Cockayne. — Botanical Excursion to Southern Islands. 279 



common representative of that genus in the subalpine region 

 of Campbell Island. This species was originally described, 

 and also figured, by Buchanan in 1884 (10, p. 395) ; later on 

 Kirk gave it the MS. name of P. gilliesianmn, and still later 

 described it under the name of P. hookeriamwi, J. Buch. (58), 

 a slip which he corrected in the " Students' Flora," where 

 the plant is described as P. hookeri. According to Kirk 

 (58, p. 435) the adult-leaves are 6 in. to 10 in. long by 3 in. 

 to 4 in. broad, white on both surfaces with silky, lax, or 

 close tomentum, and, appressed to the ground, form a rosette. 

 From each plant from one to three scapes are given off, 15 in. 

 to 24 in. tall, which bear — from Kirk's plate of this species 

 — -some 20 hemispherical or almost globose heads f in. in 

 diameter. The ray-florets are few or wanting, and are of a 

 deep lurid-red or reddish-purple. 



In winter a clump of Pleurop. hookeri may occupy a space 

 of + 46 cm. X + 30 cm.. and consists of a number of short 

 rosettes (buds) surrounded by the dead leaf- blades of the pre- 

 vious year, as stated further back. The leaves of the largest 

 rosettes are semi-erect, or those with very short leaf-apices 

 quite erect, and densely imbricate, especially at the base, the 

 plant in this condition reminding one rather of the habit of 

 Celiiiisia verbascifolia than of a Pleuropiiyllum. Surrounding 

 these living leaves is a dense mass of old decayed leaf-bases 

 sopping with water. Stripping otf these dead leaves, in one 

 particular instance the column of living leaf-bases measured 

 2-26 cm. in diameter, but with the sheath of dead leaves the 

 diameter of the whole was 6 cm. In another case measured 

 the dead and living leaf -bases taken together were 23 cm. in 

 circumference. The winter leaves are broadest at the base — 

 3'5 cm. ; but the margins remain almost parallel for most of 

 the length of the leaf, finally converging into an acute point 

 3"3 cm. long at 5-5 cm. from the apex. The sheathing bases 

 are extremely silky, with long hairs pressed upwards against 

 the surface of the sheath. Such hairs are + 2-3 cm. long, 

 very silvery and glistening, especially those which cover with 

 a thick loose mass the back of the sheath. The leaf as a 

 whole is rather flaccid, and coloured pale-green where exposed 

 to the light. The margin and adjoining portion of the sheath 

 is membranous, but elsewhere, and especially towards the 

 centre, it is fleshy. The rootstock is + 2-4 cm. in diameter. 

 The roots are numerous, thick, and fleshy. Seen from a dis- 

 tance the rosettes are of a whitish-green colour. 



5. The Eostkovia Formation. 

 At a certain altitude on a Campbell Island mountain the 

 formation now to be descx"ibed forms a very distinct zone, 

 which is especially noticeable since its physiognomy differs 



