166 NEW ZEALAND PLANTS. 
C. grandifolia has very large leaves and reddish-orange drupes, and 
is common in North Island forests, but extends south as far as 
Greymouth and Mount Grey (Canterbury). C. Petrie forms a close 
turf in the drier South Island mountains, and has large port-wine- 
coloured drupes, but these are occasionally pale-blue or almost white 
and translucent. Many coprosmas are shrubs of a dense habit of 
growth, with slender interlacing branches. An interesting point 1s 
the recent discovery by Mr. B. C. Aston that several of the species 
yield adjective wool-dyes, showing, on suitable mordants, a great 
range of colour, fast to light and soap. In addition, the hot-water 
extract of Coprosma areolata is a good brown substantive dye on 
wool, requiring no mordant. The theoretical side of the work is 
interesting as showing that New Zealand plants allied to European 
and Asian dye-plants behave similarly, The scarlet uniforms of the 
French soldiers were originally dyed with madder (Rubia tinctorum), 
from which the important dyestuff alizarin was first obtained, and, 
if New Zealand were cut off from the supplies of dye from older 
countries, coprosmas could supply the colour for uniforms, even to 
the red tabs of staff officers. Other genera of this family are Nertera 
(plants with beautifully coloured “ berries’), the bedstraw (Galiwm), 
and the woodruff (Asperula). The number of species of this family — 
is 52, most of which are coprosmas. 
The plantain family (Plantaginaceae) contains only the genus 
Plantago with its 9 not-too-well-understood species. All of them are 
typical rosette-plants. One, Plantago aucklandica, is confined to the 
Lord Auckland Islands. 
The Gesneriaceae, a tropical family of 70 genera, is represented 
by the endemic genus Rhabdothamnus, with only one species, the 
waiu-atua (R. Solandri), which is related to certain New Caledonian 
and Lord Howe Island plants. 
The koromiko family (Scrophulariaceae) contains the very large 
genus Veronica and other genera of showy plants (Ourisia, Mimulus, 
Euphrasia, Jovellana, Mazus, and Gratiola). Veronica contains more 
than 100 species, many of which are difficult to define. Some of the 
most beautiful garden-plants belong to this family—e.g., the foxglove, 
snapdragon, calceolaria, pentstemon, and mimulus. 
The forget-me-not family (Boraginaceae) comprises the forget-me- 
nots (Myosotis) and Myosotidium, which is confined to the Chatham 
Islands. 
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