22 Transactions. 



Art. V. — Notes on the Botany of Routeburn Valley and Lake Harris Saddle. 



By D. L. Poppelwell. 



[Bead before the Otago Institute, 7th October, 1913.] 



During the Christinas holidays of 1912 Mrs. Poppelwell and myself spent 

 the period from the 27th December, 1912, to the 1st January, 1913, at 

 Routeburn Hut, during which time we twice visited Lake Harris Saddle, 

 and took notes of the botany of the valley generally. 



Although this locality has frequently been visited by botanists, I can 

 find no published description or list of its plants. I propose, therefore, 

 without dealing exhaustively with the various plant associations, to describe 

 some Striking characteristics of the plant covering, and to give a list of the 

 plants noted by me. There are also some peculiarities regarding the distri- 

 bution of the plants in the locality which are interesting as much on account 

 of what is missing from the associations as on account of what is present. 



Lower Routeburn Valley. 



The forest in this valley is almost entirely a beech one, and, as is usual, 

 there is not much undergrowth. Here and there, however, along the damp 

 gullies there are found such species as Carpodetus serratus, Gay a Lyallii, 

 Coprosma lucida, Olearia nitida, Nothopanax simplex, N. Edgerleyi, N. 

 Colensoi, Griselinia littoralis, Senecio elaeagnifoUus, Muehlenbeckia complexa, 

 Phyllocladus alpinus, Podocarpus Hallii, and a few others. The principal 

 ferns are Hymenophyllum demissum, Histiopteris incisa, Blechnum penna 

 marina, Polypodium australe, Polystichum vestitnm, Asplenium flaccidum, 

 A. Richardi (?), and Blechnum fluviatile (rare). 



Of the smaller plants in the lower open valley glades and forest the 

 principal consisted of Acaena Sanguisorbae, A. microphylla, Muehlenbeckut 

 axillaris, Wahlenbergia saxicola, Veronica Lyallii, Lagenophora petiolata, 

 Luzuriaga marginata (rare), Coriaria angustissima, Ranunculus lappaceus, 

 Helichrysum bellidioides, Hydrocotyle novae-zealandiae, Claytonia australasica, 

 Viola Cunninghamii, Ranunculus hirtus, Angelica Gingidium, Anisotome 

 brevistyle, Gastrodia Cunninghamii, Urtica incisa, Geum parviflorum, and 

 Craspedia uniflora. On the Routeburn Flat I noted Poa Colensoi, Agro- 

 pyron scabrum, Celmisia longifolia, Viola Cunninghamii, Cotula dioica, C. 

 squalida, Cardamine heterophylla, Craspedia uniflora, Microseris Forsteri, 

 Senecio Lyallii, and Myosotis macrantha, the two latter on the creek- 

 banks, with several species of Epilobium — i.e., E. pubens, E. pycnostachyum. 

 E. linnaeoides, E. rotundifolium, and E. melanocaulon. 



The Upper Routeburn Valley. 



Just where the track emerges from the forest, at a height of about 

 3,300 ft., a magnificent view of the alpine scrub is obtainable, and as its 

 association differs from most others in this locality it is worth describing. 

 It is exceedingly dense and externally is rounded and smooth, but of various 

 colours. The prevailing colours are green, brown, and white. Perhaps the 

 brown is the most marked. This is brought about by the abundance of 

 Podocarpus nivalis, which is very plentiful, especially in the lower part of 

 the scrub. Higher up a greenish-brown tinge is given by Dracophyllum 



