430 



PLANTS rPtOM NKW CALEDONIA, 



araucanoides. In tlie size and shape of its foli;io-eit is interniodiato l>etwo(Mv 

 Its close relalives. A, monfana and A. MuellerL 



Araucaria MrELLr-:iu Brongn. k Gris. Plaine des Lacs ; summit of bare- 

 serponlino hills; 1500 £fc. Mt.Koo;hi; summit; 3540 ft. ; serpentine- 28i^ 

 748. Tills sporios, distinguished from A, Ihdei by tlic larger si/e of its 

 leaveSj was met \vitli in two localities only^ both in tlie soutltern serpentine 

 district, where, lilv<^ A, Ridel mid A, vtoftt'tna further nortlj, it occuj>ies the 



^ 



crests of ser[>eiitino mountains^ otherwise covered only with send). No 

 cones were found. 



A. BiDAViLLii Hook. Vaoj Isle of Pines; idanted. 2274. The bunya- 

 bunya, native of Australia. 



Agathis. — The nomenclature of the New Caledonian species is inextricably 

 confusod. There ajtpear to bo three S})eeies, for which I adopt the nomen- 

 clature of Paneher (in Sebert, Not. Bois. Nouv.'Caled. i). ICO, 1874) as 

 being less involved in amliiguities and inconsistencies than any other method 

 of ti'eatment. 



Two specieSj A. lanceoJata and A. Moorei^ are typically forest trees*. 

 A. lanceolata is a magnificent species Avitli a massive trunk often rising to a 

 heiii'lit of 50 ft, before branchino- : its bark is reddish brown, sn 



ootli, and 



is bfdnn 



scales ofFin thin flakes; its leaves are large^ ovate-lanceohito with an aeule 

 apex, and not glaucous ; its mature female cone is broadly elliptical. This is 

 the tree characteristic of high forest on serpentine, below 1000 it. altitude, 

 througliout the southern half of New Caledonia. Its wood is valuable, and 



exploited in various places, notably at the Baie des Pirogues ; it 

 also produces immense (juautities of resin. A. Moorei is a markedly smaller 

 tree, whose trunk never attains the lieight or diameter of A. lanceolata ; its 

 leaves are'mucli smaller and are narrowly elliptical ; its mature female cone 

 is globose or obovate, often almost pear-shaped, and is distinctly smaller than 

 that of A. lanceolata. It is also a forest-tree, but lias a different liabitat, 

 occurring on the schistose and gneiss rocks of the northern half of the 

 country, typically at 1000-2000 ft. altihide. 



The third s[>ecies, A, ovata^ never enters into the composition of forests^ 

 It is an inhabitant of the arid exposed serpentine ridges and slopes in the south 

 of the island, usually in solitude, rarely forming a small local society, from 

 sea-level to about 1500 ft. altitude. It seldom exceeds 30 ft. in In'ioht : its 



trunk is covered by a rough greyish bark, which is deeply creviced — quite 

 unlike that of A. lanceolata. The leaves are variable^ much more coriaceous^ 



F 



than in the two woodland species, glaucous below, especially when youn»>'^ 

 (iblong-elliptical, not acute. The female cones are elli[»tical and smaller than 

 those of A, lanceolata. 



