Aston, — Botanical Notes made on a Journey across the Tararuas. 17 



A list of plants seen from the junction of the Pakuratahi and Hutt 

 Rivers to the camp is given below : Pittosporum eugenioides, P. tenuifolium, 

 Hoheria populnea, Oxalis magellanica, Coriaria ruscifolia, Carmichaelia odo- 

 rata, Weinmannia racemosa, Gunnera monoica, Myrtus obcordata, Fuchsia 

 excorticata, Hydrocotyle elongata, Schefflera digilata, Griselinia littoralis, Co- 

 prosma robusta, Lagenphora Forsteri, Olearia nitida, Gnaphalium Keriense, 

 Helichrysum glomeratum, Senecio latijolius, S. lagopus, S. Kirkii, Pratia 

 angulata, Calceolaria repens, Veronica catarractce, V. salicifolia, Ourisia, Piper 

 excelsum, Laurelia novce-zealandice, Beilschmiedia tawa, Knightia excelsa, 

 Fagus Menziesii, Podocarpus jerrugineus, Dacrydium cupressinum, Cory- 

 santhes, Dendrohium Cunninghamii, Thelymitra sp., Earina autumnalis, 

 Cordyline Banksii, Dianella intermedia, Danthonia Cunninghamii, D. semi- 

 annularis, Deyeuxia, Hymenophyllum multifidum, Asplenium flaccidum, Adi- 

 antum affine, Lomaria alpina, L. vulcanica, L. Patersoni, Microlcena avenacea. 



An early start is made next morning, with fair weather and a rising 

 barometer. At 5 a.m. the Lesser Hutt River is crossed, and the ascent 

 of the steep leading spur to the Quoin is begun. But few supplejacks — 

 the bane of the bushman — impede the way. The forest is chiefly kamahi, 

 with beech, rimu, and a little totara and rata. The forest-floor is carpeted 

 with umbrella {Gleichenia Cunninghamii) and kidney {Trichomanes reni- 

 forme) fern. At 1,100 ft. Senecio Kirkii appears as a plentiful underscrub ; 

 at 1,400 ft. totara is more plentiful, and the floor is a perfect carpet of 

 kidney-fern, with clumps of Astelia nervosa dotted through it. The kamahi 

 {Weinmannia racemosa) is still the predominating tree; occasionally a 

 miro {Podocarpus jerrugineus) is seen, its bright-red fruit presently to afford 

 a rich feast for the pigeons. The epiphytic orchids Earina mucronata and 



E. suaveolens are still plentiful, and Gastrodia Cunninghamii, the tall black- 

 and-white flowered terrestrial orchid, with the large tuberous roots beloved 

 •of pigs, is met with. The ferns Lomaria discolor and L. alpina cover the 

 ground in places. Here and there a spray of pure-white flowers shows 

 where the beautiful little nohi {Enargia parviflora) wastes its sweetness on 

 th ■ desert-air. The underscrub is chiefly Coprosma joetidissima, C. lucida, 

 and Myrsine salicina. 



At 1,600 ft. the forest is more open. Thore is a greater preponder- 

 ance of light scrub, Coprosma grandijolia, C. fcetidissima, and C. Colensoi. 

 Clumps of Uncinia appear. 



At 1,700 ft. snow-grass is plentiful on the floor of the forest, of which 

 the chief tree is kamahi. Leucopogon fasciculatum and Pseudopanax crassi- 

 jolium are common. 



At 1,900 ft. Panax simplex becomes common. 



At 2,100 ft. Fagus fusca, Weinmannia, Senecio Kirkii, Coprosma Colen- 

 soi, Panax arboreum, Myrsine salicina, filmy ferns {Hymenophyllum), and 

 mosses are most conspicuous. 



At 2,200 ft. the billy is boiled, the water being obtained from a puddle 

 in a hollow. Hanging moss or lichen is now becoming a prominent feature 

 on the trees. In wet places Microlcena avenacea, and in dark places Todea 

 superha (double crape-fern), were plentiful. 



Deep moss now covers the forest-floor. The trees are Fagus fusca and 



F. Menziesii, with a sprinkling of kamahi. 



At 2,300 ft. the arboreal growth is more stunted, and the floor is car- 

 peted with moss, nohi, and filmy fern. An open space here shows the top 

 of the Quoin to be due (magnetic) north ; but the ridge takes a consider- 

 able sweep to the east and back again to the north. This is the only part 



