HERB-FIELD OF GARVIE MOUNTAINS AND STEWART ISLAND. l|11 
in one or other of its varieties. There are, of course, a good many 
celmisias. Of these Celmisia Armstrongii of the Western Botanical 
District is very showy (fig. 73), with its sword-like leaves marked 
by an orange midrib. C. lanceolata of the South Otago and Fiord 
Botanical Districts is equally strikmg. Then there are the dense 
silvery cushions of C. sessiliflora or C. argentea, and the mats of 
C. intermedia and C. Sinclair. 
Thanks to the energy of Mr. D. L. Poppelwell, a good deal 
is now known of the herb-field of the Garvie Mountains, South 
Otago Botanical District. A very fine form of Celmisia petiolata 
is common. There are splendid hybrids between the above and 
CL Brownii, as also a bronze-leaved form of C. corvacea. Perhaps 
the most interesting plant is a spear-grass (Aciphylla pinnatifida), a 
beautiful rosette-plant, forming extensive patches in wet ground; but, 
unlike other members of the genus, which are fixed to their home, 
this plant spreads over wide areas, thanks to its underground stems. 
The wet Stewart Island herb-field is almost bog. A striking 
feature, especially on the Table Hill Range, is the close turf formed 
by cushion-plants growing into one another. Such are Donatia 
novae-zelandiae, Dracophyllum politum, and Oreobolus pectinatus. 
The grass-like Carpha alpina is also abundant (fig. 74). A grass 
with leaf-tips sharp as needles (Danthonia pungens) is often an im- 
portant feature. Here, too, will be silvery cushions of Celmisia 
argentea and C. linearis (fig. 75), and the Stewart Island spaniard 
(Aciphylla Traitlir). 
Many interesting plants and plant-associations have perforce to 
be left out of this account of the high-mountain vegetation, but a 
brief reference must be made to the subalpine scrub. 
In many places on the high mountains of New Zealand, especially 
in an area where the rainfall is excessive, upon emerging from the 
upper forest one is confronted with a formidable natural fence, 
some chains in breadth, dividing the forest from the grassland or 
herb-field. On many mountains this girdle is absent, or represented 
by stunted southern-beech trees or isolated patches of shrubs. The 
above barrier, composed of a thick and vazied growth of shrubs, is 
designated the “ subalpine scrub,’ and if unprovided with a track 
may be virtually impenetrable (fig. 76). The shrubs, dense in 
themselves, have such wiry or rigid branches interlacing one imto 
another that no passage can be made between them. In many 
