Cheeseman. — On the Flora of the North Cape District. 345 



Senecio scandens was abundant, scrambling over the remnants 

 of the old fences, and many other naturalised plants of 

 interest were catalogued. A little further on is the large 

 native settlement of Pukepoto. Numerous whares stand a 

 little distance from the road, and groups of gaily-dressed men 

 and women were sitting in front of them, idling away the 

 j)leasant Sunday afternoon. In a warm and sheltered corner 

 was a large clump of bananas loaded with j'oung fruit. The 

 road now ran close to the foot of the Tamatamahoe Eange, 

 the northern termination of the rugged country behind 

 Herekino and Whangape. It has a bold escarpment towards 

 the plains through which we were travelling, and no doubt 

 formed a line of sea-cliffs during the period of subsidence so 

 frequently referred to in this paper. Its summits were 

 covered with forest, amongst which numerous clumps of kauri 

 could be distinguished. This is the northern limit of kauri 

 forests on the west coast, although scattered trees are found 

 as far as the North Cape itself. A few miles further on we 

 passed the remarkable cleft in the range through which the 

 road to Herekino runs. It is a narrow gorge, shut in on both 

 sides with peaked hills of considerable height, which are 

 clothed with forest from base to summit. Pressing onwards 

 for a mile or two, we passed through a large Maori settlement, 

 immediately behind which rose the round-topped hill called 

 Puketawatea, on the steep slopes of which were numerous 

 cultivations. Struggling through a patch of drift-sand, we 

 rounded a sharp corner and emerged on the shore of Ahipara 

 Bay. 



Before proceeding northwards we made an examination of 

 Eeef Point, or Tauroa, the bold headland to the south of 

 Ahipara. It consists of a foundation of igneous rocks, pro- 

 bably of Palaeozoic age, capped by recent sandhills, and 

 attains a height of about 700ft. above sea-level. Ascending a 

 gully only a little distance to the west of Reid's hotel, the 

 steep hills on either side of the stream were found to be 

 mainly covered with Lejytosjjenmcm scojjarium andL. ericoides, 

 which together form at least four-fifths of the vegetation. 

 Other trees noticed were Dodoncea viscosa, Myrsinc urvillei, 

 Vitex littoralis, Myoyorum Icetum, Olearia angulata, Brachy- 

 glottis, and Cordyline australis. Gladinm sinclairii and a few 

 other herbaceous plants w^ere common on the rocks by the 

 side of the stream. Little change was noticed until the top 

 of the hill overlooking the gully was gained, when we emerged 

 on a belt of drifting sand, and the usual arenarian plants at 

 once appeared. Arundo, Desmoschccmis , and Coin'osma acerosa 

 were particularly abundant. Crossing this, we reached the 

 plateau-like top of the headland. It is composed of old and 

 consolidated sandhills, and supports a scanty vegetation of 



