THE NATURAL SHRUBBERIES. 59 



hard and leathery leaves ; 0. cymbifoUa, similar to the last- mentioned, 

 but with the margins of the leaves much recurved ; 0. moschata, 

 after the manner of 0. nummulari folia, but with larger and paler- 

 coloured leaves ; 0. nitida. with rather large, glossy leaves, covered 

 on the under-surface with a shining mat of hairs ; and 0. Colensoi, 

 with thick, rather large leaves, much toothed and covered beneath 

 with a thick mat of white hairs. The remarkable 0. lacunosa, with 

 its leaves rather like those of a juvenile lancewood, and its relative 

 0. excorticata, with broader and shorter leaves, are rarer, being con- 

 fined to the Tararua Mountains in the North Island, and to the north- 

 west and west of the South Island. 



Other plants of the daisy family are the cassinias, C. Vauvilliersii 

 and C. albida, this latter being confined to the Kaikoura and neigh- 

 bouring mountains. To the same family belong also the shrubby 

 groundsels, very common plants of the subalpine scrub, such as 

 Senecio elaeagnifolius, S. Bid-will ii, S. cassinioides, and S. Monroi. 



The heaths are represented by various species of Dracophyllum 

 and by Archer-la Traversii and Gaultheria rupestris, the latter to be 

 recognised by its lily-of-the-valley-like flowers, after the manner of 

 those of G. oppositifoJia of the central heath. 



Drctcophyllum Traversii is a magnificent small tree, with smooth, 

 naked, brown stems, crowned at their extremities with rosettes of 

 stiff, reddish leaves, having long-drawn-out points arching down- 

 wards. The subalpine flax (Phormium CooJcianum}, also a plant of 

 sea-cliffs, is common, as is also, in some localities, one of the spear- 

 grasses (Aciphytta Colensoi, var. maxima}, a most formidable plant 

 with bayonet-like leaves a yard long. 



Little can be said here regarding the adaptations of the members 

 of this society. Like subalpine plants the world over, their surround- 

 ings, notwithstanding an abundant rainfall, demand protection against 

 drought. A dense, felt-like mass of hairs is frequently present on the 

 under- surf aces of the leaves. Very leatherv leaves are common, and 



V *J 



these have a special internal structure to account for their leatherrness, 

 which is of advantage to its possessors. Other adaptations similar 

 to those found in the before-described heath plants are frequently 

 present. 



