392 Tra7isactions. 



growing there, which Mr. Cheeseman describes as " differing 

 markedly from the type in having much narrower, smaller, 

 more coriaceous, and rigid leaves, and in the acute calyx seg- 

 ments, and may prove to be a separate species." Pellucid 

 glands form a dotted margin to each leaf, and I noticed that 

 in a plant which I now have under cultivation this appearance 

 is less marked. Beyond the Big Hill, where the track again 

 reaches the beach, some fine limestone cliffs rise to a height 

 of several hundred feet, forming a conspicuous object from 

 Cape Foulwind, nearly fifty miles away. Here and there along 

 this rugged coast-line are patches of karaka growing to a great 

 size, and groves of nikau palms beautify the cliiis' base, whilst 

 Poa ccespitosa var. australis and Deyeuxia hillardieri drape 

 the rocks with their green tassels. Under the shelter of the 

 Coprosmas, Piper excelsum, and Fuchsia bushes, Pteris maci- 

 lenta grows in great luxuriance, and Lomaria banksii and Poly- 

 podium tenellum are also plentiful. Between the bluffs and the 

 mouth of the Mokihinui River there is a stretch of open beach, 

 where I found Hijdrocotyle dissecta and Carex colensoi growing 

 amongst the driftwood, and I also collected Lepidium flexicaule, 

 Tetragonia expansa, T. trigyna, and Chenopodium qlaucuin on 

 the sandy beaches about Mokihinui. Cape gooseberries cover 

 a considerable area as you approach the banks of the river, 

 and must yield a handsome harvest to the settlers living on the 

 spit. On the banks of the river Carmichcelia angustata is common, 

 and a few miles up-stream a curious variety of Aristotelia race- 

 mosa grows, which bears large red berries, and forms a beautiful 

 object when loaded with fruit. Between Mokihinui and West- 

 port the beach furnishes nothing of particular interest. 



My best course will be now to briefly describe the botanical 

 features of the portion of the Buller Valley which I visited, and 

 give what information I can as to the plant-distribution. At 

 the mouth of the Buller River there are tidal lagoons which cover 

 quite an extensive area, and which at low water become con- 

 verted into mud-flats, covered mostly with Samolus repens, 

 Selliera radicans, Eleocharis acuta, Leptocarpus simplex, Scirpus 

 lacustris, and Juncus. There are several islands amongst the 

 lagoons bearing grass and pasturing a few head of stock, and 

 the banks of the islands are fringed with low bushes, conspicu- 

 ous amongst which are Veronica salicifolia and V. parviflora ; 

 Coprosma foetidissima, C. parviflora, C. propinqua, and C. lucida ; 

 Carmichcelia angustata and C. subulata ; Myrsine salicina, M. 

 durvillei, and M. divaricata, with a few bushes of the rare 

 Myrsine montana ; Cordyline australis, Pittosporum tenuifolium, 

 and Dodoncea viscosa. Some little way above the railway-bridge 

 which spans the Buller the bush approaches the banks of the 



