Cockayne. — Obserration.'i on Coastal Vegetatioyi. 333 



occurring inland only under special conditions, and in part of 

 ordinary lowlaiid or even mountain plants. 



Of the plants peculiar to the coast there are niiietv-four 

 species, including certain well-marked varieties, belonging to 

 sixtv-five genera and thirty-five natural orders. Of the natural 

 orders OhenopodincecF have ten species, ScrophulariacecB nine, 

 CompositfB eight, Oyperacece and Graminecv. each seven, TJm- 

 hellijercE six, Cruciferce and PotamogetonacecB each five, Filices 

 and Aizoacpce each three, and the remainder one or two each. 



Of the sixty-five genera the following are well-known mari- 

 time genera elsewhere, or possess characteristic halophytic spe- 

 cies : Lefidinm, Tisi^a, Tetragonia. Eryngium, Afium. Samolus, 

 Ckenojjodium, Sticpda, Atriplex, Salicornia, TriglocJiin, Buffia, 

 Bro'imis, Car ex. 



Turning now to the species, fifty, or 531 per cent., are en- 

 demic ; twenty-seven, or 26"5 per cent., occur in eastern Australia 

 or Tasmania, where they are not necessarily coastal plants ; 

 thirteen, or ]3"7 per cent., are subantarctic ; and nine, or 9"5 per 

 cent., are cosmopolitan, these latter being excluded from the 

 Australian and subantarctic estimates. 



A\'ith regard to local distribution in New Zealand, sixty-four, 

 or 68 per cent., of the ninety-four species occur also in the 

 North Island of New Zealand : thirty, or 31 '9 per cent., are 

 found onlv in the South Island or Stewart Island, and of these 

 it is interesting to note that a large part — namely, sixteen — 

 are confined (or nearly so) to the south, south-east, or south- 

 west ; finally, nine occur only in the north of the Island 

 ("Northern Province"), but eight of these are more or less 

 common North Island plants, where they occur in analogous 

 formations, and the exception Lepidhan hanksii is probably not 

 really a species. 



If we further consider the foreign element of the coastal 

 flora we find that of the nine cosmopolitan plants three live 

 submerged in brackish water, and four are salt-marsh or salt- 

 meadow plants— {.?., there are seven which would tolerate the 

 immersion of their seeds in salt water. 



Of the twenty- seven members of the Australian element,, 

 eight are grasses, rushes, or cyperaceous plants, eighteen halo- 

 phytes common in salt meadows or marshes, or which live on 

 rocks exposed to the sea-spray, and one a submerged brackish- 

 water plant. 



The subantarctic element also, with the exception of Veronica 

 elliptica and Carex trifida, consists of plants of more or less 

 salt - saturated ground. As for the Veronica and the Carex^ 

 nothing is known as to the salt-resisting capacity of their seeds. 



Leaving the halophytes out of the question, the Coprosma 



