Aston. — Vegetation of Tarawera Mountains. 313 



As it languishes iu vigour, owing to age, from it grow other plants, 

 the chief woody ones being Coriaria and Leptospernwm, and sometimes 

 Pittosporuiu, but also herbaceous plants such as Trijolium and Ruiitex 

 Acetosella. Four stages may thus be predicted for the repeopling of the plant - 

 covering of this open area (excluding the ravines, which are able to jump 

 the first and possibly the second stages) : First, the patch plants ; secondly, 

 the Coriaria ; thirdly, the Aristoielia, with possibly Fuchsia and Melicylus ; 

 fourthly, forest. 



The scoria slope is now left at about 150 ft. above the lake, where 

 the track towards the spur is found overgrowii with Aristotelia, Ruhus 

 australis, Copros)na lucida, C. robusta, Veronica salicifolia var., and Coriaria. 



A densely wooded ridge on the north of the scoria slope is investigated. 

 It consists of Weinmannia racemosa, which is perhaps the dominant growth, 

 but the composition is very varied. Knightia excelsa stands out above all 

 the other young growth in cylindrical or slightly conical tops. A patch 

 of tree-ferns is noticed. Giant Fuchsia and Weinmannia, with Melicytus 

 ramiflorus, all about 30 ft. high, with a bare floor, form a subassocia- 

 tion of their own, supplanting the dying Coriaria, nearly as high. Higher 

 on the spur, 500 ft. above the lake, the growth is more varied, being 

 a thick mass of Panax arhoreum, Olearia Cunninghamii, Brachyglottis 

 repanda, Lomaria capensis, Veronica salicifolia var., young Weinmannia, 

 Gaultheria oppositifolia, G. antipoda var., Carex Gaudichaudiana, and 

 Cyathodes acerosa. At 675 ft. above the lake numerous dead stumps of 

 Metrosideros occur. These may either be M. tomentosa or M. robusta, 

 young plants of both being common in flower on the open slopes at this 

 altitude and higher. The ravines, four or five of which were crossed 

 diagonally in returning to the scoria slope, yielded some valuable in- 

 formation as to the composition of the forest before the eruption. One 

 dead Beilschmiedia tawa with a broken trunk 15-20 ft. high was 3 ft. in 

 diameter, and springing from its side was a young tree about 18 in. in 

 diameter 4 ft. from the ground, where it forked into a tree 35-40 ft. high. 

 Close to this was a dead giant Litsaea calicaris stump 4 ft. in diameter at 

 the surface, and 9 ft. from the ground, where broken, 3 ft. in diameter ; 

 and attached to it was a young living shoot. Other dead Litsaea stumps 

 showed that there had been a forest containing many of these, and young 

 thickets of saplings showed that it was being re-established. Melicytus 

 was also found springing from old dead stumps. Only two Beilschmiedias, 

 both with young live growth springing from the dead stump, were, how- 

 ever, seen. Other plants not hitherto met with on the mountain are 

 Rhipogonum scandens, Schejfflera digitata, Hemitelia Smithii, Hedycarya 

 arborea, Asplenium bidbiferum, Lomaria lanceolata, Gaultheria rupestris, 

 Astelia Cunninghamii, Elaeocarpus dentatus, Cyathea dealhata, Lycopodium 

 voluhile. Also present were Fuchsia excorticata, Asplenium lucidum. Poly- 

 podium Billardieri, P. pennigerum, Myrsine Urvillei, Dianella intermedia,. 

 Metrosideros robusta, Gunnera monoica, Vittadinia australis. 



On the northern face of the mountain the following additional species 

 were noted : Elaeocarpius dentatus Vahl., Olearia Cunninghamii Hook, f., 

 Gaultheria rupestris R. Br., Hedycarya arborea Forst., Beilschmiedia tawa 

 Benth. & Hook., Litsaea calicaris Benth. & Hook., Cyathea dealbata Swartz, 

 Hemitelia Smithii Hook., Lomaria lanceolata Spreng., Asplenium flabelli- 

 folium Cav. ; together with the following naturalized species — Ruhus fruti- 

 cosus Linn., Rosa rubiginosa Linn., Sonchus arvensis Linn., Carduus pycno- 

 cephalus Linn., Verbascum Blattaria Linn., Bartsia viscosa Linn., Rumex 

 crispus Linn. 



