350 Transactions. 



^rowing on low rocks washed by the sea are found on the tops of them, the 

 action of the waves being too strong for them to get a footing at the base. 



These plants have a stellate appearance, owing to the complete drying- 

 up of old branches, the new ones all arising from the base. The roots are 

 closely pressed against the rocks, and are matted together to collect any 

 particles of soil. 



The stems of many plants growing on loose shingle are long, thick, and 

 woody, and are continued some distance below the surface, giving rise at 

 the nodes to thick, long, adventitious roots. 



A curious feature is shown in some stems, especially in those on which 

 an inflorescence has been borne. The internode nearest the stem is 

 withered and brown, several adjoining it are green and succulent, then 

 again there are several brown and withered internodes, then either the suc- 

 culent apex or the withered remains of the inflorescence (see fig. 9, a). 



Plants growing on rocks almost in the sea become red, and wither very 

 soon. The more exposed and drier, both physically and physiologically, 

 a situation is, the more is the plant inclined to turn red. 



Colouring always begins in the internode at the base of a branch, and 

 proceeds upwards to the apex. The internode does not long remain 

 coloured, but soon turns brown ; thus there are never more than two or 

 three internodes on the same branch coloured at the same time. It would 

 seem that the plant turning red is an indication that the chlorenchyma 

 is about to disappear. This is further borne out by the fact that the coty- 

 ledons of the seedlings growing on a small salt meadow at Paremata turn 

 red before withering. That plants that die down early do not usually turn 

 red shows that the withering is not necessarily preceded by the plant 

 turning red. The red colouring is dissolved in the cell-sap, which gives 

 an acid reaction. It is therefore probably anthocyanin. It is purple in 

 reflected and red in transmitted light. 



At Oriental feay S. australis grows on cliffs 40 ft. above the sea-level, 

 and with it large quantities of Mesembryanthemum australe and Aciphylla 

 squarrosa. It also grows at the edge of the water, but is not immersed 

 even at high tide, although in some other places it is. 



At Napier the salt meadow covered with S. australis and plants men- 

 tioned above extends for several miles. This is one of the few extensive 

 salt meadows in New Zealand. Most of the meadow is in the process of 

 draining, so that each year it becomes drier. The whole meadow in autumn 

 has a reddish tinge. The finest specimens I found at the. edge of a lagoon 

 which receives each day fresh supplies of salt, and is sheltered by a shingle- 

 bank. The branches remain succulent for twelve months, and secondary 

 wood is well developed in them while still succulent. They are duller in 

 colour owing to a coating of wax. which serves to check transpiration. 

 These plants contain much salt, and remain succulent for a long time 

 when picked, showing that transpiration is greatly restricted, and that the 

 water tissue has not given up its water to the atmosphere, but to the 

 green tissues. 



At Plimmerton, along the railway embankment, Salicornia forms a 

 thick mat several feet wide and extending for some 50 yards. In some 

 places the plants are very shrubby. 



Salicornia australis is a frutescent or shrubby perennial. The stems 

 are upright or procumbent ; the usual height is 4-8 in. In a sheltered 

 position at the edge of a lagoon the plants are li— 2 ft. in height, and the 



