280 Trarisactions. 



is^no exception. The headland facing the Rugged Islands consists of 

 weather-worn and jagged rocks about 300 ft. high, on one side subject to 

 the full blast of the south-westerly gales and seas, and on the other to the 

 more genile northerly breezes and the direct sunlight. The flora answers 

 to the conditions of exposure. The more exposed parts are bare, wliile 

 those situations which afford any shelter at all are clothed with a mantle 

 of weather-beaten plants. Next the sea there is an almost pure association 

 of Olearia angustifolia with Anisotome intermedia* occupying the rock- 

 crevices, and Veroyiica elliptica where the peat is deeper. In proportion to 

 the shelter, there will also be found Olearia Colensoi, Senecio rotundifolius, 

 and Phormium Cookianimi. What marks the physiognomy most, however, 

 is the Olearia angustifolia, which is pressed close to the rocks, and roots 

 in many places right into the rock itself. Its rounded tops and close foliage 

 attest its struggle against the elements. On the north side of the Ruggedy 

 Islands it is so abimdant as to render the whole clift'-side conspicuously 

 white at a distance, with its numerous beautiful daisy flowers, looking 

 almost too delicate for so exposed a ituation. Growing also in damper 

 situations on the rocks there is an abundance of Crassula moschata, with 

 here and there Sonchus' littoralis, Myosotis albida, Brachycome Thomsoni, 

 Poa Astoni, Gnaphalium luteo-album, Apimn prostratum, Gentiana saxosa, 

 Samolus repens, Luzula campestris, Asplenium lucidum, Senecio lautus, 

 Dracophyllum longifolium, Scirpus aiicklandicus, and Hierochloe redolens. 

 A similar association of plants, with the addition of Nothopanax Colensoi, 

 Olearia nitida, and Veronica elliptica, was noted on the north side of 

 Ruggedy River. This association fairly represents that of the coastal 

 rocks, but in a more sheltered nook, farther from the sea, the rock associa- 

 tion included the following additional plants, namely : Celmisia rigida, 

 Gentiana saxosa, Apimn prostratum, Olearia fiitida, Pratia angulata, Epilo- 

 hium nerterioides, Blechnum capense, Pteridium esculentum, with Arundo 

 conspicua, Astelia nervosa, Carex ternaria, and Blechnum fiuviatile (near 

 creek), and, in shade of Olearia scrub, Stilbocarpa Lyallii. 



(b.) Higher Rocks. 



On the top of the Ruggedy headland, where there was an exposed saddle, 

 a specially marked wind-swept association was noted, consisting of Lepto- 

 spermum scoparium as a very low mat hardly 2 in. high and covered 

 with flowers ; Senecio hellidioides, with thick bristly leaves, pressed to 

 the ground in close rosettes ; Olearia Colensoi, only a few inches high ; 

 Celmisia rigida (very plentiful) ; stunted Phormium Cookianmn ; Draco- 

 phyllum, prostratum; and Anisotome intermedia (?). Higher still, on the 

 south side, the same association, with the exception of the Leptospermum 

 and Senecio hellidioides, was dominant, with the following added plants : 

 Gentiana saxosa, Microtis unifolia, Thelymitra uniflora, Poa Astoni, Luzula 

 campestris, Pratia angulata, Veronica huxifolia, and Styphelia acerosa. The 

 cliffs at Red Head differ but little from the above. Where not too much 

 exposed, they are covered with Anisotome intermedia (?), Apimn prostratum, 

 with Olearia angustifolia in patches, interspersed with specimens of Olearia 

 Colensoi and Senecio rotundifolius — these latter according to situation, 

 the Olearia angustifolia being nearest the sea. At an elevation of about 

 1,200 ft. on the west side of Red Head Peak of the Ruggedy Mountains, 



* This plant is not typical, and may be A. Lyallii, of which I have seen no authentic 

 specimen. 



