Cheeseman. — Notes on Pittosporum obcordatum. 437 



visited by botanists or botanical collectors, such as Sir Julius 

 Haast, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. T. Kirk, and many others. During 

 these visits Pittosforum obcordatum was specially searched for, 

 but always without success. Similarly, all attempts to find it 

 in other localities in Canterbury or elsewhere in New Zealand 

 met with uniform failure, until, in 1901, it was unexpected!}'- 

 discovered at Kaitaia by Mr. R. H. Matthews. The assumption 

 mentioned above that Raoul's specimens were probably gathered 

 at the Bay of Islands and not at Akaroa no doubt explains a 

 verv puzzling case of discontinuous distribution, but the sug- 

 gestion should scarcely have been made without some evidence 

 in support of it. Raoul is well known to have been most accurate 

 in any statements based upon his own personal observations. 

 During the preparation of my " Flora of New Zealand " I have 

 had occasion to check all the habitats assigned by him to New 

 Zealand plants, and I cannot call to mind a single instance where 

 he has given an erroneous locality or confused the habitats of 

 anv plant collected by himself. As a simple matter of justice 

 to one of the pioneers in New Zealand botany, it appears desirable 

 to examine all the known facts that bear upon the question. 



Raoul arrived at the Bay of Islands on his first visit on the 

 11th July. 1840. He botanised at Kororareka (Russell), Paihia, 

 and Waitangi, and left again on the 31st July, his stay being 

 limited to twenty days. He observes that owing to the season 

 of the year, and the abundant rains, he could only collect some 

 well-known species. He arrived on a second visit on the 2nd 

 December, 1841, remaining until the 13th of the same month, 

 or eleven days. Lastly, in January, 1843, on his way back to 

 Europe, he made a third call of a few days only. Altogether, 

 he did not spend more than thirty-five or thirty-six days in the 

 district. His visits to Akaroa were of much longer duration. 

 On the first occasion he arrived on the 15th August, 1840, and 

 remained until the 21st November, 1841, or over fifteen months, 

 comprising, as he says, a complete series of the seasons. His 

 second visit extended from the 26th January, 1842, until the 

 11th January, 1843, or very nearly twelve months. Altogether 

 he resided for twenty-seven months at Akaroa. It is conse- 

 quently not at all remarkable that the greater number of the 

 plants mentioned in the "Choix" as being collected by himself 

 have the habitat of Akaroa assigned to them. 



The specimens figured by Raoul are in flower, and, as men- 

 tioned above, a note is appended to the description to the efiect 

 that the flowering month is December. If the specimens were 

 collected at the Bay of Islands it must have been in December, 

 1841 ; if at Akaroa it may have been either December, 1840, 

 or December, 1842. Now, it is well known that in the case of 



