THE MEADOWS. 89 



These high mountain meadows are by no means closely 

 growing associations of plants. On the contrary, these latter are 

 -cnerally in clumps, or dotted about, the ground between baing 

 quite bare, and the amount of bareness is governed by the rainfall. 

 Thus, where the latter is great and the number of rainy days excessive, 

 there is little bare ground except on the steepest slopes and near the 

 mountain-tops, while on the mountains of Stewart Island the meadow- 

 is largely made up of bog-plants of the cushion form, through which 

 grows a very strange grass (Danthonia piuu/cns), with extremely 

 rigid and sharp-pointed leaves (fig. 39). 



If a foreign botanist, conversant with the alpine plants of other 

 regions, were to visit a high mountain meadow in New Zealand, he 

 would be amazed at the prevalence of white and yellow flowers, and 

 the almost entire lack of reds and blues. His eye would encounter 

 no blue gentians, no pink primulas. He would be much less surprised 

 at seeing plant forms very similar to those of other alpine regions, yet 

 bearing flowers quite different from his old acquaintances i.e., belong- 

 ing to other families. This latter fact he would find an admirable 

 illustration of the phenomenon that similar conditions evoke or pre- 

 serve similar life-forms even in regions widely remote. As for the 

 prevalence of white and yellow flowers, he would possibly have no 

 suggestion of any moment to offer beyond that the white might be 

 adapted for fertilisation at night-time by moths, and that yellow is 

 a most frequent colour amongst flowers everywhere. 



But if there is some monotony as far as the colour of our alpine 

 flowers goes, there is none in regard to their form. The herbaceous 

 plants of the European Alps in many instances die to the ground 

 yearly, whereas those of New Zealand are mostly evergreen. The 

 spear-grasses (Aciphylla} are of the Yucca form. Some are frequently 

 cultivated in European gardens, but others still more handsome are 

 unknown there. Aciphiflla Colensoi, var. conspicua, derives its varietal 

 name from the broad band of orange down the centre of each leaf- 

 segment, which renders it an especially striking plant. Aciphytta 

 Monroi, growing a few inches high out of a face of rock, looks not 

 unlike a pigmy palm. A. Dobsoni has leaves of the most intense 

 rigidity. 



The eyebrights (Euplirasia] are real alpine gems. EupJirasia 

 Monroi has rather big flowers, considering the size of the plant, white 

 with a yellow eye (fig. 40) ; E. Cockai/niana is yellow. The mountain 



