Bird. — Linvex of the Ancient Forest of Canterlniry Plains. 343 



At the edge of the forest there are two sets of conditions to which 

 developing seedlings are exposed — (1) In places where the belt of intro- 

 duced trees* at the forest-edge is broken the ground is partially covered 

 bv rank grasses, chief of which is Dactylis glomerata ; (2) in the vicinity 

 of the trees the grasses are absent, but large numbers of seedlings of 

 oak, &c., are present, and the ground is covered with a layer of dead leaves. 



In the former open situations the developing liane-seedlings upon 

 emerging from the ground grow erect for about 30 cm., and bend over. 

 In so doing they usually come into contact with tlie flowering-stalks of the 

 grasses, which stand up for fully a metre. Round these the liane-stems 

 twine, and after reaching the top of these supports they continue to grow 

 up for a short distance until they are unable to support their own weight. 

 They then cause the supporting grass-stalks to bend, and thus they are 

 able to reach any adjacent shrub, which then forms a new support for the 

 liane. Should the liane-seedling in such places reach no support it trails 

 along the ground, and by the lateral shoots which arise along this stem 

 the liane usually reaches at least one support at some distance from its 

 original position. 



But it is imder the second set of conditions that the tendency for the 

 surface trailing-shoots to elongate is most marked. The shoots become 

 more or less covered by dead oak-leaves, and although under this covering 

 the shoots do not branch so much as do the trailing-shoots in the forest, 

 yet they elongate to a greater extent, and thus the area in which shoots 

 may rise up from the plant and reach supports is greater than in the forest. 

 By means of the rooting at the nodes the shoots are not dependent for 

 their food-supply upon the primary root, and, as a result of this, injury to 

 the main stem does not cause the death of lateral shoots. The oak-seedlings 

 which surround any liane-seedling here are, on account of their small size, 

 of little importance as supports for the lianes. Therefore the only plants 

 which reach the adult stage are those whose growth has brought them close 

 to the shrubs at the forest-edge, and the support obtained from these shrubs 

 enables the lianes to reach a height from which climbing-shoots can soon 

 reach a permanent support. 



6. Species of Parsonsia. 



A young seedling at first normally grows erect, and independently can 

 reach a height of 45 cm. In the absence of a support, further growth results 

 in the apex gradually bending over, and, with increasing growth, bending 

 still further, until it finally touches the ground. Then in the dense under- 

 growth it sooner or later reaches a support up which it twines, the twining 

 always being sinistrorse. In seedlings whose growing-point becomes in- 

 jured, a lateral shoot arises and grows erect, ultimately bending over in 

 a manner similar to that of a primary axis. However, at an early stage 

 a seedling is likely to come into contact with some support ; especially is 

 this the case in the interior of the forest, where in places of dense growth 

 seedlings are often present in countless numbers. Any two seedlings may 

 thus early come into contact, and, as the tendency to twine is soon mani- 

 fested, their twining round each other gives support, which enables them to 

 reach a height of 75 cm., after which their apices bend over in the manner 



* European trees have been planted in many places on the outskirts of the Riccarton 

 Bush foi- the purpose of sheltering it from the wind. 



