Cheeseman. — On the Flora of the North Cape District. 34^ 



middle of the narrowest part a tall and picturesque rock called 

 Tokoroa juts out, closely resembling the Arrow rock in the 

 entrance to Nelson Harbour. The southern head is low and 

 sandy, presenting a very uninviting appearance ; the opposite 

 shore is formed by Mount Camel, which rises abruptly from 

 the water's edge to a height of 800ft. Once past the entrance, 

 the harbour rapidly widens, but it also becomes very shallow, 

 and at low- water is little more than an expanse of mud-banks 

 separated by narrow and tortuous channels. 



The vegetation on the south side of the harbour is unin- 

 teresting, and calls for few remarks. Near Mr. Subritzky's 

 residence Melianthus major was naturalised in some quantity, 

 accompanied by Vinca 7ninor, Iris germanica, Asj^hodehis fistu- 

 losus, and other garden escapes. On the northern side a 

 narrow strip of fertile land, often little more than a few yards 

 in width, intervenes between the shore and the steep slopes 

 of Mount Camel. At no distant date it has been almost 

 wholly occupied by Maori cultivations, and the sites of their 

 dwellings and hangis could still be distinctly traced. It was 

 dotted over with the remnants of former groves of karaka-trees, 

 probably planted for the sake of the edible fruit. Peach-trees 

 were plentiful ; and on all sides one saw such plants of foreign 

 origin as Alhizzia lophantha, LTjcium, Physalis, &c. Behind 

 this little flat the steep face of the mountain was scored with 

 short gullies, some of them with small patches of bush and 

 tiny rills of water. The principal tree was the pohutukawa, 

 but Vitex, Dysoxylum, Br achy glottis, Entelea, Coprosina ro- 

 husta, C. grandifolia, and Piper excelsum were all abundant. 

 The rare Colensoa was detected in one or two sheltered nooks, 

 but was by no means plentiful. Bhabdothamnus was unusually 

 abundant, forming the greater portion of the undergrowth ; and 

 in the more precipitous places the rocks were covered with 

 immense masses oi Arthropodmm cirrhatum. Unusually large 

 quantities of Nephrodium velutinum were observed. We made 

 no attempt to ascend the mountain, as the whole of the upper 

 portion had been burned off a fevv' days before our arrival. 

 Proceeding along the coast in the direction of Cape Perpen- 

 dicular, the principal tree was still the pohutukawa, but mixed 

 with it were numerous fine specimens of Sapota costata, some 

 of them of unusual size. The slopes of the hills were mainly 

 covered with Brachyglottis and Olearia furfuracea. Near the 

 beach Fuchsia procuvibens, Colensoa, and Fteris comans were 

 not uncommon. Cape Perpendicular was bare of forest, and 

 its sides were scored with numerous shoots or slides of rocky 

 debris which had rolled from the hills above. Copros7na ban- 

 criana, Bhagodia, Ajnum australe, Sa7nolus, Mesembryan- 

 themum, and other well-known coast plants were observed. 

 Near Stanley Point a few specimens of Hymenanthera latifolia 



