398 Transactions. 



northern limit just beyond Westport. TUlcea moschata, Colo- 

 banthus muelleri, and Plantago triandra grow in situations ex- 

 posed to the salt spray, whilst Lomaria banksii, Pteris macilenta, 

 and Polypodimn tendlum are fairly plentiful. There is a con- 

 siderable patch of Cori/nocarpus Icevigatus, probably planted 

 there in former times by the hand of the Maori. In the low 

 bush around the lighthouse I gathered Acianthus sindairii ; 

 and at Tauranga Bay, a mile or two further down the coast, 

 Corysanthes triloba is abundant under the shelter of the nikaus 

 and tree-ferns. In that bay, on a sandy knoll, there is a clump 

 of Weinmannia racemosa showing a most unusual mode of 

 growth, for from the horizontal branches descend stout limbs, 

 which are rooted in the ground, giving the trees the appearance 

 of mangroves as I have seen them pictured. Pimelea arenaria, 

 Coprosma acerosa, and Spinifex hirsutus are the commonest 

 plants Oil the sandhills, whilst Arundo conspicua and Festuca 

 littoralis are also abundant. I met with a few patches of Gaid- 

 theria perplexa and Discaria toumatou straggling over the sand, 

 and Mazus radicans is not uncommon on the sandy banks. 



Following the coast-line to Charleston, a most unusual con- 

 dition of things is found on a spray-swept promontory called 

 " Usher's Rock," for there, just at sea-level or a little above 

 it, grow Gentiana saxosa, Celmisia coriacea, Senecio bdlidioides, 

 and Pimelea longifolia, many of them plants which in other 

 parts of the district are mostly found at high elevations. I 

 do not recollect gathering any of these plants on the Cape Foul- 

 wind bluffs, nor on the White Horse bluffs, near Brighton, some 

 miles south of Charleston. 



Between Westport and Charleston most of the country lying 

 between the high-level terraces 'which flank the Paparoas and 

 the sea is composed of pakihis interspersed with patches of 

 forest. The bulk of the low-growing forms of plant life on these 

 wet plains is made up of Gahnia rigida, G. d>enocarpa, and 

 G. setifolia ; Cladium teretefolium, C. glomeratum, and C. capil- 

 laceum ; DianeUa intermedia ; Epilobium pvbens, E. nimwiu- 

 larijolium, and E. rotundifolium ; Gunnera monoica, Haloragis 

 micrantha, various forms of Hydrocotyle, Cdmisia longifolia, 

 and Epacris pauciflora ; together with Arundo conspicua, micro- 

 loena stipoides, and Danthonia semiannularis. Gentiana townsoni 

 is scattered over the v^^hole area, and Thdymitra pachyphylla 

 helps to vary the monotony of the brown sm-face ; whilst here 

 and there Orthoceras solandri, PterostyUs graminea, P. banksii, 

 and Prasophyllum colensoi may be found. In some of the more 

 boggy spots the pale-blue flowers of Herpolirion novce-zealandioB 

 are conspicuous, the delicate flowers of Anagospermum dis- 

 permum forming broad patches of colour, and Liparophyllum 



