Oliver. — Vegetation and Flora of Lord Howe Island. 107 



but not even. Above the general level project palms, tree-ferns, and Draco- 

 phyllum. The colour is varied. The numerous round heads of Dracophyllum 

 Fitzgeraldi are reddish-brown, the more numerous tree-ferns are light green, 

 while various shades of darker green make up the rest of the surface. As 

 for relative abundance, no one species is dominant. Dracophyllum Fitz- 

 geraldi by its colour attracts the eye, as every plant is visible. It is 

 scattered about all over the plateau, sometimes forming small clumps. 

 The tree-ferns Hemitelia Moorei, Cyatheabrevipi 'una, and Cyathea Macartkuri 

 are everywhere most abundant. The palms Clinostigma Mooreanum and 

 Hedyscepe canterbury ana. though .scarcely fewer in numbers than the tree- 

 ferns, are less conspicuous from above. Leptospermmu flavescens, a shrub 

 or small tree, occurs in small patches throughout, and apparently best 

 tolerates wind, as it is especially in evidence in exposed places. The 

 other shrubs making up the bulk of the remainder of the foliage visible 

 from above ar,e Drimys howeana, Metrosideros nervulosa, Olearia Mooneyi, 

 Coprosma putida, Exocarpns homaloclada. Pittosporum eriloma. and Crypto- 

 carya Gregsoni. Other species of small trees and shrubs contributing to 

 this formation are Randia stipulosa, Negria rhabdothamnoides, Copros)ua 

 lanceolaris, and Alyxia squamulosa. 



The undergrowth is often extremely dense and almost impenetrable, 

 especiallv on exposed places, where the scrub is lowest. The large tussocks 

 of Gahnia xanthocarpa present formidable obstacles to the person who 

 tries to cross the plateau. The sharp scabrid edges of the leaves cut one's 

 clothes and skin at every movement. Other large tussocks occurring- less 

 commonly are Cladium insula/re and Moraea Robinsoniana. Small shrubs 

 noted were Senecio insularis, Olearia Ballii, and a few plants of Macropiper 

 excelsum psittaconon and Cassinia tenuifolia. Of low ferns there is a great 

 variety. The most abundant species are Asplenium pteridoides, Blechnum 

 capense, Diplazium melanochlamys, Blechnum. Fullagari, Dryopteris apicalis, 

 and Histiopteris incisa. 



Mixed with the ferns are commonly Luzula longiflora, Uncinia filiform is 

 debilior, Hydrocotyle hirta, and Plantago Hedleyi ; while in wet ground in the 

 ravines Elatostemma reticulaliun grande covers the ground, and in open places 

 Brachycome segmentosa appears. 



Sometimes there is little or no undergrowth, but the ground is almost 

 everywhere covered with mosses. 



Epiphvtes form the most conspicuous feature of this moss-forest forma- 

 tion, and thereby contribute largely to the appearance of luxuriance 

 and rankness of growth which impresses the explorer. Almost every 

 available space, whether on standing or prostrate stems and branches of 

 trees, tree-ferns, and palms, appears to be thickly covered with ferns, 

 mosses, and lichens. Horizontal trunks of trees are especially rich in 

 plant-life. On the upper side will be Tmesipteris tannensis, Hymeno- 

 phyllum multifidum, Hymenophyllum tunbridgense, Dendrobium gracilicaule 

 howeanum, Polypodiion diminutum, and Polypodium pulchellum ; on the 

 underside will be Hymenophyllum pamihnn. On erect stems epiphytes show 

 a zonal arrangement. At the base the climbing fern Blechnum, attenuatum 

 or the moss Spiridens Muelleri, or both together, may completely hide 

 the tree-trunk ; above this will be the foliaceous lichen Sticta Freycinetti 

 and the filmy fern Hymenophyllum multifidum. Higher up still the branches 

 of trees or tops of palm-stems may be covered with foliaceous lichens and 

 the beard-like moss Barbella enervis. 



