88 NEW ZEALAND PLANTS. 



culus hirtus, Pt. multiscapus), the slender bluebell (Wahleribergia 

 gracilis), the pretty Convolvulus erubescens, the creeping Dichondrn 

 re-pens, the yellow Oxalis corniculata, the small daisies (Lagenophora 

 petiolata, L. pumila), and the little Geranium micro phf/Uum. 



THE MEADOWS OF THE HIGH MOUNTAINS. 



To see the really fine displays of flowers which New Zealand can 

 offer, one must seek the high mountains in the summer-time. Here 

 the meadows are true natural gardens. But to view such in full 

 perfection, those places must be visited to which no grazing animals 

 have had access. 



The real subalpine and alpine meadow flora begins on the moun- 

 tains near the East Cape, and, extends over the high summits of both 

 Islands to the hills forming the southern part of Stewart Island. The 

 South Island ranges are much richer in species than those of the North 

 Island ; but the closeness of growth in many places on the mountains 

 of the latter, as on the Tararuas, Ruahines, and Kaimanawas, makes 

 up for this difference. The mountains of Nelson, both east and 

 west, are very rich in alpine plants. They contain some of the North 

 Island species, together with others peculiar to themselves, and a large 

 percentage of those found farther to the south. To the east the Kai- 

 koura Mountains form a small but distinct district, having some 

 special societies and a number of peculiar plants, of which the remark- 

 able Helichrysum coralloides (the stout stems with closely pressed 

 woolly white leaves looking not unlike coral, hence the name) and a 

 veronica growing on the face of solid rocks (V. rupicola) may be men- 

 tioned. Proceeding southwards, we find that the Alps of Canterbury 

 and Westland, crowned in many instances -with perpetual ice and 

 snow, form a barrier between the northern and southern alpine plants. 

 These invade this mountain area on its borders, but it has plants 

 peculiarly its own e.g., Ranunculus Godleyanus, Helichrysum pauci- 

 ftorum, Myosotis decora. 



The Otago alpine plants differ considerably as to species from 

 those of Canterbury and Westland, and still more from those of 

 Nelson and the North Island. Peculiar species are, Veronica Hcctori, 

 Celmisia Pelriei, Aciphylla simplex, Ranunculus Matthewsii, &c. 

 Finally, Stewart Island and the mountains of Southland have much 

 in common. 



