Carse. — Flora of the MaiKjomd County. 203 



Up to the present the Peria gum-hills, a tract of barren country tra- 

 versed by the road from Mangonui to Kaitaia, is the only known New Zea- 

 land habitat of the sedge Lcpidosperma filiforme. 



Another plant of only one known habitat in the Dominion is the grass 

 Imperata arundinacea, one of Mr. R. H. Mattliews's finds. Viola Lyallii, a 

 dainty little violet, occurs sparingly in the district. It is usually found in 

 damp shady situations. It has been reported from Kaitaia, Flat Bush, and 

 not far from the Double Crossing Bridge between those localities. It pro- 

 bably occurs elsewhere in suitable situations, but may easily be overlooked. 



Galium umbrosum, a small usually prostrate plant, often forming large 

 green matted masses in woods, is peculiar here for its rarity. In manv 

 places it is one of the most common species, but so far it has only been 

 noticed in Victoria Valley, Flat Bush, and the Tauroa, and only a few plants 

 have been seen. 



Myosotis spathulata, a small forget-me-not, has up to the present been 

 found only in Kaitaia. The leaves of this plant, one of Mr. E. H. 

 Matthews's finds, is more rounded and less spathulate than is usually the 

 case, but this species is very variable. 



In referring to the ferns, I omitted to mention Trickomanes strictum. 

 So far as is at present known, this is one of the rarest ferns in the district. 

 The only place where I have seen this species in the Mangonui County is 

 on the moorland lying north from Kaitaia. The few plants I saw were 

 growing on the edges of " potholes " — i.e., small pits from which gum has 

 been dug — a rather unusual situation. I believe one plant was found in 

 a small wood in the same neighbourhood. 



Orchids. 



There are twenty-one • genera of orchids in New Zealand, divided into 

 fifty-seven species. Of these, four species are epiphytic, as are most of the 

 orchids of the tropics, and the rest are terrestrial. Our orchids do not by 

 any means equal their tropical congeners in gorgeousness of colouring or 

 eccentricity of form, though many of them are beautiful, but, as a rule, small. 

 Of the twenty-one genera, we have eighteen in this district ; of the fifty- 

 seven species, we have thirty-five. 



Botanists are greatly indebted to Mr. R. H. Matthews, of Kaitaia, 

 for the careful and useful work he has done in this section of botany. To 

 Mr. Matthews is due the discovery in the Mangonui district of Bulbophyllum 

 tuberculatum, Thelymitra ixioides, T. intermedia, Pterostylis micromega, P. 

 barhata, Caleana minor, Calochilus paludosus, Caladenia minor var. exigua, 

 Chiloglottis formicifera, Corysanthes Cheesemanii, C. Matihewsii, and Gas- 

 trodia sesamoides. 



The epiphytic orchids which are, as a rule, found on the branches of 

 tall forest-trees are Dendrobium Cunninghamii, a diffusely branching plant, 

 with stems like miniature bamboos, narrow leaves, and white* or pinkish 

 flowers ; Earina, two species, with rather heavily scented flowers ; Bulbo- 

 phyllum, two species, both tiny plants, with leaves issuing from pseudo- 

 bulbs, from the base of which grow the flowers. Of these, B. tuberculatum 

 is much more rare than the other. Sarcochilus, a rather thick-leaved plant, 

 is plentiful on the upper branches of trees, and not infrequently on the 

 trunks. 



The terrestrial species are found in various situations. Spiranthes occurs 

 in swamps in several localities. Thelymitra, of which there are eight or 



