416 Transactions. 



land Group, Campbell Island, Antipodes Island, and Macquarie 

 Island. It occurs at the higher elevations, away from the sea 

 and amongst the tussock formations. 



Anatomy (fig. 26). — There is a very thick cuticle (cut.) on both 

 upper and lower epidermis (ep.). The cells on the upper surface 

 are very large indeed, their longer axes being at right angles to 

 the surface of the leaf and their transverse walls thin ; these cells 

 are equal to any four of the cells of the palisade parenchyma. 

 The cells of the lower epidermis are much smaller and cubical. 

 It is on this surface that the stomata (st.) occur in rows be- 

 tween the veins. There are also present multicellular hairs (h.h.) 

 attached to the stereom tissue at the edge of the leaf. Stereom 

 tissue occurs at the edges of the leaf, here consisting of cells with 

 thick brown walls. It is also found on the upper and lower 

 surface of each vascular bundle, partially enclosing them. The 

 chlorenchyma (chlor.) consists of an undifferentiated mass of 

 small rounded cells arranged along the epidermis and round the 

 vascular bundles, but leaving numerous large air-spaces in the 

 centre of the leaf. The vascular bundles (v.b.) occur at different 

 intervals in the chlorenchyma tissue protected by a mass of 

 stereom tissue. There is no well-defined endodermis present. 

 The stereom tissue is developed to give mechanical support to 

 the more delicate tissues against the action of the wind, and the 

 large-celled epidermis acts as water-storage tissue 



Scirpus aucklandicus (Hook, f.), Boeck. 



This little plant is very widely distributed in the Southern 

 Islands. It forms small soft green tufts measuring about 2 in., 

 and is found growing in the crevices of the coastal rocks on 

 Auckland Island where there is plenty of moisture. It is found 

 in a similar position in Antipodes Island, here forming a dense 

 mass which occupies an area of l - 35 m. by 60 cm., and measuring 

 about 15 cm. deep. 



The culms are a light-brown, and membranous, while the 

 leaves arise in tufts (fig. 27b). They are roughly oval in outline 

 in transverse section. 



Anatomy (figs. 27a, 27&). — There is a thick-walled epidermis 

 (ep.) of rounded cells surrounding the leaf, interrupted at regular 

 intervals by small mass of stereom tissue (sm.) and numerous 

 stomata (st.). The chlorenchyma (chlor.) is undifferentiated, and 

 consists of a mass of small rounded cells in which are imbedded 

 three vascular bundles (v.b.). Two large air-cavities (a.c.) occur 

 in the central tissue, separated by a band of chlorenchyma only 

 one or two cells thick. These air-cavities are a special modifica- 

 tion frequently met with in swampy regions where the soil is 

 not sufficiently aerated. 



