1 58 Transactions. — Botany. 



a dozen species of flowering plants will exhaust the flora of the 

 island. 



Appended to this paper will be found a catalogue of the 

 flowering plants and ferns collected in the group. The total 

 number of species is 115 ; but only 5 of these, or ^-rd, are 

 endemic, a remarkably small proportion considering the isolated 

 position of the islands. Seventy-four species are now recorded 

 for the first time, and 20 of these are new to the New Zealand 

 flora. Only one species is new to science. 



Having thus described the chief features of the flora, we may 

 now proceed to inquire into its relationship and origin. We 

 have already seen that the Kermadec Islands are far removed 

 from any large land masses. The nearest part of New Zealand 

 is distant about GOO rmles. The Tongan or Friendly Isles are 

 a little over 500, while New Caledonia is nearly 950. To the 

 west, the continent of Australia is separated by more than 1,500 

 miles of ocean. In the intervening space, however, there are 

 two islands which have several features in common with the 

 Kermadecs, and to which it seems advisable to draw special 

 attention. I allude to Norfolk Island and Lord Howe's Island. 



Norfolk Island, situated about 420 miles north-west of the 

 North Cape, and 840 miles east of Australia, is almost exactly 

 the same distance from Sunday Island as New Zealand, and 

 very nearly the same size, its area being estimated at 8,000 

 acres. Like Sunday Island, it is purely volcanic, but is not 

 so lofty and rugged. It has always been noted for its fertility, 

 and at the time of its discovery was covered with a most 

 luxuriant vegetation. Its plants were first examined by the 

 celebrated botanical artist, Ferdinand Bauer, who in the years 

 1804 and 1805 lived for several months on the island. His 

 collections were worked out by the late Professor Endlicher, 

 and fully described in a little pamphlet entitled, "Prodromus 

 Floras Norfolkica?," published at Vienna in 1833. The island 

 has since been botanized over by several travellers, and is 

 probably pretty well explored. So far as I can make out, the 

 total number of species recorded from the island is 140 ; and 

 of these no less than 36, or one-fourth, are peculiar, and not 

 found elsewhere. Several of them have been introduced into 

 cultivation, the Norfolk Island pine (Aram-aria excelsa) being 

 a well-known example. The flora is certainly very closely 

 allied to that of New Zealand, and some plants — for instance, 

 Phormvum tenax — are absolutely confined to the two localities. 

 It is, however, much more tropical, and is probably more 

 closely connected with that of North-eastern Australia and New 

 Caledonia. 



Lord Howe's Island is 1,200 miles from Sunday Island, and 

 750 from New Zealand. Its distance from Australia is barely 



