfectly, though it can scarcely be doubted that the more fully, he can appreciate it, and the more fully he can enter into sympathy with it, the more fully will he understand himself.
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION 39
Boot and Stem.
For our present purposes, a plant may be considered as consisting of root, stem, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The root" is developed from the rootlet or radicle of the embryo, and serves two purposes. It fixes the plant in the soil, and absorbs water and salts in solution by means of minute thin- walled hairs on the rootlets. The stem supports the leaves and branches. The crude sap ascends through it to the foliage at the tips of the highest twigs by a process or
processes, even now not well understood. Here the water is evaporated, and any salts that it still contains are left behind in the leaves and shoots. The stem and branches therefore, as well as supporting the plant, enable the sap to ascend and
descend, and thus provide communication between different parts of the tree.
The Leaf.
The leaf is the chief organ by which the plant nourishes itself. Air enters it by minute pores {stomata, singular stoma) , and brings with it a small percentage of carbon dioxide. The leaf retains the carbon, giving up most of the oxygen. With the carbon, water, some oxygen and the salts obtained from the soil, the plant is built up by marvellous and little known chemical reactions. The leaf, like all other parts of the plant, consists of layers of very small cells. The first solid product to appear in certain highly specialized cells as a result of the absorption of carbon dioxide, is starch. This consists of the three elements, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and is produced only in the presence of the green colouring matter (chlorophyll) by the action of sunlight. The process by which starch is produced is termed assimilation.
A description of the structure of a typical dicotyledonous leaf, will enable us to understand this function better.
*(The root is considered rather more fully under Avicennia.)
■
40 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
The surface of the leaf is covered by a thin layer of waxy material, which is almost impervious to water. This is called the cuticle, and prevents the leaf from shrivelling up in drying winds. Immediately below the cuticle lies a layer of cells, which form the epidermis. In some cases they are specially modified for the purpose of providing storage for water, as a provision against drought. Below the epidermis of the upper surface of the leaf, lies a layer of elongated cylindrical cells, called the palisade cells. These are regularly arranged with their longitudinal axes at right angles to the surface of the leaf, and constitute the wonderful laboratories in which the process of assimilation is carried on. The sap from the roots reaches these cells by way of the midrib and veins. From the outer air they obtain carbon dioxide. They are also provided with a large number of microscopic grains stained with chlorophyll — the chloroplasts . In the chloroplasts, under the action of sunlight — bright or diffused — starch is formed. This is afterwards converted into sugar, and conveyed by means of the conducting tissues or leaf veins, to the parts of the plant where it is required. Below the palisade tissue lie a number of loosely arranged cells of rather irregular shape, with air spaces between them. These constitute the spongy tissue, and though they doubtless manufacture some food, yet they cannot receive as much light as the cells above them. Consequently they do little work in the process of assimilation. The epidermis of the leaf is broken in numberless places by minute openings, the stomata, which have been already mentioned. These are often confined to the lower surface of the leaf. Each stoma is surrounded by a pair of crescent-shaped guard cells, which by alterations
in their form can open or close it, and thus check or increase the amount of evaporation or transpiration from the
*
leaf.
Now, although there are thousands of plants in which the leaf structure conforms comparatively closely to that already
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION • 41
described, there are many others in which the leaf is more or less modified to suit its special environment.
The anatomy and form of the leaf depend, to a very large extent, upon the reaction between the plant and its surroundings, as regards transpiration and assimilation. The object of the plant is to expose as large a leaf surface as possible to the action of the light ; while at the same time a balance must be maintained between the loss of water and its supply. If more water leaves the plant than enters it, the leaves must inevitably wither, and this is a danger that the plant has to guard against at all hazards. Plants living in dry situations have adopted most ingenious devices to reduce transpiration to a minimum, whilst obtaining a maximum of assimilatory surface. Some of these devices will be considered in connection with the various species exhibiting them. Plants living in
wet situations require a different structure from those that grow on bare rocky cliffs or shingle-slips. Hence, recent writers have found it convenient and helpful to group plants together, according to the modifications of stem and leaf structure that they exhibit, in response to their special environments. As the water supply is the chief factor in moulding the form of the plant, this classification has reference chiefly to it. Dry soils, such as those of desert regions, soils at times subject to a low temperature, or bogs abounding in humic and other acids, are generally inhabited by plants which have contrivances to check transpiration. Such plants are termed Xerophytes. In New Zealand this group is exceptionally well developed. Indeed, Dr. Diels, no mean authority upon the subject, speaking of the shrubs of the open plains, states " Their xerophytic structure is of striking intensity, and difficult to understand in comparison with other floras." Again, in discussing the plants of the sub-alpine pastures, he tells us their xerophytism is so extreme that their physiognomy can be compared only with that of the almost rainless Persian steppes. (For a fuller discussion of this anomaly, see Discaria, Plagianthus betulinus, etc.)
i
42 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Plants which have been evolved in soils containing more than a half per cent, of salts in solution, are termed lialophytes. Such plants are found chiefly near the sea-shore, by river estuaries, or in salt marshes. They sometimes occur also in desert areas, particularly in the dried-up beds of salt lakes. They often bear resemblances to xerophytes. The water of salt-meadows is apparently not readily absorbed by plants, and consequently such situations may be physiologically dry. Probably the presence of salts in solution interferes with the passage of moisture by osmosis into the plant cells. A fuller consideration of the structure of halophytes will be found under the family Chenopodiaceae.
Hydrophytes are plants which have been produced amidst abundance of water of moderate temperature, and in the absence of an excessive amount of dissolved salts. They will be further considered under Myriophyllum. Mesophytes, on the other hand, are plants whose structure indicates that they have been developed in intermediate conditions, where there was neither saturation with moisture, nor was there drought. Mesophytes frequently lose their leaves at the end of the growing season, and often die back to the ground. Amongst them are a large number of annuals, bulbous, and tuberous plants. New Zealand has remarkably few mesophytes. Trees such as E?itelea and Aristotelia racemosa are mesophytic, but dicotyledonous herbaceous mesophytes are almost com- pletely absent from New Zealand. We have scarcely any annuals, and very few bulbous plants. It is due to lack of them that our lowland pastures and hedgerows do not display in spring and early summer such brightness of colour as is to be seen in many other lands.
* %
BOTANICAL INTEODUCTION 43
The Flowek.
The Sanction of the flower is to produce seed, and so to perpetuate the species. The essential parts are the stamens and pistil. The pistil is in the centre of the flower, and contains the female organs. At its base is the seed vessel, or ovary, containing the unfertilized seeds or ovules. At the tip is the stigma, which is the part of the flower specialized to receive the pollen or male element. The stigma is frequently supported by a stalk termed the style. In some flowers the pistil consists of a number of parts called carpels, each con- sisting of ovary, style, and stigma. These carpels may be separate from each other, or united to form a composite pistil. In some cases the union is so complete, that it is difficult to say of how many carpels the pistil is formed. Generally, however, the number of compartments or cells in the ovary, or the number of stigmas, affords a sufficient indication of the number of carpels present. Round the pistil the stamens are usually arranged in one or more concentric circles. They consist of a stalk known as the filament, and an enlarged tip, usually yellow, the anther. Here the pollen is borne. It consists of very minute yellow grains which escape by the opening of the anther. Before seed can be developed, fertilization, or union, must take place between the male and female elements. The pollen grain is conveyed to the stigma. It there grows, and puts out a long tube, which penetrates through the loose tissues of the style into the ovary. In the ovary, it enters the egg-cell contained in one of the ovules, and# there fertilization takes place. After fertilization the ovule commences to develop into the seed.
The process by which pollen is conveyed to the stigma is called pollination or loosely, fertilization. (Throughout the book we shall use the more correct term in place of the more popular one). Just as the formation and structure of the leaf depend to a large extent upon its adaptations to its environ- ment, in respect of assimilation and transpiration, so the form
44 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
and structure of the flower depend to a large extent on the method of pollination adopted by it.
These methods are very numerous, and often very different, and a great deal of complexity of contrivance, and apparent purposefulness of action, is manifested by flowers in their endeavours to secure effective pollination. If the pistil is pollinated from its own stamens, it is said to be self -pollinated. Darwin and others have shown, that, as a rule, seed obtained from cross- pollinated flowers is healthier and more productive than that from self -pollinated flowers. The result of continued inbreeding is harmful to flowers as well as to animals ; but there are probably more exceptions to this rule than was at first supposed ; and in many plants there are special adapta- tions for self-pollination. Cross-pollination may be brought about by the action of wind or insects, or, more rarely, by birds or other animals.
The exact methods adopted will be discussed in connection
with specific cases.
If stamens and pistil are found in one flower, it is said to be hermaphrodite. If they are found on different flowers but on the same plant, the species is then said to be monoecious, but if on different plants, it is termed dioecious.
The Floeal Envelopes.
Surrounding the stamens are usually two floral envelopes. The outer one is the calyx, and the inner is the corolla. The corolla is usually brightly coloured, and serves as an organ of attraction for insects and other animals. The individual leaves of which it is composed are termed petals. They may be free or united, regular or irregular in form, and, indeed, manifest an infinite variety of shape, colour, texture and arrangement. These characteristics depend almost entirely upon the adjustment of the flower to the function of pollination.
BOTANICAL INTKODUCTION 45
The calyx is chiefly used as an organ of protection for the flower bud. Its individual parts are termed sepals. They are usually coloured green, but occasionally the calyx becomes brightly coloured, and usurps the functions of the corolla. Calyx and corolla together constitute the perianth. Sometimes there is only a single ring (whorl) of parts in the floral envelope, or both rings may be similar. In such cases the floral envelope is termed simply a perianth. Flowers without a perianth are said to be naked. If, however, it is clear that the perianth is either calyx or corolla, but not both, the more definite term may be employed. The missing whorl is then described as suppressed or obsolete. Any leaf on a flower stalk not belonging to the perianth is termed a bract.
The Dispeksal op Seeds.
After the seed is ripe, it has to be scattered. Many curious devices are used by plants to accomplish this end. The seeds may be so light or so small as to be blown about by the wind. They may be provided with down {e.g., as in the dandelion), to assist them in travelling before a breeze. Sometimes they are set in mucilage (as in Pittosporum) . This may enable them to cling to passing animals, and so to be carried for longer or shorter distances ; or, again, they may be provided with hooks for the same purpose, (as in the sedge Uncinia), or with a grapnel-head, (as in Accena). Again, the whole fruit may become sweet and succulent, and thus birds are attracted to it, and eat it The seeds then pass through the digestive canals of the birds, and are distributed over the country by them. The elder, gooseberry, flowering-currant, etc., are thus being distributed by birds over New Zealand. Should the seed on the other hand fall to the ground
immediately below the parent plant, it would very likely be choked in the struggle for existence, or might
46 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
not obtain a sufficient amount of light to enable it to nourish. Hence, it is to be expected that plants whose seeds are provided with good means for distribution, should be found widely spread over the country, and this is often, though by no means always, the case. The dandelion grows everywhere, but Senecio perdicioides, with similar means of distribution is confined to one locality. It is often difficult
to say why one plant survives, and another becomes extinct, in the struggle for existence. However, new light is being thrown on plant mechanisms daily, and we are beginning to understand more fully the many adjustments of the plant to its environment. It is certain, too, that our outlook upon the vegetable world is gradually altering, and that the centre of gravity of our ideas concerning the principles that guide plant evolution is also shifting to some extent.
Classification.
The vegetable world may readily be separated into two great divisions, plants without flowers, and plants with flowers. The former division includes the bacteria, sea-weeds, pond- slimes, moulds, fungi, toadstools, lichens, liverworts, mosses,
■
ferns, and club-mosses. They do not come within the scope of this work. The flowering plants may again be readily divided into two classes : (1) those in which the ovules are not enclosed in an ovary, Gymno sperms (pines, firs, etc.) ; (2) those with the ovules enclosed in an ovary (Angiosperms) . There are probably about 100,000 distinct kinds or species of angiosperms at present living on the face of the earth. They include the vast majority of all flowering plants. In order that they may be properly studied they have to be classified in a complete and complicated fashion. One of the chief objects
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION 47
of this classification is to enable the investigator to identify with certainty the specimen under investigation. In some cases this can be done only after an elaborate study of the plant ; but in the majority of instances, half-an-hour's work or less should be sufficient to enable the student to name it. To assist him in his work a key is here provided (v. p. 49).
The Angiosperms are first sub-divided into two sub-classes, the Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons. The dicotyledons, on germination, produce two seed-leaves or cotyledons, the mono- cotyledons only one. The seed-leaves of the dicotyledons are generally entire, simple, rather fleshy leaves, unlike those subsequently produced by the plant. The solitary seed-leaf of the monocotyledons is usually long, narrow and similar to those subsequently produced. There are many other external differences between the two classes. In the monocotyledons, the chief veins of the leaves run more or less parallel to the length of the blade; in the dicotyledons the chief veins are not parallel to each other, and are connected by a net-work of smaller veinlets. Leaves of the former kind are said to be parallel-veined. The latter are termed reticulate, or netted- veined leaves. The parts of the flowers in a monocotyledon are usually in three, or in some multiple of three. In the dicotyledons there are usually four or five, or some multiple of either of these numbers. The monocotyledon produces a root consisting of a number of fibres, which sprout from the base of the young plant. The seedling dicotyledon produces a single root {tap-root), which is continuous with the stem. These differences may be tabulated thus : —
Monocotyledons. Dicotyledons.
1. One seed-leaf. Two seed-leaves.
2. Fibrous roots. Tap-root.
3. Parallel-venation. Netted-venation.
4. Parts of flower in threes. Parts of flower in fours.
or fives.
s
48 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
For ordinary field purposes, the venation is the most readily available distinctive character, but the student will soon recognise the differences between a mono- and a di- cotyledon. The leaves of the monocotyledon are usually long and narrow, and often sword-shaped. They frequently have sheathing bases. The chief New Zealand monocotyledons are the grasses, rushes, cut-grasses, bulrushes, native flax (Phor- mium), cabbage-tree, supple-jack, and Nikau-palm. The dicotyledons constitute the great majority of flowering plants.
The classes are sub-divided into sub-classes. The sub- classes are split up into orders, the orders into families, the families into genera, and the genera into species. The species form the units on which the whole classification is built up. It is impossible to define a species further, than by saying that all plants of one kind^are included in it. All individuals within the species, are more like each other than they are like any plants outside of it. The species are built up into genera. The genus may contain any number of species. Thus, there is only one species of Entelea known, and it is confined to the Auckland province. On the other hand, there are some eighty species of Veronica in New Zealand, and many more in other
parts of the world.
Every plant has two names : (1) the name of the genus to which it belongs ; (2) the name of the species. Thus, there are two kinds of native flax, each with the same generic name (Phormium) but with different specific names, P. tenax and P. Cookianum. To the scientific name of the plant, should be attached the name of the author of the species. This has not been done here, as the names given in Mr. Cheeseman's hand- book have been adopted, except in one or two specially mentioned instances.
In endeavouring to identify a species, the student should remember that there is scarcely any rule in botany without exceptions. Many of our New Zealand plants do not completely exemplify the characters of the order, or genus,
<* *
BOTANICAL INTEODUCTION 49
in which they are inserted. It must not be supposed that a plant cannot belong to a family, because in one or more points it does not completely agree with the characters of the family. On the other hand, it is also unsafe to suppose that because a plant has certain characters of a family or genus it must necessarily be put in that family or genus. The student cannot be too strongly warned against jumping at conclusions of this sort. It is better, moreover, in identifying a specimen
to proceed by the method of ''exhaustion" than by that of identification, that is to say, it is safer to exclude first all those families and genera to which the plant cannot belong, before determining that to which it does belong. An example will illustrate clearly the various classificatory divisions. The native flax belongs to the —
Species : tenax.
Genus : Phormium. - Family : Liliaceae.
Order : Liliiflorae.
Sub-Class : Monocotyledons
Class : Angiosperms
Key to Classification/'
SUB-KINGDOM : Phanerogams or Flowering Plants.
1. Ovules not enclosed in an Ovary — Class 1. GYMNOSPERMAE, p. 46.
2. Ovules enclosed in an Ovary — Class 2. ANGIOSPERMAE, p. 46.
(i) Seed with one seed-leaf, leaves generally
parallel- veined. MONOCOTYLEDONS, p. 47
(ii) Seed with two seed-leaves, leaves
generally netted-veined. DICOTYLEDONS, p. 47.
ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE ANGIOSPERMAE.
1. Perianth absent. Perianth present.
SUB-CLASS I. : Monocotyledons
2. 3.
2. Climbing, shrubby plant. Leaves long, prickly. Freycinetia, p. 80. Erect water or marsh plants. \Typha.
* N.B. — It is to be remembered that in many cases this key is true only for New Zealand forms.
+Not further described.
5
50
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
3. Perianth superior, of 6 leaflets in 2 rows. Perianth inferior, segments petaloid or fleshy.
4. Flowers very irregular. Anther 1, attached to
the style. Flowers regular, stamens 3.
5. Perianth petaloid. Fruit a 1-3-celled, 3 or
more seeded berry or capsule. Perianth fleshy. Fruit a 1-seeded drupe.
4. 5.
Orchid aceae, p. 109.
Libertia, p. 109.
LlLIACEAE, p. 88.
RhopalostyliSy p. 84.
SUB-CLASS II. : Dicotyledons
1. Flowers having both calyx and corolla. Flowers with a single perianth or 0, the
calyx or corolla or both being absent.
2. Petals free.
Petals more or less completely united.
3. Stamens more than 20. Stamens less than 20.
4. Ovary inferior. Leaves usually opposite. Ovary superior.
2
80.
3. 50.
4. 12.
5.
6.
5. Leaves with translucent dots. Shrubs or trees. MYRTACEAE, p. 270
Leaves fleshy. Creeping or trailing herbs.
6. Leaves stipulate. Leaves exstipulate.
7. Anthers 2-celled.
Anthers 1-celled. Leaves simple.
8. Carpels free. Leaves compound. Carpels combined. Leaves simple.
9. Stamens hypogynous. Stamens perigynous, carpels free.
10. Carpels free. Carpels united.
11. Leaves with transparent dots. Leaves without dots.
12. Ovary inferior (or apparently so). Ovary superior.
13. Flowers umbelled or in heads. Flowers not in umbels or heads.
14. Herbs. Stamens 5. Fruit of 2 carpels separ-
ating when ripe. Shrubs or trees (rarely herbs) ; fruit of two or
more combined carpels.
15. Leaves stipulate. Leaves exstipulate.
16. Style 1 ; stigma simple.
Styles or stigmas 2 or more, or stigma divided.
AIZOACEAE, p. 159.
7. 9. 8.
MALVACEAE, p. 250.
Rosace ae, p. 195.
TILIACEAE, p. 242.
Rosace ae, p. 195. Ranunculaceae, p. 160
11.
t Hypericum . TILIACEAE, p. 242.
13. 22. 14. 15.
UMBELLIFERAE, p. 312
ARALIACEAE, p. 300. RHAMNACEAE, p. 235.
16. 17.
20.
tNot further described.
i
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION
51
17. Stamens epipetalous or alternate with the
petals. Stamens perigynous. Petals overlapping in
the bud.
18. Stamens epipetalous.
Stamens alternate with the petals.
19. Cells of fruit 1-seeded. Cells of fruit many seeded.
20. Cells of fruit 1-seeded. Cells of fruit many seeded.
21. Shrubs. Herbs.
22. Leaves stipulate. Leaves exstipulate.
■
23. Carpels solitary or free.
Carpels combined into a 1- or more-celled
18.
ONAGRACEAE, p. 290. LORANTHACEAE, p. 138.
19.
Corn ace ae, p. 297.
SAXIFRAGACEAE, p. 185.
21.
SAXIFRAGACEAE, p. 185.
Griselinia, p. 298.
HALORAGIDACEAE, p. 295.
23. 33. 24.
ovary
25.
24. Carpels solitary, 2 or more seeded. Flowers
irregular.
LEGUMINOSAE, p. 203.
Carpels several, free, 1-seeded. Flowers regular. ROSACE AE, p. 195.
25. Ovary 1-celled. Ovary 2 or more celled.
26. Ovules on the walls of the ovary. Ovules fixed to the base of the ovary.
27. Climbing shrubs.
Herbs or shrubs not climbing.
28. Viscid glandular herbs.
Flowers regular.
26. 30. 27. 29. PASSIFLORACEAE, p. 268.
28.
DROSERACEAE, p. 180.
Herbs or shrubs, not glandular. Flowers
regular or irregular.
VIOLACEAE, p. 261.
29. Herbs. Stamens 3-5, attached to the petals. CARYOPHYLLACEAE, p. 156
30. Stamens hypogynous.
Stamens perigynous.
31. Leaves opposite. Water herbs. Leaves alternate. Herbs.
32. Stamens opposite the petals. Ovules 1 in
each cell. Shrubs. Stamens 5, alternate, or 10 opposite and
31. 32. \Elatine.
GERANIACEAE, p. 215.
RHAMNACEAE, p. 235.
alternate with the petals. Ovules many. SAXIFRAGACEAE, p. 185.
33. Carpels several, free, or one.
Carpels combined into a 1 or more celled
34.
ovary
34. Carpels several, free. Carpels solitary, 1-celled.
35. Leaves opposite. Leaves alternate.
36. Herbs. Carpels 5 or more. Tree. Leaves simple, aromatic.
41. 35. 38. 37. 36.
RANUNCULACEAE, p. 160 Drimys, p. 172.
+Not further described.
52
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
37. Herbs. Fruit dry.
Shrubs or herbs. Fruit enclosed by the fleshy
carpels.
38. Stamens hypogynous or epipetalous. Stamens perigynous.
39. Stamens 5. Ovule 1. Stamens 10.
40. Stamens 4-5,
\Tillcea
Ovules 2 or more.
41
Stamens 5. Ovule 1, pendulous. Ovary 1-celled, many ovuled.
Ovarv 2 or more celled.
Coriaria, p. 226.
40.
39. Corynocarpus, p. 233.
LEGUMINOSAE, p. 203. MYRSINACEAE, p. 331.
Pennantia, p. 230.
42.
42. Glandular herbs. Herbs, not glandular.
43. Stamens hypogynous.
56
43. Drosera, p. 180.
CARYOPHYLLACEAE, p. 156
44.
Stamens perigynous or inserted at the base of
a tumid disk. Trees or shrubs.
47.
45.
r
44. Herbs. Sepals 4. Stamens 6. Ovary 2-celled CRUCIFERAE, p. 177. Stamens 5 or 10.
45. Shrubs or trees. Stamens free. Ovary 2-5
celled.
Herbs. Ovary 5-celled. 46. Stamens 5.
Pittosporuuij p. 189.
46. Limim, p. 218.
Stamens 10, occasionally several sterile. GERANIACEAE, p. 215
(including
Oxalidaceae).
■
RUTACEAE, p. 218.
48. Dysoxylum, p. 222.
49.
TILIACEAE, p. 242.
Ixerba, p. 186.
51.
47. Leaves with transparent dots. Leaves without dots.
48. Leaves pinnate. Leaves simple.
49. Sepals free. Petals lobed or cut. Calyx 5-lobed.
50. Ovary inferior. Ovary superior.
51. Flowers minute, usually numerous, collected
into involucrate heads. Flowers not collected into involucrate heads.
52. Leaves opposite and stipulate, or whorled. Leaves alternate, exstipulate.
56.
COMPOSITAE, p. 405
52. RUBIACEAE, p. 389.
53.
53. Stamens 2, filaments cohering with the style. fSTYLIDIACEAE.
Stamens 5. 54. Stamens inserted on the corolla lobes.
54. 55.
the corolla.
Stamens epigynous, or inserted at the base of CAMPANULACEAE, p. 401
(including LOBELIACEAE and GOODENIACEAE)
Alseuosmia, p. 399. Samolus, p. 333.
55. Stamens alternate with corolla lobes.
Stamens opposite the corolla lobes.
Corolla regular.
Corolla irregular, 2-lipped.
57. 75.
^
+Not further described.
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION
53
57. Ovary and fruit very deeply 2-4 lobed ; lobes
1-celled, 1-seeded. Ovary not deeply lobed.
58. Leaves opposite. Ovary 4-lobed. Leaves alternate.
59. Ovary 4-lobed. Ovary 2-lobed.
60. Leaves alternate or radical (0 in Cuscuta of
Convolvulaceae) . Leaves opposite. Stamens epipetalous.
58. 60. LABIATAE, p. 364.
59.
BORAGINACEAE, p. 346.
Diclwjidra, p. 344.
61. Stamens epipetalous.
Stamens 10, hypogynous.
62. Ovary 1-celled.
Ovary 2 or more celled.
63. Herbs. Sepals 2.
Herbs or shrubs. Sepals 4 or 5.-
64. Shrubs, leaves with glandular dots.
Herbs, leaves not dotted.
65
61. 71.
62.
Ericaceae, p. 323
63.
65.
fPORTULACEAE.
64.
My r sine, p. 331.
Samoltu, p. 333.
Fertile stamens more than 6. Anthers 1-celled. MALVACEAE, p. 250
Fertile stamens 6 or fewer.
66. Stamens 4, filaments long.
Stamens alternating with scales or antherless
66. fPlantago.
filaments.
Scales and sterile anthers absent.
67. Shrub or tree. Leaves alternate. Leafless climbing herb.
68. Anthers 1-celled. Shrubs or trees. Ovary
5-10-celled. Anthers 2-celled.
69. Climbing or trailing herbs. Erect shrubs.
70. Corolla-lobes overlapping in bud. Ovary 2-4-
celled.
67. 68. iSapota. Casciita, p. 344
Ericaceae, p. 323.
69. Convolvulaceae, p. 342.
70.
VERBENACEAE, p. 349.
Corolla-lobes plaited in bud. Ovary 2-celled. SOLANACEAE, p. 365.
71. Stamens 2 or 4. Stamens 5.
SCROPHULARIACEAE, p. 366,
72.
72. Climbing shrubs, anthers adhering to the
stigma. Herbs or shrubs, erect or prostrate.
73. Herbs, sepals 2. Calyx 4 or 5-cleft.
74. Herbs, very bitter. Erect or prostrate shrubs.
75. Leaves opposite. Leaves alternate or 0.
76. Ovary 4-lobed to the base. Ovary not deeply 4-lobed.
Parsonsia, p. 340.
73.
fPORTULACEAE.
74.
Gentian aceae, p. 337
LOGANIACEAE, p. 335.
76. 79.
77. 78.
+Not further described. '
54
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
77. Herbs. Shrubs or trees.
78. Ovary 1-celled, nearly 2-celled from the 2
LABIATAE, p. 364. VERBENACEAE, p. 349.
projecting placentae.
Ovary 2-celled. 79. Small trees.
Bhabdothamnus 9 p. 388.
' SCROPHULARIACEAE, p. 3G6
Stamens 4.
Leaves with
pellucid dots.
Myoporum, p. 362.
Herbs. Stamens 2. Leaves hair-like or 0. Utricularia, p. 388.
80.
Perianth single. Perianth whollv
81. Ovary inferior, f Ovary superior.
82. Trees or shrubs. Herbs.
wanting
81.
118. 82. 92.
83.
87.
83. Parasitic shrubs. Leaves opposite, exstipulate. *LORANTHACEAE, p. 338
Trees or shrubs not obviously parasitic. 84 Flowers bisexual. Flowers unisexual.
85. Shrubs or small trees, leaves alternate with
deciduous stipules. Leaves opposite or alternate, exstipulate.
86. Tree. Leaves alternate, with deciduous
stipules.
84. 85. 86.
Pomaderris, p. 236.
SATALACEAE, p. 148.
Nothofagus, p. 128.
Tree. Leaves alternate, extipulate, very large. Meryta, p. 313,
87. Flowers bisexual.
Flowers unisexual.
88. Stamens more than 20.
■
Stamens less than 20.
89. Tuberous root parasite. Stems scaly. Non-parasitical leafy plants.
90. A plant climbing by tendrils. Not climbing by tendrils.
Accena, p. 201.
88. t Accena glabra.
89 DactylanthitSj p. 150
90. *Sicyos, p. 400.
91.
91. Aquatic plants. Leaves opposite orwhorled. HALORAGIDACEAE, p. 295.
Scape bearing plants. Leaves radical.
92. Leaves stipulate. Leaves exstipulate.
93. A spiny shrub or small tree, often leafless,
stipules small. Spineless herbs or shrubs.
94. Herbs and shrubs. Stipules membranous,
sheathing the stem.
Herbs and shrubs, stipules free. Flowers
unisexual.
95. Carpels many, free.
Carpels solitary or 1-celled, or ovary 2- or
3-celled.
Gunner a, p. 297.
93. 95.
Discaria, p. 239.
94.
POLYGONACEAE, p. 151.
URTICACEAE, p. 136.
96.
97.
Those marked * have really a double perianth, but the calyx is so obscure, that are likely to be sought for in this division. +Not further described.
they
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION
55
96. Stamens hypogynous.
Stamens perigynous. *97. Carpels solitary or ovary 1-celled.
Ovary 2- or 3-celled.
"98. Leaves 0.
Leaves opposite or alternate. 99. Twining, slender, parasitic plant.
Plants not parasitic or twining. 100. Fleshy, jointed, maritime herb.
RANUNCULACEAE, p. 160 MONIMIACEAE, p. 174.
98.
113. 99.
101. Cassytha, p. 176.
100. Salicornia, p. 156.
Small shrub. Branches grooved. Fruit red. iExocarpus.
101. Leaves opposite. Herbs.
Leaves alternate. Shrubs or trees.
102. 106.
102. Flowers unisexual, minute, green. Stamens4. Parietaria, p. 138
Flowers hermaphrodite.
103. Flowers minute, white.
Flowers minute, green.
104. Flowers in axillary fascicles.
Flowers in pairs. Stamen 1. Seed 1.
105. Flowers in axillary spikelets. Ovule 1.
Ovules many.
106. Stamens 6 or more.
Stamens less than 6.
107. Flowers unisexual. Stamens 6-8. Leaves
103.
104.
105. f Alternantliera. \Sclerantlius. CJienopodium , p. 155.
CARYOPHYLLACEAE, p. 156
107. 109.
pinnate. Flowers hermaphrodite, leaves simple.
Alectryon, p. 225.
108.
108
Leaves large.
Stamens 6-10, hypogynous. Pisonia, p. 159.
Stamens 6-15, perigynous, opening by valves.
109. Flowers minute, green. Stamens 1-5, peri- LAURACEAE, p. 175.
gynous. Stamens 2-5, attached to the perianth lobes
CHENOPODIACEAE, p. 154
110.
110. Stamens 2 or 4, on top of the perianth tube. THYMELACEAE, p. 269.
Stamens 4 or 5. Leaves not imbricated.
111. Leaves with transparent dots. Stamens on
111.
the base of the perianth lobes. Leaves without transparent dots.
MYESINACEAE, p. 331
112.
112. Stamens on base of deciduous perianth lobes. Fusanus, p. 148.
Stamens 4 on middle or top of deciduous
perianth lobes.
113. Shrubs or trees.
114
Herbs.
*Herb, juice milky. Leaves alternate
Herb, sepals 4, stamens 6.
115. Leaves opposite or 0.
Leaves alternate.
116. A spinous shrub. Leaves opposite or 0.
Stamens 4 or 5, perigynous. Shrubs or tree3. Stamens 2.
PROTEACEAE, p. 145.
115.
114. Euphorbia, p. 224.
CRUCIFERAE, p. 177.
116. 117.
Discaria, p. 239 Olea, p. 335.
The apparent perianth is really a ring of bracts.
tNot further described.
56 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
117. Tree. Flowers unisexual. Stamens on the
perianth segments. PKOTEACEAE, p. 145
118. Leaves reduced to scales. Root parasite., Dactylanthus, p. 150.
Leaves present. 119. Leaves opposite.
Leaves alternate.
119. 120.
121.
120. Leaves serrate, stipulate. -\Ascarina.
Water-herb, leaves exstipulate. Stamen 1. \ C allitriche .
121. Herbs, leaves fleshy.
Peperomia, p. 127.
Shrub, leaves very aromatic. Macropiper, p. 128.
An example or two of the method of using this key will probably be of assistance to the novice. He has found, — let us suppose, — an unknown plant which from its venation and general appearance he recognizes as a dicotyledon. It will be useless in most cases to try and identify it without the flower,
■
and frequently specimens also of more or less mature fruit will be required. The first thing to notice is whether both calyx or corolla are present. This being determined in the affirmative, the student is directed to No. 2 in the Key. On ascertaining that the petals are free he passes to No. 3. In this flower the stamens are less than 20, this brings him to No. 12. At this point he decides the ovary is inferior and so passes on to No. 13. As the flowers are not in umbels or heads, he proceeds to No. 15. His plant has exstipulate leaves, and this brings him to No. 16. The simple style and stigma lead to No. 17, and the stamens alternating with the petals to No. 18, thence to No. 19 ; and as the cells of the ovary in his specimen are many seeded, he concludes that it belongs to the family Saxifragaceae. On looking this up, he finds a key to the genera. This he follows out in a similar manner, and arrives at the Genus Carpodetus. There is only one species, C. serratus, and in all probability he will find his specimen coincide in detail with the description given of this. Let us take one more example. In this case the plant has the petals united. That leads us to No. 50, and a& the ovary is superior, we come to No. 56. The corolla of our
tNot further described.
BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION
57
plant is regular, so we reach No. 57 ; and the ovary not being deeply lobed we proceed to No. 60. The leaves being alternate,, we reach No. 61, and the stamens being attached to the petals we arrive at No. 62. The one-celled ovary brings us to No.. 63, and the fact that there are five sepals to No. 64. Our plant is a herb, so that it must evidently belong to the genus Samolus, and as there is only one species it must be S. littoralis*. Of course, if there is a large number of species in the genus, it may be impossible to determine the specific name of the plant from the information in this volume. Recourse must then be had to one of the standard floras of New Zealand (e.g. Cheeseman's, Kirk's, or Hooker's).
i
Coniferae.
The Pine Family.
Distribution. — The Coniferae form a widely distributed and ancient family, having been well represented in the Carboniferous Age. In the northern regions of the northern hemisphere they outnumber the ordinary broad-leaved trees by about ten to one, and are of great importance and utility. The order includes a number of large and valuable timber-trees, whose juices are almost invariably resinous, and are used in the manufacture of turpentine, pitch, and Canada balsam. " Some of the New Zealand genera, such as Agathis, Phyllocladus and Dacrydium differ much from the true pines, but all possess the same straight, strong timber and resinous secretions. Outside New Zealand the best known species are the Scotch Fir, the Norway Pine, the Californian Redwood, the European Larch, the Norfolk Island Pine, the Deodar of the Himalayas, and the Cedar of Lebanon. The last named is one of the most majestic and imposing of trees. Sequoia gigantea of California (the Wellingtonia of our gardens), is the largest known Conifer, the finest specimen seen having reached the height of 329 feet ; while the tiny Dacrydium laxifolium, 2 inches in height, found in alpine districts in New Zealand, is the smallest.
Chief Charactees.
The true Pine has a branching trunk and evergreen leaves, which are pointed and needle-like — sometimes set in little
bundles of two, three, or five. The plants bear pistillate
and staminate flowers upon the same stem. The staminate flower is composed of a floral axis, bearing a number of stamens, and the pistillate flowers form a catkin, each flower
being composed of a scale-like bract" with ovules suspended on its inner surface. When the flowers ripen, these scales become hard and thickened at the top, thus forming the collective fruit called a cone.
The cone of the fir-tree differs from that of the pine, being furnished with thin scales, rounded at the apex. Its leaves also are more scattered. The leaves of the Larches spring from a bundle of scaly buds, and become scattered or solitary by the lengthening of the stem. The im- brications of the cone are very loose, and the leaves
* _^ _
*The homologies of the various parts are still in dispute.
58
THE PINK FAMILA
59
Fiti. '>. A tUant Kauri (Atiathis)
60
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
are deciduous. The Cedar
g
differ fr
the Larches
keeping their leaves for several years, and in bearing closely
imbricated
The stamens of the Junipers and Cypr
bear spheroidal pollen, instead of oval, as do the Pines ; and the Yew is easily distinguished by its coral-like drupes or berries. The leaves of this tree are poisonous to animals, but the berries appear to be innocuous. The Yew attains to a great age, and has been reckoned to live years.
The woody tissue of the Conifers is noted for the absence of
for thr
four hundred
be
at the same time of readily perceived even
structur
of the
ducts or vessels, and the presei
bordered pits. This structure can
in silicified wood. There is a simili
Magnoliaceae, such as Drimys, etc., but' the character of this
wood differs considerably in other ways. The New Zealand
Coniferae include the Kauri, the Kahikatea, the Totara, the
rvimu, the Matai, the Tanekaha, the Miro, etc. The Tanekaha
(Phyllocladus) possesses only scale-leaves,
the
of
the
leaves
being
performed by leaf-like
functions flattened
branchlets (phylloclades) . The genus Agathis is an ancient one, related to the Auracarias (Monkey Puzzle, etc.
Key to the Genera.
1. Fruit a cone.
Fruit a nut or drupe.
2. Leaves oblong. Cone large, of many over-
lapping scales. Leaves small. Cone of few, erect, woody
•2 3
Agathis, p. 60.
scales.
i
3. Fruit a drupe, on fleshy, scarlet peduncle. Fruit a nut in a fleshy cup.
Libocedrus, p. 66. Podocarpus, p. 68.
4
4. Stems flattened into fan-shaped phylloclades. Phyllocladus, p 76
Leaves linear or scale-like.
Dacrydium, p. 74.
Genus Agathis.
This genus is found only in Australia, New Zealand, the Malayan and Fiji
Islands, New Hebrides, and ovule solitary. Seed winged.
Leaves flat, broad, parallel- veined ; Us of the "Rast Indies is remarkable
for the quantity of valuable resin (Dammar) which it produces. (Name from
meaning a ball of
1 sp.
*The number of species from New Zealand and the outlying islands recorded in Cheeseman's Handbook.
THE PINK FAMILY
(51
Viil (i. Kauri Hush.
p
62 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Agathls austral is.
The Kauri Pine is one of the most magnificent timber trees known, but it is unfortunately fast disappearing under the onslaughts of bush fires and needy colonists. Nor are new plantations formed, as is the case with many other trees, for the kauri is of such slow growth, that no man thinks it worth his while to plant trees which take a thousand years to mature. A kauri forest is a wonderful sight, with the clean, erect stems rising like grey columns to a height of from 80 to 100 feet, — sometimes 60 or 70 feet without throwing
*
out a branch. The bark is thick and lead-coloured, and peels off in heavy flakes. " The ashy hue of the bark appears under certain atmospheric conditions to surround the trunks with an undefined haze."* Though from 80 to 100 feet is the usual height of the forest kauri, trees have
>
been found 150 feet high. There is a specimen at Mercury Bay, which is 80 feet to the lowest branch, and 24 feet in diameter. A tree five feet in diameter has been calculated to
0
be three centuries old. The undergrowth is usually not so thick in a kauri forest as in ordinary mixed bush. A small tree-fern, Nikau palms, a variety of Astelia, the fragrant crimson Alseuosmia, and the climbing fern {Lygodium articulatum) are, however, often found growing under the stately pines.
The germinating kauri develops two seed leaves, narrow and flat, extremely unlike any of those produced by the pines of the Northern Hemisphere. The leaves in the young plants are often spotted, and are of a reddish brown colour. They have no foot-stalks. The older leaves are thick, leathery, and
green. The branches are large and spreading, — leafy towards the top of the tree. The male and female flowers are produced in separate cones on the same tree ; the male catkins being one inch long, and the cones almost
*Kirk's Forest Flora of New Zealand.
* «
THE PINE FAMILY
6£
round, two to three inches in diameter, and borne near the tips of the branches. Each scale of the cone bears a single ovule. The seeds are wedge-shaped -and brown, bearing at the top on one side a thin, transparent wing,, which enables the wind to carry them readily. The kauri is noted for its sound timber — hollow and defective trees being rarely found. The price of the timber is usually ten shillings for one hundred feet. The wood takes a fine polish, and is generally wavy in grain, but a mottled variety is found which is especially valuable in cabinet work. This mottled variety is most frequent in rocky situations, and is sometimes caused by the excessive development of small branchlets, but in many cases the bark cannot keep pace in speed of growth with the woody tissue. Flakes of bark thereupon become enclosed in the sapwood, and under the tremendous pressure form dark patches on a light ground. Occasionally thin films of clear resin are also enclosed, which add to the colour and beauty of
the markings.
When the kauri trees are felled, it is a work of some difficulty to transport them, as the country north of Auckland,, the special home of the kauri, is exceedingly rough and broken. If the trees are growing on the banks of some stream, they are
felled, cut into suitable lengths by means of cross-cut saws worked by two men, and the logs rolled into the water. Here they lie until a " fresh " drives them down to the creek or harbour where the " boom " lies waiting. This boom is formed of a circle of logs fastened together with chains. There may be as many as fifty logs forming the chain, which sometimes encloses acres of water. The logs enter the boom, — are fastened together into a kind of raft, and towed to their
destination. If, however, the felled trees are far from deep water, their carriage is much more difficult. A skidded road,, six to eight feet wide, is formed of greased logs. Thus a sort of rough wooden tramway is made. The logs are hoisted on to this road by means of " jacks," or dragged by a team of
64 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
bullocks, anyhow, over and through the bush, breaking down the thick undergrowth as they pass. The timber shrinks very •-. little if cut at the dormant season. It is used for general building purposes, — for houses, bridges, wharves, and for boats, masts, deck-planking, etc.
The whole tree is extremely resinous. Even the leaves of fallen trees shew small white patches of gum when they begin to shrivel, while large masses often form in the forks of the branches. Climbing for gum is a difficult and dangerous task. The fact of the barrel of the tree being so huge, and rising so high without a branch, renders the usual kind of climbing impossible. A piece of weighted twine attached to a rope is flung over the lowest bough, and the rope is hauled up over the branch and down the other side. The climber then ascends the rope, gains a foot-hold, and cuts out the gum from the forks of the branches. A good tree-climber is said to make £3 or dfc>4 per week, but men sometimes come to their death in this dangerous work. The resin of the highest value, however, is that which has been fossilized, and which is dug up on lands where kauri bush once stood. This is the kauri gum of commerce. Clear, transparent pieces command a high price, and are used in place of amber in the making of small ornaments. The scrapings , and dust are used in the manufacture of fire kindlers ; the gum is used for varnish. Sometimes dear pieces of gum are found in which are embedded cones, leaves, small insects, etc. These specimens are much admired. The colour of the gum varies from a pale lemon-yellow to a reddish-brown, or even black. When the children of the settlers desire a little pocket money, they will often ask permission to go gum-digging in some newly ploughed paddock, and are usually rewarded within a few hours find of gum which will fetch several shillings at the store. The price of the resin varies from <£60 to £120 per ton. Gum digging is the great resource of those who cannot find work -elsewhere, as a merely nominal fee is charged for digging on
THE PINE FAMILY
65
Fitf. 7. Kauri Cones (h nat. size)
66 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Crown lands, and the work requires only a light iron rod and a spade. Those who are old hands at the work are quick to discover the best places to dig. When a large tree falls, its roots tear up the earth, and form a mound with a hollow ' beyond it. By the position of these mounds and hollows, an expert will quickly decide on the direction in which the tree fell. By the size of the mound, he judges the probable height of the tree, and by the height of the tree he guesses the position of the first branch. Then, stepping out this distance, he puts in his spear to find the gum which lay in the forks of the branches when the tree was alive and standing. One of the finest collections of kauri gum has been gathered by a Mr. Rentoul in the Kaipara. These valuable and beautiful specimens are worthy of a fine museum. The Maoris often use pieces of gum to light their fires, or as torches on a dark night. Such torches burn with a bright flame, but give off a dark, heavy
*
smoke, with a strong resinous odour.
Genus Liboced
Shrubs or trees.
much
mature. The male flowers form small catkins of 6 or 7 stamens ; the female,
cones of four woody scales. Ovules 2 ; seed winged. A genus of eight
small
species, two in Chili, two in New Zealand, and one each in New Caledonia, Japan, China, and California. (Name from the Greek, signifying the drooping cedar ) . '
Libocedrus doniana (The Kaivaka).
A lofty pine, 60-100 feet high, believed at first to be a Dacrydium. Its- ge in the young stage somewhat resembles a fern. The leaves are of two
This four-sided arrangement is most
kinds, and are arranged in four rows. This four-sided a plainly seen in the mature branches. The male and female same tree, and are borne on the tips of the branchlets. Tl
*
^ —
small and woody, containing either two or four seeds. The timber is finely
mar
much valued for ornamental
maker
Hawke's Bav. Native name
Kaivaka or Ngawaka, often termed New
Liboced rus Bidwillii (Bidwill's Libocedrus).
more common
timber
but not so beautiful as that of the Kawaka. It is found in mountain districts ii both islands. The tree is often known to the bushmen as the Kaikaivaka
THE PINE FAMII^
(7
Fiu. 8. Miro Berries (nat. size).
68 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
though Colenso states that its correct name is Pahautea. The polysyllabic name " Totarakirikotukutuku" has also been applied to it, but Colenso, with admirably unconscious humour, states that " no old Maori would have thought of such a thing." It and the previous species are sometimes also called the New Zealand Cedar ', but must not be confused with Dysoxylum spectabile, to which this name is often applied. ,
Genus Podocarpus.
■
Shrubs or trees. Leaves very variable. Catkins variable. Fruit a drupe, often edible, A large genus found in tropical and sub-tropical countries. According to the theory of Celakowsky, the female flower consists of one carpel, and one ovule with two integuments. In most of the New Zealand species, as
*
the ovule ripens, the integuments become crimson and fleshy, thus attracting birds. (Name from the Greek signifying foot-fruited, in allusion to the fleshy peduncle). 7 sp.
Podocarpus ferruginea (The Busty Podocarpus or Miro).
A large tree, covered with a grey or blackish bark, which peels off in large flakes. The leaves are narrow and pointed, and are set in two rows on the branches. Male and female flowers are on separate trees — both axillary. The fruit is of the size of a small plum. It is of a bright red colour, and is covered when first ripe with a waxy powder, which gives it a delicate bloom. Native pigeons are very fond of the miro berries, and become very fat and lazy when feeding on them. These fruits have the odour and the taste of turpentine. They ripen in July and August, and the flowers are produced in October and November. The timber is hard and tough. It is not easily worked, neither is it so durable as that of most of the other pines. The gum
which oozes from this tree possesses healing properties. It is found in both islands The specific name alludes to the rusty colour of the leaves.
Podocarpus nivalis (The Mountain Totara).
A much smaller tree than the preceding, often only a low shrub, densely branched. The branches grow outwrards rather than upwards, and send out roots from their lower surfaces, thus forming a matted growth over the surface of the ground. These matted roots serve to hold together the loose soil and shingle of the alpine slopes, thus preventing landslips. The leaves are thick and leathery, with a stout midrib. The integuments of the ovule become very
'
THE PINE FAMILY
69
swollen and form an attractive fruit, pleasantly sweet to the taste, Podocarpus nivalis grows at an altitude of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet. The specific name has reference to its sub-alpine habitat.
Podocarpus totara (The Totara).
A lofty timber tree, one of the most valuable in the colony. The wood is of a reddish colour, and is equalled only by the kauri for lightness, soundness, and durability. It is used for telegraph posts, wharf piles, and sleepers — in fact, for anything where durability is required. The Maoris hollowed out their war canoes, sometimes seventy feet in
Its timber was so highly prized by the natives that fine, healthy trees became heirlooms, and disputes for possession of these trees often led to bloodshed. Its chief defect is- in its brittle nature, as, when loaded to its full strength, it may break suddenly without warning. It is very
durable in water, and resists the boring of the teredo or ship- worm (a marine boring mollusc) more successfully than any
length, from single
totara logs.
other timb
This tree is peculiar to New Zealand, and
The stiff, narrow
The bark of
attains its greatest height on low levels, leaves culminate in a
sharp, needle-like point
the tree is often horizontally ringed in thin, papery strips.
the base, and hang
The foliage is of a brownish hue
especially in the young state.
Podocarpus spicatus (The Spiked Podocarpus or Black Pine).
This pine, known to the natives as the Matai, is a lofty tree, but never of very great diameter. In its young state the branches are drooping, and bear scattered leaves of a deep coppery tint. When mature, however, the branches are upright and spiky like those of an ordinary pine. Both male and female flowers are borne in spikes ; hence the name
spicatus.
The young and the old trees are so extraordinarily different in appearance, that they were for some time believed to be separate species. Specimens have, however, been observed
70
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
with the weeping, copper-tinted branches below, and ordinary upright ones above. These are generally young trees of from ten to twenty years old.
At a certain time of the year the matai trunks present a" brilliant appearance. Where the bark peels off, bright scarlet
-
or crimson patches appear below, and a tree thus scaled is a beautiful object.
The wood of this tree is of great value, but is very slow in growth. It is often used for the -floors of ballrooms, skating rinks, etc., as it takes an excellent polish, and can be made to reflect almost like a looking-glass. One curious fact in connection with this timber is, that it will lie prostrate in the bush for years without decaying. Mr. Buchanan tells of a prostrate matai over which three broadleaf trees (Griselinia littoralis) had grown, enfolding it with their roots. These trees were calculated to be over 300 years old, yet the matai was perfectly sound, and was split up for fencing posts. Another was discovered with a fuchsia stem nine inches in diameter growing across it.
One would not at first sight, imagine the matai to be one of the Coniferae, as its leaves are flat rather than needle-shaped, and its fruit is like a small black plum, containing only one seed. The cotyledons, also, are two in number, as in any broad-leaved tree. The shape of the mature tree is not conical like that of a pine, but spreading, after the fashion of an ordinary dicotyledon.
v
L
Podocarpus dacrydioides (The Dacrydium-like Podocarpus or
—
White Pine)
Native name, Kahikatea. The following, probably fanciful, derivation has been given of this name : tea, whitish, from the colour of the wood, and kahika, an ancient chief.
The Nga-potiki Maoris tell a pretty story concerning the origin of this stately tree. It is said that a chief named Pou-ranga-hua was once blown out to sea in his canoe and cast ashore upon a strange island. The name of this island
■
■
Fit;. 9. The Totara (Podocarpus totara). 8
(irttrr M<! ttjirirs. fihntn.
72
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
was Hawaiki. Here Pou-ranga-hua abode for some time, and was kindly treated by the inhabitants, but longed to return to his home and his wife. His canoe, however, was destroyed, and he had no means of reaching the mainland. At last his yearnings for home could be stifled no longer, and he begged a huge bird, of the name of Tawhaitari, to fly with him to Aotea-roa (New Zealand). On approaching the mainland, Pou reached out his hand, and stretching under the wings
\
of the great bird, pulled out some of its finest and downiest
phi
which he threw into the
F
these pi
arose a lofty tr
hich still bears fruit in the midst of
the water
A branch of this was brol
off by the
ind and cast ashor
and fr
this branch came all the
kahikatea forests of New Zealand. It is said that Pou carried with him upon his aerial journey two baskets of seed kumaras, which were unknown in New Zealand until that time.
The trunk of this tree is often branchless for seventy or
The young leaves are flat and bronze-coloured,
The
eighty feet.
but those of the mature tree are green and scale-like.
catkins are very small, and are borne on the tips of the branchlets. The fruit is set upon a curious red berry, eaten
*
by the Maoris. This berry or drupe is not the actual fruit, but is formed from the scales which bear the fruit. In their earliest stages these scales are white, and each one carries
an ovule.
As
a rule, only one of these ovules comes to
perfection. When this has occurred, the scales unite, become fleshy, and of a rich crimson colour, forming an oval receptacle with the shining blue-black nut embedded at its point. The undeveloped ovules are still seen as little white points at the base of the receptacle.
The timber of the kahikatea is light in colour, and the green logs, having nearly the same specific gravity as water, will not float until fully immersed. Some of these logs, however, will not float at all, and are known to the bushmen as " sinkers."
THE PINE FAMIEY
73
Fig. 10. The White Pine or Kahikatea
74 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
The wood is very suitable for the manufacture of paper and can be used for that purpose. The tree grows chiefly in swampy districts and in both islands.
Genus Dacrydium.
Shrubs or trees, found only in New Zealand, Tasmania, the Malay- Archipelago, and the islands of the Pacific. Leaves narrow and scale-like. Male and female flowers on separate trees. Fruit, a small nut enclosed in a fleshy cup. (Name from the Greek for a tear, in allusion to the weeping habit of some of the species). 7 sp.
Dacrydium cupressinum (The Rimu or Bed Pine.) This pine is one of the most beautiful objects in the New
Zealand bush. Its pale-green, drooping branches differ from those of any other forest tree. " The leaves are only small prickles, running up a long stem, from which branch out other small stems whose united weight causes the main stem to hang like the branches of the weeping willow." The whole tree, when young, has the appearance of a lycopodium. Spruce- beer was made from the young branches by Captain Cook, and proved an excellent remedy for the scurvy. The seed is curious, consisting of a nut placed in a cup like that of an acorn. This fruit is tiny, but beautiful, the nut being of a blue-black and the cup red The male flowers are produced in inconspicuous green catkins at the end of erect branchlets. The female are solitary, at the tip of curved branchlets, and the nut is about one-eighth of an inch long. Prickles such as those on the leaves run spirally round the trunk. The timber is of a red or yellow colour, and beautifully marked. It is used to great advantage in dadoes, panels, and for ceilings. The Taranaki rimu is especially straight in the grain and very resinous. It is much used for bridge-building in that district. The heart- wood is extremely resinous, and was made into torches by the natives. It was split into shreds and tied into bundles, and only needed the ashes to be occasionally knocked off to burn with a bright, steady blaze. The rimu
*. »
THE PINE FAMIL\
7-)
Fig. Hi Kahikatea Berries (nat. size)
76 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
bark is said to be healing, but must be taken, so say the natives, from the side of the tree toward the sunrise. Abundant in both islands.
Dacrydium laxifolium (The Loose-leaved Dacrydium
This is the smallest conifer known.
sometimes be found in fruit.
may
specimens
stems, and are com
the bush amongst which they grow, the ordinary rirnu. Both islands.
simil
Genus Phyllocladus.
small
Leaves of
two kinds, some linear, others small and scale-like. True leaves are found only upon young plants. As the tree grows these leaves disappear and their place is taken by fan-shaped phylloclades. Male and female flowers upon the same tree. Fruit, a small nutc (Name from the Greek signifying twig-leaf, in reference to the fact that the leaves are replaced by shoots) . • 3 sp.
Phyllocladus trichomanoides (The Celery-leaved Pine).
The native name of this tree — Tanekaha — is said to signify virile, or strong in growth. It is chiefly remarkable for the beauty of its leaf stalks, which are so enlarged and flattened out as to present the appearance of true leaves. In shape they are fan-like, and closely resemble the fronds of a maiden- hair fern. This curious metamorphosis of the leaf-stalks usually takes place in those plants which inhabit hot and arid regions.
The female flower of this pine is borne upon the edges of the phylloclades, and the male flowers upon catkins at the tips of the branches. The seedling tanekaha bears long, narrow leaves, brownish-red above and green below, but these soon fall away, and the true leaves are seen only as small scales on the ends of the branches. The fruit is a small, inconspicuous nut. The tree will grow to a height of sixty or seventy feet, and the timber is much valued for its strength and durability. The bark contains a large quantity of tannin, and a red dye is obtained from it which is sometimes used in the preparation of kid for gloves. The tannic acid of the bark is a valuable
TIIK PINK FAMIIA
77
Fig. l± A Spray of li'nnu (nat. • i/j
78 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
astringent. The young saplings make excellent walking sticks. If the stem, while growing, is bruised by some blunt instrument, at regular intervals, the red dye contained in the bark stains the white wood, giving to the stick a beautiful mottled appearance. North Island, and South Island to Westport.
Phyllocladus alpinus (The Mountain Celery Pine or Toa-toa) This tree, like Phyllocladus trichomanoides , produces no
true leaves, but only flattened twigs, which exercise all the functions of leaves. These, however, are very differently shaped from those of the lowland tanekaha. They are clustered heavily together at the ends of the branches, and are thick and fleshy, rather irregular in outline, and usually finely- toothed. The male catkins are found in clusters of from three to seven at the tips of the branches. The female are in
*
cones, the ovules in fleshy cups of a bright crimson colour. The growth of this tree is rather curious. The lower branches bend down in a sweeping curve, rooting where they touch the ground. The tips of these branches, however, rise again, and form the stem of a new tree. This, in its turn, when its own branches are sufficiently grown, will repeat the process and so form another new generation. An old tree will in this way form a series of rings, with the parent still growing in the centre. The tree thus performs for itself the process of layering carried out by nursery gardeners with many herbaceous plants. (There must be, one would think, some difficulty in the ripening or dispersion of its seeds, which has caused the tree to adopt a
different method of reproduction. It is found in both islands.
TIIK PINE FAMILY
i
V)
Fig. 13. Freycinetia:Banksii (the Kie-kie)— Flower i'n nat. size)
80 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Pandanaceae.
The Sceew-Pine Family.
Distribution. — Chiefly a tropical family. Some of the species form large trees, but the majority are thick bushes. The name Screw-pine was given on account of the remarkable twisting of the stem in some species. The various species of Pandanus are noted for the large aerial roots, which, like flying buttresses, prop the stem. Their leaves contain a strong fibre, which is used in the making of sugar-sacks and fish-bags.
Freycinetia Banksii (The Kie-kie).
A lofty, climbing shrub. Leaves 2ft. in length, finely- toothed, concave,
-
sheathing at the base, with prickly margins. Flowers in terminal spikes, 3in.-4in. long, surrounded by white, fleshy bracts. Male flowers consisting of bundles of stamens, female of several ovaries, surrounded by infertile stamens. Fruit an oblong green spadix, with numerous, closely compressed carpels, .each Jin. long ; the lower part soft and hollow, filled with pendulous seeds ; the upper part hard and solid. Seeds small, numerous, oblong. The fleshy white bracts and young spikes of fruit are eaten by the natives and by children. The long: fibrous leaves are used in the manufacture of baskets. North Island ;
O
and west coast of the South Island to Milford Sound. Fl. Sept. -Oct. Maori
name Kie-kie. The flower is usually called Tatvhara. 1 sp.
Palmaceae.
The Palm Family.
-
Trees or shrubs, rarely climbers. Leaves large, divided, fan-like, with sheathing petioles. Flowers on a branched axis, enclosed in a spathe.
segments ; stamens 6. Fruit a berry or drupe.
Distribution.
more
any other, is represented on the mainland of New Zealand by a single species the Nikau Palm — Bhopalostylis sapida. This tree is closely related to the Betel- nut of the East (Areca Catechu).
Palm-trees are chiefly found in tropical regions, where they are often of wonderful utility, in bestowing upon the inhabitants of those lands shelter, food, light, heat, and clothing. The Coco-nut Palm, the Date Palm, the Sago Palm,
THE SCREW-PINE FAMILY
81
Fitf. 11. Freycinetia Banksii-Fruit Uirciirc), (n nat. size).
v
82 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
and the Oil Palm together furnish sugar, starch, oil, resin, cordage, writing materials, material for building and thatching, edible fruits, pleasant beverages, vinegar, soap, etc. The palms reach their southernmost limit in New Zealand.
The stem of the palm differs greatly in structure from that of other trees. The ordinary forest tree grows in thickness by depositing fresh layers of tissue between the wood and the bark. If a felled trunk be observed, it will be seen at once that there is or has been a central pith, and around this, concentric shells of wood have been deposited. In young plants, the pith occupies a considerable portion of the stem, in old trees it becomes obsolete. The stem of the mature tree is, in fact, made up of a series of hollow cylinders of woody tissue tapering to the top, and placed one inside the other. The growth of such a stem is due to the presence of a generating tissue immediately below the bark, which annually gives rise to a layer of wood. Each woody sheath is in reality made up of a number of longitudinal strands or bundles (the fibro- vascular bundles) . Between the bundles, lines may
be seen radiating out from the centre to the outer edge of the wood. These are the medullary or pith rays. The bundles comprising such a trunk are said to be open, because the generative tissue does not become exhausted, but the stem continues to grow in thickness from year to year. Such a structure is typical of the stem of a pine or dicotyledon.
On the other hand, in a monocotyledonous tree, such as a palm, the pith always constitutes a considerable portion of the stem, and the woody bundles are scattered through it, not arranged in a circle round it as in the dicotyledons. Such bundles are no longer capable of growth in thickness, as the generating tissue is exhausted in their production. They are therefore said to be closed. The stem of a palm-tree therefore
tapers but little, and cannot go on increasing in thickness. This is typical of a monocotyledon."
* The stem of the cabbage-tree, Cordyline, is exceptional.
THE PALM FAMILY
S3
Fiji. 15. A Nikjiu (Jrovo (HltojHilostijlis sa it'uhi)
84 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
The fan-like appearance of the beautiful leaves is due to the splitting up of the large, entire leaf, caused by the shrinkage of certain tissues. The flowers are sometimes borne on the axils of the leaves, but in other cases are terminal. They are, however, always enclosed while in bud, in a large spathe or sheath.
Genus Bhopalostylis.
Trees with pinnate leaves, and ringed trunks. Flowers in large axillary panicles. Flower-buds enclosed in a spathe. Stamens 6. Fruit a drupe. 2 sp.
Rhopalostylis sapida (The Nikau Palm).
A tree, sometimes 30 ft. in height. Stem ringed, green. Leaves 14 ft. in length. Spathes 2 or 3, 12in. long. Flowering axis white ; flowers white. Drupe £in. long. Both islands : as far south as Akaroa on the east coast and Dusky Bay on the west.
This elegant and— graceful palm is found usually in thick bush. Any specimen standing alone will have its leaves bruised or broken. The Maoris used the nikau leaves in the construction of their whares, or native huts. A frame-work was made of manuka sticks, and the roof and walls composed of palm leaves, which formed a covering as water-tight as if
built of iron. These leaves keep out the wet in a marvellous manner, even when the thatching is so open that one can see the clouds and stars through the interstices. Every separate leaf division is a little channel, which conducts the rain-drops to the ground outside. Nikau whares are extremely pretty and picturesque, but are now rarely seen, owing to the unfortunate cheapness of corrugated iron. Bushmen, how- ever, still make them occasionally for temporary residences.
The top of the stem is fleshy and juicy, and is sometimes eaten. The nikau palm will stand fire almost as well as the cabbage- tree. After a big bush fire most of the trees are killed, except the nikaus, the cabbage-trees, and the fern-
trees.
The flowers are sessile upon a thick, fleshy axis, the whole
-
inflorescence being enclosed when young in a large spathe.
THE PALM FAMILY
85
0>
cc
in
CO
cc
O
c
cd
CD
u
-
:D
86
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
The fruit is of a vivid red when ripe, appearing like a huge bunch of coral. The berries are about the size of a large pea, and are extremely hard. They have been used by settlers for bird-shooting when ammunition was scarce. Though so hard, however, they are much relished by the kakas or wild parrots. These birds, unable to find foothold upon the smooth stem of the palm, hang upside down, with one claw fixed on the base of a leaf, and thus enjoy their meal.
:
Fig, 17. Flower of the Nikau. Bhopalostylis sapicla. (J nat size).
The leaf-strips are much used by the Maoris for weaving
into baskets and kits of every description
The bark is ringed with cicatrices formed by the falling off
of the dead
The base of a fallen leaf, with the fan-like
part torn off, makes an excellent basket for carrying flowers
A curious
headed specimen of the
feet
*=>
h
about fort^
was discovered not long ago in the Kaip
(Fig. 19)
THE PALM FAMIIA
87
Via. 18. Flower of Nikau (nut. size.
88
PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
A species of Polijpodium is sometimes found climbing up the nikau stem, but as a rule the trunk is too smooth and polished to allow creepers to gain any hold upon it.
Liliaceae.
The Lily Family.
Distribution. — An extensive family, occurring in all climates. The greater number of these beautiful plants are herbaceous, with bulbous roots, but in tropical countries they sometimes attain to the size of large trees. Two of the most notable plants of this family, found in New Zealand, are the Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis) and the Flax (Phormium tenax). The lilies, tulips, and hyacinths are well-known garden flowers, while the onion, leek, and asparagus
The Butcher's broom is the only shrubby British species. The calyx of all liliaceous plants is petaloid, that is, the sepals have the appearance of petals. The herbaceous species usually produce large and showy flowers.
are useful vegetables.
Key to the Genera.
(a) Leaves net-veined. Fruit a berry.
Climbing shrubs.
Creeping herbs. (&) Leaves parallel-veined. Fruit a berry.
Glabrous terrestrial herbs. Berries blue.
Tufted silky herbs, usually epiphytic.
Trees, or rarely herbs. Flowers white. (c) Leaves parallel-veined. Fruit a capsule. 1. Flowers racemed, yellow, with spreading perianth.
Flowers panicled. Flowers white, ne
Flowers red and yellow, tubular. Flowers, solitary, in spathes (sheathing bracts), when in bud.
Pedicels jointed
Rhipogonum, p. 90. Luzuriaga, p. 92.
Dianella, p. 98. * Astelia, p. 98. Cordyline, p. 92.
Bulbinella, p. 102.
2 Arthropodium, p. 100. . Phormium, p 102.
Herpolirion, p. 108.
Genus Rhipogonum.
A genus of three species, one New Zealand and two Australian. Rope-like
climbers
leaflets. Stamens, 6 ; 1 from the Greek, meanin
opposite leaves, and racemes of greenish flowers. Perianth of 6
>nger than the petals. Fruit, a berry, scarlet. (Name.
1. sp.
v
THE PALM FAMILY
89
.'
Fig. 19. Abnormally branched Nikau (Iihopalostulis s (j)ida).
90
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Rhipogonum scandens (The Climbing Bhipogonum) .
This is one of the most curious plants of the order. No one who saw for the first time the black, snaky liane-like stems of the supple-jack, would dream of relegating this plant to the lily tribe. The flower is green and inconspicuous, and is borne in long spikes or racemes, at the end of the shoots. It is only by noting the number and arrangement of petals and stamens, that one can realize that the Bhipogonum is a
lily
This strangling creeper forms one of the chief obstacles
in getting through the bush ; and occasionally renders progress
impossible. The brown and black ropes
hang and
twist
everywhere, binding one tree to another, and forming loops and nooses above and below. The leaves, which are seen in any number only near the ends of the shoots, are opposite, oval, and entire, thick and leathery, with a metallic sheen upon them, The berries are oval, pointed at the end, and of
wiry stems are so strong, that they
a brilliant scarlet.
The
may be used as cords without fear of breaking. Rope-ladders
. have been made from them, for the purpose of climbing the
steep cliffs which shut in the Wanganui River.
They
are
; used also in basket-work. In the Chatham Islands, we hear of native huts built of fern-posts, lashed together with supple- jacks, and thatched with toe grass ; also of rafts formed of the flower stalks of Phormium tenax, spliced with supple- jacks.
The roots of the Bhipogonum are used by bushmen as a ; medicine, and the plant is sometimes called " Bush Sarsa-
parilla." The native name is Kare-ao, which is plausibly
-
interpreted to mean a twisting rope. Both islands, abundant. Fl. Dec.-Feb.
Genus Luzuriaga. .
Small, creeping, glabrous herbs, with stems knotted at the joints. Leaves
• with netted venation, alternate.
Flowers regular.
Perianth of 6 leaflets.
Fruit a berry. A genus of two species, one in South America and one in New . Zealand.
THE PALM FAMILY
(
i)i
Fitf. 20. Spray of Sui)])le-jack <A nat. size).
92 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Luzuriaga marginata* {The Marginate Luzuriaga).
A pretty little plant, found chiefly in hilly districts. Leaves shining, fin.
in length. Petioles twisted. Flower terminal, white, fin. long. Berry round. Both islands. Fl. Dec. and Jan. (The plant appears under the synonym Callixene parviflora in Hooker's Handbook and as Enargea marginata in
Cheeseman).
Genus Cordyline.
*
A genus found in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The five New Zealand species arc all endemic. Herbs or trees. Leaves crowded, and sword-like. Flowers regular, bell-shaped, white. Stamens inserted on the petals. Berry whitish, containing angular, black seeds. (Name from the Greek signifying a club). 5. sp.
Cordyline belongs to the sub-family Draccenoideae, and is therefore related to the dragon-trees. Dragon's blood is the
m
resin which exudes from the bark of Draccena Draco. A very famous specimen of this tree existed on the island of Teneriffe. It was supposed to be about 6000 years old, but was unfortunately blown down in 1868. It was then 70 feet high, and nearly 45 feet in girth. \
A peculiar secondary thickening of the stem takes place in this sub-family. The primary arrangement of the bundles of the stem is the same as in one of the palm-trees (v, p. 82) ; but after all the woody cylinders have been originated and are in course of development, a generating tissue appears in certain regions of the stem round the bundles, and grows radially, thus giving rise to secondary wood. For a fuller description of the processes of division and extension of the growing tissue, some text-book of anatomy should be con- sulted. The anatomy of the stem in the New Zealand species of Cordyline does not appear to be known at all fully, and would probably afford a profitable subject of investigation.
Diels makes a curious mistake with regard to C. australis. He is surprised to find that it has a xerophytic structure,
*This name is given on the authority of Engler and Prantl's Pjianzenfamilien.
-
THE LILY FAMILY
93
though it
grows
according to him, in dense shade.
As
a
matter of fact, the cabbage tree, though often found in swamps, is characteristic of open dry lands and bare grassy hill sides. (See fig 21). It is, therefore, not a matter for wonder that
against
the leaves should have devices protecting them excessive transpiration. The stomata are placed in the grooves
of the leaves, and are covered
cuticular projections, and
thus the passage of gases from and into the leaf is checked.
Fig. 21. Cabbage Tree Hush.
A similar arrangement is to be found in Dracophyll
latifoli
Cordyline australis.
(Ti-kouka. The Cabbage Tree, or Palm Lily).
This is allied to the celebrated Ti {Cordyline terminalis) of the South Sea Islands, which formed an important part of the food of the Polynesians. The prepared roots were eaten, and
94
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
from them an intoxicating drink was also obtained.
The leaves
are eaten by cattle. They are also used in thatching, and a rough kind of cloth is woven from the fibres. The genus is found over the greater part of the tropical old world, but chiefly in New Zealand, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific. There are several interesting species found in New Zealand — some tall and palm-like, —
others stemless, sending
Fig. 22. Luzuriaga marginata (3 nat. size).
their long, narrow leaves straight from the crown of
up
plant just above the soil.
the
The cabbage-tree forms one of the most striking objects of
the New Zealand bush scenery. Its inappropriate name is said to have been given by the early settlers, who used the young and tender heads in place of cabbage. Palm Lily, however, is a better term. The long bare stems, with their bushy heads of grass-like leaves, cannot be confounded with those of any other tree, and give to the landscape a
THE LILY FAMILY
95
It if
strangely tropical appearance.
liliaceous plants. Colenso states that he once saw a specimen,
s one of the largest of the
Viti. 'I'-i. Cordyline australis irtowcrand leaf) h nat. size.
the trunk of which was sufficiently large to he used as a store- room. A Maori had fitted a door into the trunk, and kept his tools and haskets within it, though the tree was still living.
96 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND
These plants appear to be wonderfully tenacious of life, — indeed it seems to be almost impossible to kill them. A number of trees were once cut down and thrown over a fence on to the shingly beach of a creek. For eight months they lay there, one fortnight rolling up and down in the salt tide, the next baking high and dry in the sun. At last an exceptionally high tide lifted them back again over the fence into the paddock. As soon as they found themselves upon soil once more, they sent out rootlets, and shortly afterwards were seen to be budding vigorously.
A gum-digger in the north made his chimney of cabbage- tree stems, digging a trench, and setting in the trunks side by side. These were then nailed together, and for some months a fire was kept alight continuously, — until the stems were burned through, and only parts of the outside bark left. The man then left the place, and within a short time, that which had been a blackened chimney, became a mass of living green, Even a dry chip, flying from the axe, will, if it falls into a damp place, root and bud. The fibre of the leaves is perhaps stronger than that of the flax (Phormium) , and is much used by the
settlers in place of twine. The leaves are well adapted for the making of paper.
The flowers of the various kinds are all white or cream-
• -
coloured, and give out a strong, sweet scent. They are much visited by bees. The fruit is not capsular, as is usual among the Liliaceae, but succulent, and contains a number of angular black seeds.
The cabbage-tree resembles most of its tribe in bearing a huge rhizome in place of a tap- or fibrous root. This rhizome,
when the plant is dead, rots away in the ground and leaves a narrow, round hole, sometimes eight feet in depth. Ferns and
small plants grow over the hole, and an unwary rider may be easily thrown if the horse catch his foot in it.
The decaying leaves of the cabbage- tree are often phos- phorescent at night. Pigeons feed upon the milky- white
THE LILY FAMILY
(
1)7
Fig. *24. Astelia Cunninghamii l11f) nat. size.)
H
98
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
berries. It is found in both islands, and flowers in November and December.
Cordyline Banksii is distinguished from Cordyline australis by its much longer leaves, 5 ft. to 6 ft. in length, and its drooping panicle of flowers.
Cordyline indivisa is a smaller tree, not often more than 10 ft. in height. Its leaves are very thick and leathery, with yellowish midribs. This plant has also a drooping flower-panicle. The fibre of its leaves was used by the Maoris in the making of garments, and is said to be stronger than the fibre of the Phormium.
Cordyline pumilio is a small grass-like herb, with leaves not exceeding 2 ft. in length, and a loose spreading panicle of white flowers. It is found only in the northern parts of the North Island, and is easily distinguished from the other species.
Genus Dianella.
A small genus, chiefly Australian. Rigid, shining herbs, with large panicles of white or blue flower s . Leaves long, narrow. Perianth of 6 leaflets. Stamens 6. Filaments incurved. Berry round or oblong. Seed, round. Root a rhizome. (Name from the Latin " Diana," the Goddess of the woods). 1 sp.
Dianella intermedia (The Intermediate Dianella).
This plant is found in woods or open fern lands . The leaves are from lft- to 5 ft. in length, and the flower panicles 10 in. to 18 in. long. Flowers £in. across, white or pale blue. Berry Jin. long, blue. Both islands, also Norfolk
Island. Fl. Nov. -Dec.
Genus Astelia.
Large herbs, with heads of sword-like leaves, usually
epiphytic. (Name from the Greek,
meaning
wanting
a
s tern or trunk) .
A
very noticeable genus, forming
immense tufts high up on the branches of the loftiest forest trees. The flowers are produced in large spreading panicles, like those of the Cabbage-tree. {Cordyline). The male and female flowers are found upon separate plants, and owing to the height at which they grow, there has been some difficulty in matching the sexes. Now and again, in traversing the bush, one will find a mass which has been torn from its support by its own weight, and has fallen to the ground. In such a case it is possible to examine at leisure the long,
-if it
silky, chaffy leaves, with their sharply defined nerves, and— happens to be the flowering or fruiting time — the great silky
THE LILY FAMIL1
(
1)9
panicle of sweet, creamy or purplish blossoms, or close-set, transparent, wine-coloured berries. In the European forests, the trees invariably shed their leaves during winter, thus giving to the smaller plants which grow beneath them a possibility of obtaining air and sunshine, which is never
The dark-green gloom
available in the New Zealand bush.
of the latter is never lightened, and few rays of sunshine can
ever filter through its leafy roof. The smaller plants are thus
Fig. 25. Astelia nervosa (J nat. size)
threatened with death by suffocation, and their only chance of life is to raise themselves to the level of the forest trees, and
, sunnier air. Some, starting on
ound a sturdy tree-trunk
so share with them the upper, sunn
the ground, wreathe themselves ai
and climb steadily, leaving behind them leafless rope-like
stems, until they reach a place where they may open out into
leaves and flowers, with some surety of bringing them to
perfection
Other
ke the Astel
est securely in the
100
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
forks of the highest branches, eighty or one hundred feet above the ground, appearing to the beholder from below like
huge birds' nests.
The flowers of Astelia are sometimes tinged with purple ; and the long sprays of berries, with intermingled colours of red, yellow, and green, are very pretty. The latter have a sweet taste, and are eaten by the Maoris There are two species of New Zealand Astelias which grow in the open, instead of in the bush, and are consequently not epiphytic. These are linearis and nervosa, both of which are found in sub-alpine districts in the North, but at lower levels in the South Island-
The Astelias, like many other epiphytic plants, provide
■
up water in the thick, curved bases of their circle of leaves. In the hottest and driest summer, when even the great forest trees are beginning
against a long drought, by storing
to show signs of drought, the climber can rarely pull down a tuft of Astelia without a sprinkle of water-drops. These
plants are natives of Australia, Tasmania, the Pacific Islands, and New Zealand. We have six species, which are all endemic. The berry is 1-celled in A. linearis and A. Cunninghamii ; it is 3-celled in the other species.
A. Cunninghamii. — Leaves 2 ft. -5 ft. long, £ in. to 1 in. broad, silky.
Flower scape 1 ft.-l£ ft., much branched. Perianth
in.
A. Solandri is
distinguished from A. Cunninghamii by its broader leaves (3 in. across), and its larger flowers (£ in. in diameter). A. linearis is a small alpine species, with leaves rarely more than 6 in. in length, and long, red berries.
Genus Arthropodium.
Herbs, with long grass-like leaves, and large, showy panicles of white flowers. Perianth of 6 leaflets ; stamens 6. Fruit a capsule ; seeds angular, black. Roots fibrous, fleshy. A small genus, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. (Name from the Greek signifying jointed foot or pedicel.) 2 sp.
Arthropodium cirrhatum (The Curled Arthropodium).
A handsome plant, 2ft. -3ft. high, with i flowers. Bracts leafy ; leaves 1ft. long, 1£
stamens
are exceedingly beautiful.
Flowers fin.-lin. across. Seen under a magnifying
THE LILY FAMILY
101
Via. 26. Astelia ]>anksii Fruit [h nat. size >
102
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
glass they resemble small bottle-brushes, covered with orange or pink bristles Northern Island and Nelson, growing profusely upon rocky cliffs. FL Nov. -Dec (Name in allusion to the brush-like filaments.) Usually known as the Rock Lily
\
Arthropodium candidum (The White Arthropodium) .
A much smaller plant, usually 7in. or 8in. in height, with soft, grass-like leaves. Flower-stem very slender ; flowers white, Jin. across, with recurved petals. Open ground, both islands. Fl. Jan. -Feb.
Genus Bulbinella.
Herbs, with fibrous or bulbous roots. A large genus, found in all temperate
climates. Leaves from the root, long and narrow. Flowers in racemes. Perianth of 6 leaflets ; stamens 6 ; filaments of stamens bearded. Fruit a
-
capsule ; seeds black. 2 sp.
Bulbinella Rossi i (Boss's Bulbinella.)
A tall, sturdy plant, sometimes reaching 4ft. in height. Stem very thick ;
leaves 8 in. -16 in. long, recurved. Flowers yellow, asphodel-like, Jin. across. This plant is abundant ^in the Auckland and Campbell Islands, while the smaller species, Bulbinella Hookeri, is found in lowland and sub-alpine pastures in both the Northern and Southern Islands of New Zealand. The flowers are as large as in the former species, but the leaves and the whole plant are smaller. It is frequently — at least in the Southern part of New Zealand known as the Maori Onion. In some places a whole mountain side may be seen covered with a blaze of yellow from the presence of myriads of racemes of this
plant. Fl. Oct. -Dec.
Genus Phormium.
Large, tufted, perennial herbs, with fibrous roots, and long, radical, linear leaves. Flowers in large panicles. Perianth of 6 leaflets, tubular, red, or yellow. Stamens 6, longer than the petals. Fruit a long capsule, many seeded. A genus of two species, both endemic. (Name from the Greek for a basket, in allusion to the use of the leaves by the Maoris in basket-making). Maori name, Harakeke. •
Phormium tenax (The New Zealand Flax, or Flax-Lily).
This is a remarkable species, peculiar to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. Like the cabbage-tree, it forms a distinct and
nnmistakeable feature of the New Zealand
It is
totally unlike the flax-plant known to Europeans, though the
two may be compared in the strength and usefulness of their fibres. The Linaceae (Flax Tribe) constitute a family in
TIIK LILY FAMILY
1 0 8
V\U. '27. Artliro)).»diuiii eirrhatuin iTlir Rock Lily*. ' i nai. si/,«\ )
104 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
themselves, and are all small, herbaceous plants, with delicate, pale-blue petals. But the flax of the New Zealand swrjnps and hillsides is an entirely different plant. The coarse, dark- green leaves are often six feet or more in length, while its flower-stem occasionally rises to a height of fifteen feet. The finest variety is found by running water, while the plant of the stagnant swamp remains comparatively small.
The settler is never in want of a piece of twine with a flax bush growing near his home. He has merely to take ono of the long leaves, and tear a strip from it, and he holds in his hand a piece of string that it is almost impossible to break. The Phormium fibre is stronger than that of any other flax, but it is also more brittle when twisted. As to the treatment of it by the natives in the early days, we read in " Nicholas's Voyage," (1814), that "the natives, after having cut it down and brought it home green in bundles, scrape it with a large mussel-shell, and take the heart out of it, splitting it with their thumb-nails. The outside they throw away, and spread the rest out in the sun to dry, which makes it as white as snow. They spin it in a double thread, with the hand on the thigh, and then work it into mats, also by hand. Three women may work on one mat at a time."
This plant was known in England in the early part of the nineteenth century. In the Annual Kegister of 1819, it was stated that ropes made from the Phormium had been experimented with in the Portsmouth dockyards, and found to stand the test. The ropes were said to be strong, pliable, and very silky.
A Maori named Tupai visited England in the time of G-eorge III., and was amused to see a plant of flax growing in a pot under glass. It is said to have been cultivated in the
-
open by a Frenchman of the name of Freycinet, in 1813, when it grew to a height of six feet, and bore a large spike of flowers. It seems also to have been, a little later, successfully cultivated in the British Isles, and to have ripened seeds as
THE LILY FAMILY
105-
far north as the Orkneys. It can bear uninjured a temperature of 15° Fahrenheit, and it is only at 9° that the tops of the leaves become frost-bitten. It appears to be a plant suitable
for
wide
naturalization,
on
account
of
the
varying
temperature it will bear unhurt, and the fact that sheep and cattle do not usually eat it.
Fig. 28. Phorinium tenax. (The New Zealand Flax.)
The root of the Phormium is a thick, creeping rhizome.. The leaves have no footstalks, but ascend straight from the crown of the plant. The flowers are more curious than beautiful, and are of a dull, dingy red, or sometimes yellow
colour.
The dark stamens hang out far below the petals, and
These blossoms secrete
attractive to birds.
are tipped with bright yellow anthers. a great quantity
of nectar, which is ver)
106
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
They are visited constantly by the tuis and parrots, which thus cross-pollinate them. The seeds are black, shining, flat,
\
and packed closely in a capsule.
This plant has often been used medicinally, A pulp made from the roasted and macerated roots is sometimes applied as a poultice for abscesses, while a decoction of the same is said to act like a charm upon unbroken chilblains. The soft part at the base of the leaf is placed over wounds to stop bleeding, though some bushmen have an idea that the juice of the leaf acts as a poison to a cut, and aver that cuts obtained in the handling of the leaves in a flax-mill usually fester.
A great quantity of the flax-fibre is now exported annually, and is at present valued at £24 per ton. The Maoris used this fibre for various purposes, such as making fishing-nets, cloth, and many ornamental articles.
Love-tokens are said to have been made by the Maoris in the early days from strips of flax-leaves.* A double slip-knot was formed, which, if tightly pulled, ran into one large single knot. The double loop was presented by the young Maori to his sweetheart, who signified her consent to his silent proposal, by drawing the two knots into one.
A flax-stick, or dried flower stem, is known to colonists as a korari, koradi, or kaladi. The first name is of course, the
correct one (v. Acczna, p. 202)
It
y light and full of
brown pith. By the Maoris of old time these stems were put to many uses.
The Leaf of Phokmium.
The leaf of the flax is one of the strongest and most remarkable known. When fully grown it attains a length of from three to ten feet, with a breadth of from 3in. to 4in. The colour varies from light yellow-green to a deep blue-green, with a yellow or red margin. There are, however, many varieties. The Maoris recognized more than fifty. Some of the cultivated
White's "Te Rou, or The
I •
^rv.
THE LILY FAMILY 107
forms are much more richly tinted than the ordinary wild varieties. The bronze-leaved flax is perhaps the finest of those usually found in gardens. A variety, said to come from the Chatham Islands, has, along with a tinge of bronze in the leaves, beautiful crimson, almost translucent margins, and is much more pendulous and graceful than the ordinary stiff bayonet-like form. Variegated sports are common. One of them at least appears to have originated in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. The leaf is linear-lanceolate in shape with an acute point, and is folded longitudinally from tip to base, so that at about a third of its length from the point, the two upper and inner surfaces of the blade come together, and throughout half the length of the leaf are in close contact. At the butt of the leaf, the two halves are again separated by the younger leaves, which are ensheathed by the older ones. Large quantities of gum, which have been a source of great difficulty to rope-makers, are secreted between the halves of
the blade. The leaves are arranged in fans. In a year or two, after the fan has produced its flower, it has withered away.
The minute structure of the foliage is no less remarkable, than its form and general appearance. There is perhaps no leaf on the face of the earth, that has greater powers of withstanding tension than this one. The blade is intersected longitudinally, by large numbers of plates of strong-walled fibres, placed transversely to the breadth of the leaf. Between each pair of plates there are strands of similar fibres, running along the surface immediately below the cuticle (skin). Thus a considerable amount of rigidity, accompanied by most unusual strength, is developed in the leaves. The rigidity enables them, in spite of their length, to stand vertically ; and their great strength prevents them from being whipped to pieces by the wind. The tenacity of the fibres arises chiefly from the fact that the cells of which they are composed are dry, hard, filled only with air, and have very much thickened cell- walls. Schwendener has calculated that the sustaining
108
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
power of such
qual to that of the best wrought
hammered steel, while their ductility is from ten to fifteen
times as great as that of iron. Mor
such mechanical
tissues are generally so arranged as to withstand the maximum amount of strain, though occupying the minimum amount of
space in the leaf.
Habitat : Both islands, and Norfolk Island. Fl. Nov.-Jan. P. Cookianum> a small species, is found in both islands on dry hill sides. It is occasionally- epiphytic.
Fig. 29. Herpolirion novae-Zelandiae.
Genus Herpolirion.
Creeping, wiry herbs, with narrow, sheathing leaves. Flower-bud enclosed in one or more spathes. Perianth 6-parted, tubular. Stamens 6. Fruit a. capsule. A' small alpine genus of two species, one found in New Zealand, and one in Australia and Tasmania. (Name from the Greek, signifying a
creeping lily.) 1 sp.
Herpolirion novae-Zelandiae (The New Zealand
Herpolirion).
This little plant is found in elevated swamps in Nelson and Canterbury, on the Taupo plains, and in lowland swamps in Otago and Stewart Island. The leaves are narrow and glaucous, lin.-2in. long ; the flowers Jin. -Jin. across,,
white, or pale blue, almost sessile ; the bud is enclosed in a single spathe. FL
Dec. -Feb.
» • . *>\
THE IBIS FAMILY 109
Iridaceae.
The Ieis Family.
Distribution. — A large family, chiefly natives of warm and temperate regions. Saffron is obtained from Crocus sativus, and orris root is the fragrant rhizome of Iris florentina. The Flag, the Gladiolus, the Ixia, and the Crocus are well-known garden plants. This family is represented in New Zealand by
the one genus Liber tia.
Genus Libertia.
Herbs, with umbellate panicles of white flowers. Stamens with united filaments. Capsule rounded, leathery or membranous. Seeds angular, deeply pitted in the New Zealand species. (Named after Madame Libert, a French botanist). 3 sp.
Libertia ixioides. {The Ixia-like Libertia).
Stem 6in.-2ft. in height. Leaves narrow, hard, pointed, &in.-i£in. broad. Flower-stalk panicled. Branches enclosed in spathes, bearing umbels of from 2-10 white flowers. Perianth f in.-lin. across ; petals larger than the sepals.
Capsule brown or yellow, ^in.-Jin. long. Both Islands : common. Fl. Oct. -Jan.
Libertia grandiflora. (The Large- flowered Libertia).
Stem 2ft. -3ft. high. Leaves Jin. broad. Capsule £in.-§in. long, turgid, obovoid. Both islands. Fl. Nov.-Dec.
Orchidaceae.
The Oechid Family.
Perennial herbs, terrestrial or epiphytic, with remarkably irregular flowers. Leaves entire, usually sheathing at the base. Perianth of 6 parts ; sepals 3 ; petals 3, the lower of these called the labellum or lip, usually large, spurred, and differing in form from the other two. Stamens united with the style to form a column, containing from 2-8 masses of pollen. Fruit a capsule ; seeds numerous.
Distribution.
climate
3 largest orders of plants, consisting of nearly 5,000 lmost every part of the globe, except where the The beauty and strange irregular shape of the
this
parts of the perianth.
110
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
Its Fantastic Flower Forms.
" There is no order of plants," says Dr. Findlay, in his paper on Orchidaceae in the " English Cyclopaedia," " the structure of whose flowers is so anomalous as regards the relation borne to each other by the parts of reproduction, or
so singular in respect to the form of the floral envelope.
By
an excessive development and singular conformation of one of the petals called the labellum or lip, and by irregularities, either of form, size, or direction of the other sepals and petals, by the peculiar adhesion of these parts to each other, and by
an occasional suppr
of a portion of them, flower
are
produced so grotesque in form that it is no longer with the vegetable kingdom that they can compare, but their resemblance must be sought in the animal world."
This
is
no fanciful, far-fetched resemblance, as might be imagined by those who have no large acquaintance with these
strange
flowers. Anyone, observing for the first time the Bee Orchis
{Orphrys apift
of the English downs, would find it hard to
believe that he did not see before him the real insect, so exactly does the flower reproduce the brownish-velvety body, streaked with gold bands, and the pollen-covered legs. The Fly, the Lizard, and the Monkey Orchis are likewise natives of Great Britain.
In tropical countries the flowers of orchids, or parts of them, show many curious resemblances to various animals. Grass- hoppers, mosquitoes, dragon-flies, butterflies, swans, pelicans, the skin of the tiger and of the leopard, the eyes and teeth of the lynx, the face of the bull, the grin of the monkey, the head of the serpent, the tail of the rattlesnake, frogs, lizards, even the head of the extinct Dinotherium, are all mimicked by them.
The New Zealand species are not
this respect
as those of most countries, though the little Silverback
(Corysanthes
tha), with its
id purple flower
and
long antennae, has somewhat the appearance of a purple beetle or cockroach (Fig. 35). Pterostylis graminea and P.
\
*«,
THE ORCHID FAMILY HI
Banksii have large, hooded, greenish flowers. Dendrohium Cunning hamii, with its many flowered racemes of pale rose and white, is perhaps our most beautiful orchid, though the sweet-scented Earina mucronata and E. suaveolens are hardly less beautiful. The commonest one is Microtis porrifolia, which has a single, cylindrical, tubular, onion-like leaf, bearing a flower-spike with numerous small green flowers.
The family Orchidaceae is found in almost all parts of the world, but reaches its highest development in tropical regions. In the temperate zone, these plants are chiefly terrestrial, but in tropical countries they are usually epiphytic. The Neottia nidus-avis of the British woods, like our Gastrodia, is a brown,, leafless saprophyte, deriving its nourishment from the decay- ing organic matter of the soil in which it grows. The finest forms come from the Malay Archipelago, and from South America. Collectors go to these districts to hunt for new and rare plants, and often risk their lives for the sake of getting a fresh variety. Though the New Zealand forms are none of them large and showy, yet they are full of interest to the flower-lover and the naturalist.
Structure op the Orchid Flower.
Darwin has shown that the orchid is probably a much modified, highly specialized lily. Both orchid and lily have three outer, and three inner perianth leaves, though these are probably not completely homologous, and in the case of the orchid they are generally very irregular and varied in shape. In the lily they are usually regular and similar. The stamens are reduced in number, generally either one or two anthers only being present. The filaments and style are fused together to form the " column," in the centre of the flower. The anthers are superior to the stigma, but are usually separated from it by an intervening platform, termed the rostellum, that assists in preventing self-pollination. The
112 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
pollen grains are collected together into a few club-shaped masses termed pollinia. These are often provided with a small glutinous pedicel, by which they may be strongly cemented to any object with which they come in contact. The ovary is inferior, (and in this respect therefore unlike that of the lilies), and produces numerous minute seeds.
Pollination of Orchids.
Though most of the orchids require cross-pollination, and many have elaborate devices to secure it, yet if these fail, some of the species can be pollinated from their own anthers. Many Orchid flowers remain open for a long time. Thus the flower of one species of Cypripedium is said to last forty days, and of another, seventy days. This would seem to suggest that insect visits to these species are few and far between. Mr. G. M. Thomson also remarks on the infrequency of insect visits to those New Zealand orchids which he examined, though he attributes this,* in part at any rate, to the general cold- ness of the previous season. In spite of all their lures, therefore, even the orchids at times are compelled to resort to self-pollination. It is impossible to do more than mention one or two of the more extraordinary devices, by means ■of which cross-pollination is secured amongst foreign orchids. We will then give a short account of the methods adopted by New Zealand forms. Perhaps the mode of pollination adopted Coryanthes, as described by Dr. Criiger, is one of the most extraordinary, t
" This orchid has part of its labellum or lower lip hollowed •out into a great bucket, into which drops of almost pure water fall from two secreting horns which stand above it, and when the bucket is half -full, the water overflows by a spout on one side. The basal part of the labellum stands over the bucket,
♦Trans. Vol. XI. 11, p. 418
tDarwin, Origin of Species, Sixth Edition, pp. 154-155.
THE <>]{(* I III) FAMILY
118
V\U. .*>(). Thelyinitrn lontfifolin ;iik1 Microtis porrifolin 'jimt. size.)
0
114
PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND
and is itself hollowed out into a sort of chamber with two
-
lateral entrances ; within this chamber there are curious fleshy
dg
>>
The most
g
, man, if he had not witnessed have imagined what purpose all
what takes place, could never
these parts serve. But Dr. Criiger saw crowds of hug
humble bees visiting the gigantic flowers of this orchid, not i]
order to suck nectar, but to gnaw off the
dg
withm the
chamber above the bucket , in doing this they frequently
-
pushed each other into the buckets, and their wings being thus wetted, they could not fly away, but were compelled to crawl out by the passage forming the spout or overflow. Dr. Criiger
:>cession ' of bees, thus crawling out of
saw
a continual pr