Cockayne. — Botanical Excursion to Sotithern. Islands. 2SS 



the whole growing thi'ough a most dense and thick carpet of 

 mosses, &c. 



But the richest rock-vegetation of all is found in those 

 sheltered hollows large enough for peat to have accumulated 

 in abundance. In such spots is a rich vegetation of the large 

 herbaceous plants common to the Southern Islands. Pleuro- 

 phylluiii speciosum and Pleur. hookeri are abundant ; Veronica 

 benthanii and Celmista cJiapmanni both grow most luxuriantly; 

 Bammculus pinguis and Azorella reniformis are moi'e or less 

 plentiful. But I had no time to take a list of all the plants of 

 such a station, which, so far as I can recollect, contained re- 

 presentatives of most of the herbaceous plants of the island. 

 And it is easy to see how such a station as this is very favour- 

 able for plants, since the very conditions are here present 

 which experience has found essential for the cultivation of 

 <lifticult alpme plants — viz., shelter, a porous soil, abundance 

 of pure water, perfect drainage — conditions which are more 

 acceptable possibly to Plcurophyllum, &c., than those offered 

 in some of its usual habitats. 



Before leaving this formation something must be said re- 

 garding the life-forms of the rock-plants endemic to Camp- 

 bell Island, or those which have not yet been dealt with. 



Abrotanella rosularis has wiry stems, creeping at first, but 

 finally erect, covered more or less with old dead leaves. The 

 terminal leafy portion of the shoots measures 1"3 cm., and 

 consists of spreading imbricating leaves, the uppermost of 

 which form a stiff dark-green rosette about 1-3 cm. in diameter, 

 the individual leaves so spreading outwards as to iiave their 

 upper surface horizontal. The individual leaves are linear or 

 linear-lanceolate, sheathing at the base, which is frequently 

 purplish - rose - coloured, coriaceous, concave on the upper 

 surface. Hooker describes the plant as ''a small, densely 

 tufted, moss-like plant.'' The leaf-anatomy presents certain 

 xerophytic features. There is a thick cuticle on the upper 

 surface provided with slightly sunken stomata, a dense 

 palisade parenchyma, frequent resin-passages, and a certain 

 number of mucilage-cells. On the other hand, the stomata 

 of the under-surface are not sunken, and there is an abund- 

 ant spongy parenchyma. 



PolyjJodium australe pumila is a most abundant plant ou 

 the subalpine rocks. The very small fronds are given off at 

 close intervals from the rhizome, which is densely covered 

 witli brown scales. These fronds are very thick and coria- 

 ceous, small but somewhat variable in size ; the blade 

 measured m certain specimens 7 mm. x 4 mm., 7 mm. 

 X 2 mm.. 5 mm. x 1*5 mm., and is frequently more or less 

 buried in mosses or livei'worts, which accentuates its small 

 size; the stipes measured from 5mm. to 1-5 mm. Grown ia 



