70 



NEW ZEALAND PLANTS. 



semi-tussocks of stiff, golden-coloured leaves crown many sandhills 



/ 



from the North Cape to the Bluff. Unfortunately, rabbits and some 

 other animals do not despise this plant, notwithstanding its most 

 unappetising-looking leaves. In consequence, they destroy this natural 

 protector of our shores, which came into being in a land where grazing 

 animals, the moa excepted, were unknown, and so developed no pro- 

 tective adaptations. 



The spiny rolling-grass (Spinifex hirsutus). a native of Australia 

 also, is another very important indigenous sand-binder. Its stout 





FIG. 29. Breach in Foredune made by Sea, north of Rangitikei River. The 



Pingao (Scirpus f rondo* us) on right. 

 Lands Department.] [Photo, L. Cockayne. 



stems, often many feet in length, at first creep over the surface of the 

 sand, firmly fixing themselves by means of many roots. Finally 

 they are buried, and the tufts of long flexible leaves, covered densely 

 with soft silvery hairs, project out of the sand. The pollen-bearing 

 and ovule-bearing plants are distinct. When the seeds are ripe, the 

 mature inflorescence breaks off. and, borne by the wind, hops on its 

 long spines over the sandy shore like some huge insect, until, at 



