20 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



invaders, and ultimately become amalgamated with them, to 

 the great benefit of the stock-grower. Microlcena sti])oides 

 (E. Br.) and Dantlionia 'pilosa (E. Br.) are fair examples of 

 this group. 



Eeplacement by Epacrids. 



One of the most interesting instances of replacement that 

 has been observed up to this time is now in progress on the 

 Te Karaka fiats, between Papatoitoi and Drury, in the Auck- 

 land District. These fiats for many miles are clothed with a 

 dense, but not always luxuriant, growth of manuka, manuka- 

 raunui (Leptosperimlm ericoides, A. Eich., Dracoj^hylluvi ur- 

 villeamim, A. Eich.), mingimingi iCyatliodes acerosa, E. Br.), 

 &c., the manuka being the prevailing plant. Eather more 

 than forty years ago the late Dr. Sinclair and General Bolton 

 discovered the beautiful -2J2Jflms_2;«rjj«rasce7is (E. Br.), a native 

 of New South Wales, in this locality, when it was rightly con- 

 sidered by Sir Joseph Hooker to have been introduced."'' Fifteen 

 years elapsed before it was seen by other botanists, when it 

 was found in several places on the flats, presenting the aspect 

 of a truly indigenous plant, and attaining the height of from 

 2ft. to 6ft. or more. From the great quantity in which it was 

 found I was erroneously led to consider it indigenous, and 

 this conclusion has been generally accepted. fMore recently 

 it has been observed in localities fully twenty miles distant. 

 In 1875 three plants of another species (E. micropliylia, E. Br.) 

 were discovered by A. T. Urquhart, Esq., in the same district. 

 This species is also a native of New South Wales, but has a 

 wider range, extending to Queensland, Victoria, and Tas- 

 mania. In three years the plant increased to such an extent 

 that it formed " a dense mass 60 yards in circumference, 

 the intermediate vegetation — Leptospermum, Pomaderris, and 

 Pteris — being almost completely destroyed."] In 1887 I had 

 the pleasure of visiting the habitat under the guidance of 

 Mr. Urquhart, and found that not only had the area occupied 

 by the plant been greatly extended, but that colonies had 

 been formed at a greater or less distance from the original 

 centre, and would in their turn form new centres of distribu- 

 tion. Mr. Urquhart also pointed out a very old specimen of 

 another species, E. pmlchella (Cav.), also a native of New South 

 Wales : this was surrounded by numbers of young plants, which 

 were producing perfect seed, and increasing at a rapid rate. My 

 friend informed me that he had discovered a colony of this 

 species at some distance from the parent plant, but, unfortu- 



* Fl. N.Z., vol. ii., pp. 321 and 334. 



t Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. ii. (1869), p. 107. 



I Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xviii. (1881), p. 864. 



