2.4: president's address. 



(another visitor will be mentioned later); Metrosidcros lucida, 

 probably fertilised by Tuis and honey-birds, which, in great 

 numbers, frequent them; J/, hy per ici folia, sometimes visited by 

 birds; LoranthuH cohnsol, scarlet tlowers, no scent or honey, but 

 this is probably developed at some period of growth, and it then 

 attracts Tuis and honey-birds; Phcn-miuin tenax is chiefly ferti- 

 lised by birds. Insects may visit the flowers, but they depend 

 upon Tuis and honey-birds. Kakas and parakeets also aid 

 sometimes. 



Petrie(18) gives an account of the pollination of Vitex lucens. 

 "There is no doubt pollination is effected exclusively by small 

 birds. These constantly visit the flowers, hanging on the rigid 

 leaf-stalk or flower-stalks, and insert their bills into the corolla- 

 tube to suck the nectar. In sucking the sweet juice, the Tui 

 may be seen grasping the flower in one foot and turning it i-ound 

 into a more convenient position. In passing from flower to 

 flower, the birds cannot avoid bringing pollen from young flowers 

 to older ones." In an earlier volume(18), he refers to the pollina- 

 tion of Rhahdothamnus Solandri as being effected by birds, and 

 notes that the flowers are orange striped with red. 



Kirk(17) quotes a description of Colenso's of the pollination of 

 Suplwra tetraptera by the New Zealand parrot {Nestur nieridiuu- 

 alis) as follows: — "Close to the village, and even within its fence, 

 were several large Kowhai trees; these were covered with their 



golden flowers, and mostly witliout leaves The parrots 



flocked screaming to the Sophora blossoms. It was a strange 

 sight to see them; how deftly they managed to go (^)ut to the end 

 of a long, lithe branch, preferring to walk parrot-fashion, and 

 there swing backwards and forwards, lick out the honey with 

 their big tongues without liijurliuj the yoittuj fruit. ... I found 

 that all the fvilly expanded flowers had had the upper parts of 

 calyces and the uppermost petal (vexillum) torn out; this the 

 pari'ots had done to get at the honey. As the flowers are pro 

 duced in lai'ge, thick bunches, some are necessarily twisted or 

 turned upside down; still it is always that peculiai' petal and 

 that part of the calyx (though often in such cases underneath) 



