Poppelwell. — Plant Covering of the Garvie Mountains. 131 



with occasional A. Kirkii. On the rock-faces and in the clefts near the 

 top Ranunculus Buchanan), R. pachyrrhizus, Veronica Petriei, and V. pingui- 

 folia are seen. 



An association worth noting is that of an exposed hilltop near Gow"s 

 Lake. The cushion form is of a most marked order, no plant protruding 

 a fraction beyond its neighbours, although the association is a mixed one. 

 A close examination was made of a patch 1-3 metres square, and no less 

 than twenty-four species were noted, the list being as follows : Aciphylla 

 Kirkii, Cotula pectinata, Veronica uniflora. V. lycopodioides, Ranunculus 

 novae-zeal a i uliae. R. lappaceus, Taraxacum magellanicum, Claytonia austral- 

 asica, Viola Cunninghamii, Phyllachne Colensci, Colobanthus Billardieri, 

 Raoulia Parkii, Celmisia argentea, C. linearis, C. subalpina, C. Lyallii, 

 C. laricifolia, Abrotanella inconspicua, Drapetes Dieffenbachii, Myosotis sp., 

 Gnaphaliurn paludosum, Craspedia uniflora, Brachycome Sinclairii, and 

 EpilobiuDi sp. The surrounding plants were principally Celmisia Lyallii. 



The Nokomai Gorge, lying to the west of Mount Tennyson, at an eleva- 

 tion of 1.000 ft., is bounded by cliffs of possibly 300 ft. in height in places, 

 succeeded by steep mountain-slopes above them. Over these rocks Muehlen- 

 beckia complexa hangs in green masses, with here and there Corokia 

 cotoneaster and Nothofagus trees, apparently clinging to the bare rock. 

 Among the smaller plants the following are fairly plentiful.: Senecio 

 Haastii, Anisotome Haastii, Celmisia petiolata, C. petiolata var. membranacea, 

 Polystichum vestitum, Blechnum fluviatile, Aciphylla squarrosa, Veronica 

 salici folia, V. Traversii {I), Poa caespitosa, Wahlenbergia saxicola, Coriaria 

 ruscifolia, Dantlionia flavescens, Senecio bellidioides, Hypolepis tenuifolia, 

 Chrysobactron Hookeri, Ranunculus lappaceus, Coprosma crassifolia, Car- 

 michaelia subulata, Acaena pilosa, Clematis indivisa, Rubus australis, Olearia 

 virgata, and Arundo conspicua. 



Here and there are patches of Pteridium esculentiou and Acaena sanguis- 

 orbae, while near the stream Muehlenbeckia axillaris grows commonly among 

 the tussocks, with Oxalis cornicnlata, Rumex flexuosus, and Gnaphaliurn 

 Traversii. At a lower elevation in the valley there is a considerable increase 

 in Corokia cotoneaster, which climbs up the rocky faces, giving a grey appear- 

 ance to the landscape. Farther down still, Griselinia littoralis and Carpo- 

 detus serratus make their appearance among the rock-covering, along with 

 Aciphylla squarrosa, Celmisia discolor, and Blechnum penna marina. 



(6.) Bogs and Swamps. 



I have mentioned earlier in this paper that extensive bogs and swamps 

 exist on the Garvie Mountains. It is in these wet peaty places that much 

 of the most interesting flora is found. It is hard, of course, to define the 

 point at which a swamp ends and a bog commences, and consequently 

 many of the typical bog-plants are found in the much drier swamps, and in 

 some cases even on the alpine meadow adjoining. Notwithstanding this 

 fact, the water-content of the ground is the chief factor in the distribution 

 of the wet-ground vegetation. A typical bog association is that in the 

 peaty ground near the hut at Blue Lake. Round the drier edge of the bog 

 there is a belt of Celmisia lougifolia var. alpina, this being dotted over with 

 the round hard cushion of Gaimardia setacea and Phyllachne Colensoi, the 

 latter about 40 cm. in diameter and bright green in colour. Surrounding 

 the bog there is almost invariably a meadow association of Danthonia cras- 

 siuscula. Gentiana corymbifera and G. bellidioides are usually dotted about, 

 while Gnaphaliurn Traversii and G. paludosum are common. Irregular 



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