Laixg. — Vegetation of Banks Peninsula. 363 



Dichondra hreinsepala, AciphyUa Colensoi : and on slopes exposed to sea- 

 breezes Cofxla Haasfii and sonietimes Convolvulus eruhescens. The most 

 characteristic shrubs are Cannichaelia subulala and Discaria toumatou ; 

 whilst amongst rocks Muehlenbeckia complexa, Coprosma crassifolia, Sophora 

 prostrata, and a few other sjiecies are occasionally found. Particularly 

 towards tlie hilltops Hijwenanihera crassifolia and Corokia Cotoneastev 

 abound. 



In most places these grasslands are burnt annually in the late winter 

 or earlv spring — as soon, indeed, as there is a day on which they will burn. 

 This burning has been done right up to the tojj of Mount Herbert, and has 

 been carried on for the last fifty or sixty years. When done in the months 

 of July, August, and September the tops only of the Poa caespitosa are 

 burnt ; but when fires occur later in the year the tussock is often burnt out 

 and killed. As a result the Poa tussocks become less numerous and remain 

 smaller than they were, and in many places a mat of the wiry Danthonia 

 pilosa forms between them. This is a distinctly aggressive species, no 

 place short of actual rock being too hard for it to grow in. It even invades 

 the cocksfoot lands and occupies the drier ridges there. It has thus pro- 

 ceeded at least as far eastward as Pigeon Bav, where it now occupies lands 

 once covered ^\'ith more valuable introduced grasses. In the north-west 

 areas it may be the most suitable grass available ; but it certainly ought, if 

 possible, to be kept out of the richer cocksfoot lands. 



Poa Colensoi var. intermedia now exists in comj)aratively small quantity, 

 and tends more and more to be confined to the hilltops, ledges on rocky 

 faceS; and similar situations. Even there, however, on the Lyttelton HiUs 

 it is often eaten down by rabbits. Tliis pest is not prevalent on the 

 peninsula, and a rabbit-proof fence between Teddington and Gebbies Valley 

 helps to prevent them reaching there in large numbers. Festuca rubra, 

 Agropijron scabrum, and Danthonia semiannularis also occur, tliougli in 

 smaller quantities. 



Between Bii'dling's Flat and Timutimu Head, on the ridges and flat 

 exposed points, the same tussock formation is repeated. Tliough the valleys 

 were forested, yet the character of the vegetation is much more xerophytic 

 than on the easterly faces of the peninsula, and the conditions of the 

 Lyttelton Hills, with their vegetation, are closely reproduced, 



(7) Inland Clij] and Rock. 



Owing to the structure of the hills, rocky cliffs and faces are abundant, 

 and there is a well-developed and highly specialized rock- vegetation, vary- 

 ing considerably with the altitude and aspect. It may be readilv studied 

 on the Lyttelton Hills up to a height of 1,500 ft. On the drier rocks with 

 a northerly aspect are found Hymeiianthera crassifolia, Corokia Cotoneaster, 

 Sophora prostrata, and usually near the sea Clematis ajoliata, as the most 

 characteristic shrubs. Amongst ferns and herbaceous plants the following 

 occur in such situations : Gijmnogramme rutaejolia, Polystickmn Richardi, 

 Cheilanthes Siebcri, Chenopodium. triandrum, Linmn monogynum,, Epilobium 

 cinereum, Senecio lautus, and more rarely Rhagodia nutans. A traverse of 

 the hills — a distance perhaps of not more than 50 yards — to the moister 

 rocks on the southern side shows a very different and unique vegetation. 

 The most characteristic shrub is now Veronica Lavaudiana. Metrosideros 

 hypericifolia and Cyathodes acerosa also occur ; whilst the ferns already 

 mentioned are replaced by Poly podium grannnitidis. and on the highest 

 peaks shrivelled specimens of Hymenophylluni niultifidum and occasionally 



