Poppelwell. — Plant Covering of the Gar vie Mountains. 127 



* 

 the damper places Ranunculus lappaceus, R. Poppelwellii (sp. nov. Petrie), 

 and Geum parviflorum were tolerably plentiful. 



On the other '" steppe " situations of the Garvie Mountains the associa- 

 tion is much the same as that described in speaking of the eastern slopes. 



(4.) Alpine Meadow. 



Under this heading most of the meadow above 3,500 ft. may be described, 

 although, of course, specialization under " rocks and cliffs " and " bogs and 

 swamps " will be necessary as regards a good deal of it. Over a large 

 part of the meadow Danthonia flavescens is found, and also D. crassi- 

 ascula. The presence of either of these "tussocks " is evidence of relative 

 dryness. The places where these are missing are almost invariably either 

 damp or very wind-swept. Perhaps more time was spent by me on the 

 portions around the Remarkable Gap than elsewhere, near which I camped 

 for several days at an elevation of about 4,200 ft. Most of this country 

 consists of rolling tussock ridges which contain immense bogs, and the tops 

 are covered with great patches of schistose rocks, many of which are weather- 

 worn into wonderful forms, and all of which give shelter to an interesting 

 plant association. A little below the " Boggy Saddle," on the southern face 

 of the Titans, there is a great field of Celmisia coriacea, the leaves being 

 rather narrow and almost bronze in colour. This form is characteristic 

 of the locality, although here and there plants with white tomentum are 

 seen. The other plants in the association are Senecio revolutus, S. Lyallii, 

 Danthonia crassiuscula, Poa Colensoi, and Carpha alpina. A considerable 

 area has been burnt, but the above plants seemed at the time of our visit 

 to be taking complete possession. Another form of Celmisia is also common 

 both here and farther up the ridge. This has tolerably stiff leaves, but the 

 tomentum on the upper side is loose and woolly, and varies in colour from 

 a pure white to a bright bronze. Possibly this is a form of Celmisia verbasci- 

 folia, but the common form of that plant is also plentiful. Other plants 

 in this locality are Senecio bellidioides and Claytonia australasica, the latter 

 in great patches. As the saddle is approached the' ground becomes wetter, 

 and the following are added : Phyllackne Colensoi, Drosera Arcturi, Carpha 

 alpina, Oreobolus pectinatus, Drapetes Dieffenbachii, Anisotome sp. (?), Dacry- 

 dium Bidwillii, Dracophylhon uniflorum, Pentachondra pumila, Suttonia 

 nunimularia, and Coprosma repens. At about 4,500 ft. there is an immense 

 field of Celmisia among the tussocks. This is sufficient to completely 

 dominate the association, giving a greyish-white appearance to the whole 

 hillside. The principal species are C. coriacea, C. verbascifolia, and C. petio- 

 lata. Growing among these we discovered several forms which suggest 

 possible hybridism between some of these larger forms and C. longijolia. 

 These intermediate forms partook of the nature of the larger plants, but had 

 narrow leaves, in some cases not more than 1-5 cm. in width and from 25 

 to 30 cm. in length. Celmisia Lyallii is also a very common plant, and in 

 places forms great patches many acres in extent. Dotted throughout this 

 association, especially where the ground is damper, are numerous specimens 

 of an Aciphylla, about 6 in. high, peculiarly marked with transverse lines. 

 This is the plant referred to A. Traillii by Cheeseman, but is, I think, 

 distinct from the latter, which probably does not occur on the mainland. 

 Celmisia longijolia var. alpina is also plentiful in the damp ground with 

 Plantago triandra, Uncinia pauciflora, and Carex pterocarpa (?). 



On a patch where the tussocks had been burnt an almost pure associa- 

 tion of Celmisia coriacea was in possession, with a patch of Aciphylla Colensoi. 

 ■On a dry open patch on the summit of a ridge I noted the following : 



