Aston. — Raised Beaches, of (Jape Turakirae. 213 



On beach No. 4, in places, true forest is found. This is nearly a pure 

 Corynocarpus association. Some of the trees are very old, measuring up to 

 6 ft. in circumference, and may be two hundred years old. Plate XIV, fig. 1, 

 shows No. 5 beach with one quick-growing tree, Myoporum laetum Forst,, 

 on it ; but the Corynocarpus is confined to No. 4 beach, immediately below 

 and contiguous to No. 5 beach. Where Corynocarpus has not established 

 itself on No. 4, Muehlenbeckia complexa Meissn. covers the beach (see 

 Plate XIII, fig. 2). On the slopes of it grow a charming shrubbery of 

 Pcnnantia corymbosa Forst.. Melicopc ternata Forst., Myoporum laetum 

 Forst., Sophora tetraptera J. Mull., Pittosporum tenuijolium Banks & 

 Sol., Parsonsia heterophylla A. Cunn., Passiflora tetrandra Banks & Sol., 

 Cordyline australis Hook f., Clematis Colensoi Hook, f.. Piper excelsum 

 Forst., among the herbaceous plants being Parietaria debilis Forst., 

 Wahlenbergia gracilis A. D. C. W. saxicola A. D. C, and the naturalized 

 Fumaria muralis Sond. 



On beach No. 5 an unusual sight is Muehlenbeckia australis Meissn. 

 adopting the habit and station affected by its congener M. complexa Meissn.. 

 and scrambling over the horizontal stones, instead of climbing over trees in 

 its usual manner. 



The flora of the fans which have covered up so much of the two oldest 

 beaches may be briefly described. The oldest material supports pure 

 woods of Corynocarpus (karaka), often with a pure fringing wood of Myo- 

 porum. Plate XIII, fig. 1, shows a good example of a karaka grove. The 

 action of the wind in bunching the topmost leaves and branchlets together 

 at the southern, seaward, and exposed extremity of the grove, while they 

 regain their normal habit as they approach the hills, is most instructive. 

 The younger alluvium supports a dense sward of indigenous Danthonia 

 pilosa R. Br. and Microlaena stipoides R. Br., and naturalized grasses and 

 clovers. The youngest fan-material grows chiefly the naturalized thistles 

 Cnicus lanceolatus Willd. and Silybum Mqrianum Gaertn., the latter often 

 impenetrable thickets acres in extent. Reference must be made to that 

 remarkable new species, Muehlenbeckia Asloni Petrie (figured in Trans. 

 N.Z. Inst., vol. 43, p. 257). This rare plant grows on the talus slopes and 

 shingle fans. It is remarkable for the regularity of the angle of branching 

 (approximately 120 degrees) and for the fact that it is the only New Zealand 

 species with an erect habit of growth. 



The author, who has made twelve visits to the cape altogether, desires 

 to express his grateful acknowledgments for the support he has received 

 from Professor Easterfield, Dr. D. Petrie, Messrs. T. F. Cheeseman, J. S. 

 Tennant, E. Phillips Turner, P. Freyberg, and his brothers (C. G., Cyril, and 

 W. B. Aston), who have all accompanied him in these lengthy walks at 

 various dates during the last four years. 



Summary. 



The raised marine beaches at Cape Turakirae show that there has 

 occurred comparatively recently, and perhaps within historic times, rapid 

 elevation of the coast-line near Palliser Bay at least four times prior to 

 the sudden elevation of 9 ft. which took place in 1855. Violent earth 

 movements have so altered the physiography of the littoral as to result 

 in some unusual ecological features. 



