444 



Senecio Lyallii, var. schorzonerioides, was growing in great 

 abundance on the shady, moist slopes of the mountain, and this 

 also has a daisy flower with a yellow eye, and forms a mass of 

 white. There are so many " daisy " flowers about that it becomes 

 rather monotonous, as they are very much in evidence and so 

 dwarf the significance of the rest of the mountain flora. 



Whilst making an excursion up the hills opposite Mount Cobb 

 on the East side of the valley, we came across the rare Senecio 

 Adamsii, which was growing preferably among the larger stones 

 of the shingle cliffs in great profusion. On the following day we 

 attacked Mount Cobb itself, a fine bold mass of rock on the face 

 of which were outlined the most weird distortions of the strata. 

 There are patches of forest about its base composed for the most 

 part of Fag us and Dtacophyllum Traversii, and we found a 

 peculiar stiff glaucous-leaved Veronica, a form of V. elliptica, 

 which spends its winter apparently under the snow for it was 

 much beaten down by pressure, and indeed we found some 

 growing on a ledge where the snow had not melted ; and close by 

 this we discovered the most lovely Myosotis I have ever seen ; I 

 was first attracted by its scent and then saw it above me on a 

 ledge of rock underlying a steep cliff where the sun would not 

 penetrate after 10 a.m., even in summer. It proved to be Myosotis 

 macrantha, var, pulchra, the flowers are, in the young stage, 

 brownish-orange with a shade of green, and in the later stage 

 lighter and more yellow. We found many other plants of great 

 interest such as the dwarf Dacrydium laxi folium, Podocarpus 

 nivalis, Veronicas, Dracophyllum rosmarini 'folium, D. Kirkii, 

 Geurns, Craspedias and Ranunculus Monroi, R. geraniifolius 

 and i?. insignis. 



We started to return on Saturday the 25th via Mount Peel and 

 the Mount Arthur tableland ; it was a glorious day, and from 

 Mount Peel I saw Mount Tapuaenuka in the Kaikora Mountains 

 which was close to where I had been staying for some time in the 

 Marlborough district. As we proceeded over the tableland the 

 scarlet mistletoe was more gorgeous than ever and after about a 

 23 miles tramp we arrived at the Flora-stream camping ground 

 by sundown, having sent the pack-horses by a shorter route. We 

 stayed there the night leaving five miles to be done the next 

 morning back to Stebbing's farm. I obtained a fine collection of 

 plants but almost lost the lot for, when we had proceeded nearly 

 to the bottom of the track and arrived at where the forest was 

 burning, we found more huge logs strewn in our path and a way 

 had to be carved with axes out of one huge log to admit of the 

 horses passing. The second horse, on which the plants were 

 loaded, caught its pack in the side of the cut and was thrown 

 with one leg over the precipice ; it looked like losing horse and 

 all, but luckily the horse remained quiet and we were able to 

 cut the packs adrift and get the beast clear. 



The other difficulties w,-re circumvented, but not before the 

 packs were off-loaded and transported by hand to where the track 

 again became clear. After this no more difficulties were met with 

 and so one of the most interesting and delightful trips I have ever 

 made came to an end and we all arrived sal iy back in Nelson after 

 ten days' absence. 



