252 Transactions. — Botany. 



to have leaves similar to the adult ; on the contrary, these 

 plants offer instructive examples of what Goebel calls hetero- 

 blastic development, thus giving a clue from the study of the 

 development of seedlings to the phylogeny of the species. 



As for the remainder of the forest-plants which have not 

 yet been described, little can be said here. They are mainly 

 such as occur in the rain-forests of New Zealand, and are 

 mostly typical hygrophytes. Many of these, however, lead an 

 epiphytic life, and are provided — amongst the liverworts more 

 especially — with many remarkable adaptations towards that 

 mode of existence. 



(b.) The Olearia lyallii Forest. 



This is a forest-formation of remarkably local distribution. 

 It is not found at all in New Zealand proper, but occurs 

 only on the Snares, on Ewing Island, and perhaps to a very 

 limited extent in one or two places on Auckland Island itself 

 And yet where it does occur it grows with great luxuri- 

 ance ; seedlings of all sizes are abundant. Nor does there 

 seem any reason why it should not be the dominant forest of 

 the Southern Islands. We have here possibly one of those 

 cases where a very slight difference in adaptation to environ- 

 ment, not to be estimated in the present state of knowledge, 

 has led to one formation becoming dominant and another 

 remaining stationary in a limited area; or, what is perhaps 

 likely here, a former primeval forest adapted to slightly 

 different conditions has been ousted by a newer formation 

 as the conditions changed. 



" Viewed from the sea," to quote from my note-book, 

 " Ewing Island has a decidedly attractive appearance." This 

 is owing to the fine natural shrubbery of Olearia lyalli which 

 fi'inges the shore, its huge leaves exposing their silvery under- 

 surface as blown by the frequent wind, and contrasting tinely 

 with the green of the upper surface. Alternating witli the 

 Olearia are pale-green clumps of Veronica elliptica, while in 

 front of it are in places dense tall tussocks of some species of 

 grass, more than l-5m. in height, with " trunks " similar to 

 those of the " niggorhead." In front of the tussock again is 

 a rather dense growth of the bright-green grass Poa foliosa. 

 Near the depot the beach is stony, consisting in part of 

 boulders strewn with seaweeds and in part of solid rock worn 

 down to sea-level, backed up by low rocky faces dripping with 

 water, and their summits crowned with Veronica or Olearia. 



The individual trees of the formation are some 61m. 

 to 9-lm. tall, some being erect, while others have the lower 

 part of the trunk prostrate. Such trunks are ±50cm. in 

 diameter. From very near the base the main trunk branches 

 into three or four secondary trunks covered with a rough 



