346 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



luxuriance in the roadside vegetation, where there is a profusion 

 of moisture-loving plants like liverworts and ferns, and such her- 

 baceous flowers as violets and the interesting genus Gunnera, 

 which is especially developed in New Zealand. Tree-ferns become 

 more and more abundant as one descends, and in the typical 

 West land forest are developed in magnificent profusion. 



The Westland rain-forest is one of extraordinary luxuriance. 

 The very heavy precipitation and mild temperature result in a rich 

 vegetation that recalls the Malayan jungle. Composed entirely 

 of evergreen trees and shrubs, draped with giant creepers and 

 epiphytes, and with groves of tall tree-ferns, it is hard to realize 

 that this forest, in S. lat. 43°, corresponds in latitude to Buffalo 

 or Milwaukee. 



This forest is dominated by two trees of the yew family, Po- 

 et oca r pus dacrydioides and Dacrydium cupressinum, and has been 

 called a "Taxad" forest for this reason. However, other trees 

 are also common, especially Weinmannia, already referred to in 

 connection with the forest of the North Island. Related to this 

 is another abundant species, Quinquinia acutifolia. A very com- 

 mon shrub is Aristotelia racemosa, with rather pretty pinkish 

 flowers; other abundant shrubs and small trees are species of 

 Coprosma, Metrosideros and Pseudopanax. 



Ferns, mosses and liverworts luxuriate in these wet forests, and 

 club-mosses are abundant, both terrestrial and epiphytic species. 

 The interesting Tmesipteris, formerly associated with the ly- 

 copods, but now assigned to a class of its own (Psilotineae) is 

 common as an epiphyte in many places. 



Of the tree-ferns the commonest is Dicksonia squarrosa, some- 

 times 20-30 feet high. Less abundant is Hemitelia Smithii. Of 

 the epiphytic ferns, the beautiful filmy-ferns are especially abun- 

 dant and luxuriant. Of these the very characteristic kidney-fern 

 {Trichomanes reniforme), with vivid green, rather leathery leaves 

 is peculiar to New Zealand, as are several other species of Hy- 

 menophyllum and Trichomanes. Another abundant and beauti- 

 ful fern, confined to New Zealand is Todea (Leptopteris) superba, 

 belonging to the same family, Osmunclaceae, as the royal fern and 

 cinnamon fern of the United States. 



As might be expected, these saturated forests are a veritable 

 garden of mosses and liverworts which drape the trunks and 



